Fair Quinoa Vodka Launches New Bottle and Label
By Michael Hepworth
Fair Vodka has recently given their look a makeover with a redesigned the bottle and a new label, giving the Vodka a better profile in a better marketplace. With the pace of new launches apparently not slowing down at all, the thinking is to promote Fair as an artisan craft, purity of product and a dedication to sustainability.
To be perfectly honest, the label which was designed in Paris by Piaton et Associates looks fairly plain, but according to Jack Bays who is responsible for the production, sales and marketing of the drink, “The goal of the new label and packaging is to maintain the integrity of Fair’s prize-winning product while moving to a greener profile that reflects the brand’s dedication to sustainability.”
The carbon footprint has been reduced due to the fact that the glass weight has been reduced to 600 grams from 800 and the material for the label has been changed from multi-component to regular paper.
Wonderful words indeed, but what Jack does not mention (and frankly why should he) is the fact that the incredible demand for the quinoa seed (4,000 % increase in last 12 years) has produced an array of problems in Bolivia. Primarily, the rush to produce more quinoa has created a danger to the area’s fragile eco-system. Seeds were planted in fields where llamas grazed and natural manure helped the crop. Now fields are not being rotated and the soil’s overall health is being compromised. There are also land wars in the area between rival farmers desperate for more land and an increase in violence has been reported with the use of grenades.
In reality, it is a pretty clean decent tasting vodka and a little different from the norm—more bitter than most due to the fact that it is the only spirit in the world that is distilled from quinoa. This particular quinoa used in the drink is grown by a collective of 1200 small farmers in the Bolivian Altiplano. The FairTradeUSA group pays higher margins for this crop which enables the farmers to live better in what sounds like a fairly poor region of the country.
Retailing for $29.99, the vodka is available currently in Arizona, California, District of Columbia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Wyoming with Florida, Georgia and Washington on the way.
Awards already in the book are a Gold Medal-San Francisco Spirits Competition 2011, Chicago BTI 2010-Gold Medal and New York Spirits Awards 2009, Best Vodka.
www.fairspirits.com
Fair Vodka has recently given their look a makeover with a redesigned the bottle and a new label, giving the Vodka a better profile in a better marketplace. With the pace of new launches apparently not slowing down at all, the thinking is to promote Fair as an artisan craft, purity of product and a dedication to sustainability.
To be perfectly honest, the label which was designed in Paris by Piaton et Associates looks fairly plain, but according to Jack Bays who is responsible for the production, sales and marketing of the drink, “The goal of the new label and packaging is to maintain the integrity of Fair’s prize-winning product while moving to a greener profile that reflects the brand’s dedication to sustainability.”
The carbon footprint has been reduced due to the fact that the glass weight has been reduced to 600 grams from 800 and the material for the label has been changed from multi-component to regular paper.
Wonderful words indeed, but what Jack does not mention (and frankly why should he) is the fact that the incredible demand for the quinoa seed (4,000 % increase in last 12 years) has produced an array of problems in Bolivia. Primarily, the rush to produce more quinoa has created a danger to the area’s fragile eco-system. Seeds were planted in fields where llamas grazed and natural manure helped the crop. Now fields are not being rotated and the soil’s overall health is being compromised. There are also land wars in the area between rival farmers desperate for more land and an increase in violence has been reported with the use of grenades.
In reality, it is a pretty clean decent tasting vodka and a little different from the norm—more bitter than most due to the fact that it is the only spirit in the world that is distilled from quinoa. This particular quinoa used in the drink is grown by a collective of 1200 small farmers in the Bolivian Altiplano. The FairTradeUSA group pays higher margins for this crop which enables the farmers to live better in what sounds like a fairly poor region of the country.
Retailing for $29.99, the vodka is available currently in Arizona, California, District of Columbia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Wyoming with Florida, Georgia and Washington on the way.
Awards already in the book are a Gold Medal-San Francisco Spirits Competition 2011, Chicago BTI 2010-Gold Medal and New York Spirits Awards 2009, Best Vodka.
www.fairspirits.com
