Olujo a帽ejo is a new tequila that’s priced at $500 per bottle and will debut in markets like New … More York City and Miami. Olujo will also be sold online, aiming to target the growing demand for pricier tequila.
Courtesy of Olujo
During last year鈥檚 season of Bravo鈥檚 reality TV show The Real Housewives of Miami, costars Larsa Pippen and Alexia Nepola got into the type of skirmish that the women on this show are best known for. One cast member dissing another鈥檚 new business venture.
Pippen took several opportunities on the show to promote her new tequila, a brand called Olujo. But Nepola wasn鈥檛 buying what Pippen was selling. She shared with the TV audience, in a disparaging confessional, that 鈥淚 know she [Pippen] works really hard with her new tequila brand that she鈥檚 been working on for two minutes.鈥
It turns out Pippen and Olujo鈥檚 co-founders, Adam Weitsman and Oliver Camilo, have been working on the tequila for far, far longer than two minutes. But Pippen鈥檚 tequila business is real and Olujo鈥檚 a帽ejo expression is finally debuting this summer in New York City and Miami. It will also be available for nationwide direct-to-consumer shipping.
Why Was Olujo鈥檚 Launch Delayed?
Camilo and Olujo CEO Jeff Fowler tell me during a virtual interview that the delay was due to getting the quality of the liquid just right. The bottle that was shown on the Real Housewives was a 3D-printed prototype and wasn鈥檛 a product that was ready for market. Further confusing the timeline was an interview that Weitsman gave in February 2024 promising that Olujo would launch by last summer.
鈥淚t鈥檚 important that as you come to the market for that first impression, and to build those long-standing relationships, that you ensure that you have the right product, not just the most expedient product,鈥 says Fowler.
MORE FOR YOU
Olujo鈥檚 $500 price tag puts the tequila in a rarified stratosphere within tequilas as very few brands are priced that high, but more new entrants have emerged due to growing demand from high net worth clientele and collectors.
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA: Larsa Pippen attends KIIS FM’s iHeartRadio Jingle Ball 2023 presented by … More Capital One at The Kia Forum on December 01, 2023 in Inglewood, California. Pippen is a founder of the new tequila brand Olujo. (Photo by Leon Bennett/WireImage)
Tequila and mezcal sales have been soaring, growing 60% in volume in the five-year period ending 2024, according to trade advocate the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. But over that same period, the highest priced, 鈥渟uper premium鈥 tequilas surged by 95% and now account for one out of every four tequila and mezcal bottles sold in the U.S. Pricey tequilas on shelves today include Clase Azul, Casamigos and Patr贸n.
Camilo and Fowler credit Clase Azul for doing an impressive job crafting a luxury price point for tequilas. But they add that most of the more premium-priced tequilas on shelves today are within the $50 to $100 range. Olujo thinks there鈥檚 room for a new entrant that can sit at a luxury price point.
Olujo Made By Same Distiller Behind Nick Jonas鈥 Villa One
Olujo鈥檚 a帽ejo is aged for 18 months in American oak barrels with a flavor that鈥檚 described as smooth and not too agave forward. The bottle was designed by sculptor Ivan Venkov and crafted in ceramic by the Mexican manufacturer Anfora.
As for the liquid, Olujo is produced in the Jalisco region of Mexico by alcohol manufacturer Fabrica de Tequilas Finos. Owned by Amber Beverage Group, that distillery produces several other brands of tequila including Cenote, Rooster Rojo, and Villa One; the latter a tequila that was cofounded by singer Nick Jonas and fashion designer John Varvatos.
鈥淲e liked their approach to production and their balance of modern techniques with respecting the heritage and the craft,鈥 says Camilo.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK: Nick Jonas and John Varvatos attend Nick Jonas x John Varvatos Villa One Tequila … More Launch at John Varvatos Bowery NYC on August 29, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)
Getty Images
Celebrities have poured their money and likeness into well over a dozen different tequila and mezcal upstart brands, including George Clooney鈥檚 Casamigos, which sold to Diageo for $1 billion in 2017, and Dwayne 鈥淭he Rock鈥 Johnson鈥檚 Teremana, Matthew McConaughey鈥檚 Pantalones, Kendall Jenner鈥檚 818 and Sammy Hagar鈥檚 Santo. Pippen isn鈥檛 even alone among Real Housewives stars in backing a tequila. There鈥檚 also Vida from Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Lisa Barlow and an investment from Kathy Hilton, of Real Housewives of Beverly HIlls fame, into Eva Longoria鈥檚 Casa Del Sol.
Olujo鈥檚 team couldn鈥檛 yet share where the product will be sold in New York and Florida, but stressed that those markets are top targets because of the high consumption levels of tequila. Pippen is actively involved in the brand and has opened up her rolodex of contacts to help Olujo score much-needed distribution.
That said, Fowler hopes to lean more on his expertise working for luxury goods conglomerates LVMH and Cartier, and less on marketing around a celebrity like Pippen.
鈥淲e鈥檙e fortunate Larsa has a platform, but we鈥檙e very clear in distinguishing this as a celebrity brand,鈥 says Fowler. 鈥淭here isn鈥檛 a face of Olujo. It鈥檚 meant to be a product where the product is the hero.鈥
Editorial StandardsReprints & Permissions