The founder of Jägermeister launched Grey Goose vodka in his 70s, sourcing it from France instead of Russia to signal premium quality. He priced it 30% above the most expensive vodka on the market and designed a distinctive tall bottle, betting that branding mattered more than the spirit itself.
Do you guys know the Grey Goose story? Yeah, it's the taller bottles.
The taller bottles, but also the guy who started Grey Goose started it when he was in his like 70s. Before that, he had brought Jägermeister to the US and made it popular. He created the Jägerbomb and got like Jägerettes, the girls who would go around bars pouring the stuff down college kids' throats, and he made it the party drink. Now he's in his 70s and he's like, all right, I want to start a vodka company. I'm going to do two things differently. We need to source the vodka. And they go, great, we're on our next flight out to Moscow. And he goes, no, no, we're not doing Russian vodka. Go to France and find me vodka. They go, There's no vodka in France. He goes, go to France and find me vodka, because if I told you this is French vodka, it just makes that dirty Russian vodka look like crap. And he tells the other group, he goes, go to the bar right now and buy the most expensive vodka that there is. Bring all the bottles here. Lines them all up. We're going to be 30% more expensive than whatever the most expensive one is. Okay, it's this fat bottle. We're going to be a tall bottle. I have a friend who started a vodka brand. The bottle cost more than the vodka.
