Who owns skyy

In Kanbar attended the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers convention in New Orleans, at a time when Skyy had a presence in only a handful of states through commissioned brokers. He approached some national distributors about carrying Skyy Vodka but they asked to wait until the convention was over before meeting with him. In the meantime, regional wholesalers who had heard about Skyy Vodka's success in California approached Kanbar and sought to represent the brand in their markets.

By the time the national companies got back to him, Kanbar had cobbled together his own plan for national distribution. In , the company had sold an impressive , cases of Skyy Vodka and was poised to enjoy even stronger growth. By that point, Kanbar had reached his limit as an executive, preferring to create enterprises and then turn them over to someone with more management skills.

He recruited his year-old nephew, David Kanbar, owner of a small New York mortgage business, who sold his company and moved to San Francisco, where Skyy was still just a three-man operation working out of his uncle's apartment. They soon decided that they needed the services of someone experienced in the liquor business. Two executives did not pan out but the third did.

Foglio brought along his right hand man, Keith Greggor, and together they were instrumental in taking Skyy Vodka to the next level. Sales grew to , cases in and , cases in Another important element in the brand's success was its marketing, which was put in the hands of people who were part of the target demographic.

We go into the hip bars because we know what's happening. We know what entertainment to get involved with because we know what's cool with our own group. For example, one print ad featured a young man in a red leather chair straddled by a red-headed dominatrix. On a side table was a bottle of Skyy and a pair of empty martini glasses. According to Erika Brown writing about Skyy in Forbes in , "Maurice grouses that he doesn't 'get' the ad campaign, but is willing to let Foglio take charge.

One of Kanbar's many interests was film. In Skyy found a way to incorporate the medium of film into its branding efforts, with the launch of the Skyy Cinema campaign. The company sponsored 30 independent film festivals and premieres, including the surprise hit of summer , The Blair Witch Project. It also developed a series of short independent films that focused on a "cocktail moment. Over the next five years approximately 50 such vignettes would be presented, some of which included celebrities like Ben Stiller, and others of which stirred public controversy.

According to Skyy, the campaign was instrumental in raising brand awareness percent. These ran in such magazines as Maxim, Cosmopolitan , and Stuff. In addition, Skyy began commissioning original content short films for viewing on its Web site, and established the Skyy Vodka Short Film Project, a contest in which entrants submitted a five-minute tape explaining why they wanted to be filmmakers.

The three finalists would then be given a chance to shoot a short film in New York City, each relying on the same script, with a hour time limit. At the start of the s, Skyy Vodka sales approached the one million case mark with no signs of tapering off. Skyy took its first step in expanding the product line in with the introduction of Skyy Citrus, combining vodka with the essences of lemon, lime orange, tangerine, and grapefruit.

Interviewed by Beverage Industry in June , Kanbar said, "It took years to develop because we wanted to create a complex flavor, one you couldn't achieve by simply squeezing a lemon into your vodka on the rocks.

Skyy's success had already caught the attention of Italy's Campari Group, which bought an 8. The change in ownership also improved Skyy's ability to grow as an international brand, while presenting Campari with a greater opportunity to expand in the United States.

Under Campari control, Skyy picked up the pace in filling out its portfolio. In it began selling Skyy Cosmo Mix, which contained a blend of cranberry, lime, and orange liqueur flavoring that could be blended with Skyy Citrus to produce a cosmopolitan cocktail.

The pink drink had become popular due to exposure on television shows like "Sex in the City. The company became involved in a new category of 5 percent malt beverages, engendered by the popularity of Smirnoff Ice and quickly joined by the likes of Bacardi Silver, Captain Morgan Gold, and Sauza Diablo.

Skyy entered the fray by creating a joint venture with Miller Brewing company, resulting in the introduction of Skyy Blue. In Skyy rolled out new flavored vodkas: Skyy Spiced, a blend of natural spice flavors including cinnamon, nutmeg and clove, which the company touted as a good mix with cola; Skyy Berry, a blend of all natural raspberry, blueberry, and blackberry flavors, good for mixing with lemon-lime soda; and Skyy Vanilla, a blend of Madagascar vanilla bean with a hint of amaretto, which was suggested as the basis for a Skyy Vanilla Martini.

Along with the introduction of the new flavored vodkas, Skyy made changes to its packaging. Video series featuring innovators. ET Financial Inclusion Summit. Malaria Mukt Bharat. Wealth Wise Series How they can help in wealth creation. Honouring Exemplary Boards.

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