Canadian vodka brand Iceberg, made with water from polar icebergs, launched in Australia this week.
The product, which is produced in Newfoundland, will be marketed in Australia by Independent Distillers and initially the campaign will focus on below-the-line advertising such as print ads in hospitality trade magazines.
Iceberg Vodka CEO, David Sacks, said the brand has expanded worldwide through word of mouth rather than aggressive advertising.
“We have a great product for guerrilla marketing because people are fascinated by icebergs and how we harvest them. There have been a number of TV shows about our production process. We’ve been on The Thirsty Traveller and we’re going to feature on Oprah very soon.”
The product is smooth tasting because it is made from Ontario sweetcorn and iceberg water, which is free from contaminants and 12 to 15 times purer than tap water, then triple distilled and triple filtered.
Sacks said the product is produced with the aid of the Canadian government, which oversees production and distribution. Production of the vodka has provided much-needed employment in an area dependent on its struggling fishing industry.
“I think we have one of the best business models around. I have a multi-million dollar business and supply to countries around the world, but I only have four staff,” he said.
Harvesting the icebergs is the hardest part of the job as it can only be done off the coast of Canada during the summer months and is a dangerous activity.
Iceberg Vodka recently introduced a one million litre barge which can hold enough iceberg water to create 165,000m cases. The firm is allowed to harvest 500,000 tonnes of iceberg annually, equal to one iceberg.
Recent years have seen strong growth of the premium vodka market and a movement away from rougher tasting vodkas from Poland and Russia which are made from potatoes and distilled once or twice.
“Women in particular like a smooth-tasting vodka and they make up a large part of our market,” said Sacks.
Iceberg was launched in 1995 and since then has won a string of awards. The group also produces bottled water.
There have been several new vodka launches in Australia in the past few years, the launch of SKYY vodka by Carlton & United Breweries subsidiary The Continental Spirits Company last February. Ursus Roter, the red vodka brand of Dutch distiller Ursus Vodka Company NV, brought its red vodka brand to the local market with distribution through Coles Myer subsidiaries Liquor Land, Vintage Cellars and Quaffers.
According to the Distilled Spirits Industry Council of Australia, one in every six shoppers is buying spirits and their average spend on spirits is $30 per visit, delivering an average profit to retailers of $3 per bottle.
