BrandSmirnoff
The Smirnoff vodka brand exists today, solely because Vladimir Smirnoff, who is the son of Peter Arsenyevich Smirnoff – the creator of this brand in 1860, managed to leave Russia, and did not start the business, living abroad. Smirnoff vodka is consideredone of the highest quality and most popular on the world market. This brand, which was once promoted by the American firm Heublein, is now the property of Diageo (UK).
Diageo International Alcohol Corporation is the owner of such famous brands as Guinness, Red Stripe, Johnnie Walker, J&B, Smirnoff, Gordon’s, Captain Morgan, Crown Royal, Don Julio, Baileys, Blossom Hill. At the moment Smirnoff vodka is exported to 130 countries around the world. By the way, the most popular of vodka brands is of Russian origin. Smirnoff – was originally a distillery, which was opened on the territory of Moscow by Peter Arsenyevich Smirnov. The products that were produced at his enterprise were characterized by high cost and high quality, therefore did not cause a characteristic alcoholic riot. People were surprised when it turned out that the name of the vodka was not from the adjective “Smirny”, but from the surname of the brand’s creator, who managed to develop a technology that cleansed the vodka of its poisonous component.
In 1818 Ivan Smirnov established a trading enterprise in Moscow. However, only his prominent nephew Pyotr Arsenyevich gave the business a grandiose scope. Having great ambitions, he bought up the shares of his cousin, and built a distillation plant. Peter Smirnov’s plant was established in the 1860s on the territory of Moscow, and had the trade name P. A. Smirnov. The products created at this enterprise were characterized by high quality, and soon gained wide popularity among wealthy citizens. Thus, after tasting Smirnov’s vodka, Emperor Alexander III without delay made Smirnovs the main suppliers for the imperial court. After that, the same offer was made by the royal families of Sweden and Spain.
With the death of Peter Arsenievich on November 29, 1898, the ownership of the enterprise passed into the hands of his three sons: Peter, Nikolai and Vladimir. Peter Arsenyevich’s children received the right to trade in vodka on behalf of their father in 1903, and the establishment was named “Peter, Nikolai and Vladimir Petrovich Smirnovs, trading under the firm of P. A. Smirnov in Moscow”.
However, in a short time, Nicholas abandoned the Trading House due to his embezzlement, and Vladimir became a famous horse breeder throughout the Russian Empire, who spared no financial resources to build a riding arena and stables on Skakova Street. After Vladimir made a profit of 500,000 rubles, he finished the business and handed over all his powers to Peter, the eldest of the brothers.
Petr Petrovich Smirnov irrevocably left this world in 1910, and the business was continued by Vladimir Smirnov. Until the outbreak of the First World War, the enterprise was in prosperity, and it created more than 4 million cases of vodka per year.
But the October Revolution of 1917 made adjustments in the fate of the enterprise. The Bolsheviks nationalized all private plants and factories in Moscow, not excluding the Smirnovs’ distillery, which became a nationalized enterprise after that. Nikolai Smirnov died in poverty in Moscow after many years. Vladimir Petrovich Smirnov was able to escape from Russia and emigrate, taking with him only his knowledge and technology to create a famous brand of vodka.
Abroad, Vladimir made many attempts to revive the family business, but his attempts did not end in success. People abroad were not familiar with vodka and refused to accept this product. After unsuccessful attempts in Constantinople (Istanbul) and on the territory of Poland, Vladimir opted for a small distillery in the city of Corbevois, a suburb of Paris. It was there that he met Rudolf Kunett, who was one of the proven grain exporters, and sold Kunett the exclusive rights with a license to create and market all of the distillery’s spirits in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The enterprise, Ste. Pierre Smirnoff Fils” in New York received its registration in 1933.Vladimir Smirnoff left this world in 1934.
But the mind-boggling success that the new owner of the company expected did not happen. Vodka was not accepted by fans of bourbon, cocktails and gin, and by 1937, the Cunetta Company was on the verge of bankruptcy. Purely by chance, John Martin, then president of the Huebline Company, put forward an initiative to support the enterprise, and obtained the right to produce and market Smirnoff vodka.
Vodka was now marketed as “Smirnoff White Whiskey, tasteless and odorless”. It turned out that this very “whisky” is an excellent component for almost any cocktail, which contributed to the growth and popularity of Smirnoff.
One of the significant events in the history of the Smirnoff brand was the invention of the alcoholic cocktail “Moscow Mule”. The cocktail consisted of such ingredients as: ginger beer, Smirnoff vodka and a slice of lime. The Moscow Mule was served in a copper mug. In fact, thanks to this “animal” Smirnoff was confirmed as the favorite drink of Americans in the second half of the 40s. And after that, Smirnoff vodka became an integral component for Bloody Marys, Screwdrivers and other famous alcoholic cocktails.
Thus, after initial recognition in the Russian Empire, vodka moved to other continents and became the most popular alcoholic beverage in the world. Distinguished by its purity, transparency and surprisingly mild and delicate flavor, first-class grain alcohol, special properties of water and the uniqueness of the filtration process with specially treated activated carbon – these are some of the secrets that make the vodka’s qualities and flavors impeccable. Vodka is created in the best traditions of Russian and American alcoholic production. Thanks largely to the appearance of alcoholic cocktails with vodka and successful brand advertising campaigns, Smirnoff has gained popularity not only in the United States, but around the world.
History of Finlandia vodka brand
Finlandia vodka is one of the most famous premium vodka brands. Since 2000, the brand has been owned by Finlandia Vodka Worldwide Ltd. (a subsidiary of the American producer Brown-Forman).
All Finlandia products are made in Finland from natural raw materials: polar barley, crystal clear spring water, citrus fruits and forest berries. Water for vodka production is taken from a unique ecological spring, which is located in the South of Finland in the village of Rajamäki. Specially grown barley is used to produce the alcohol, which is then distilled through multiple stages. This barley matures during the polar day (70 days without the sun going below the horizon).
Vodka Finlandia began to be produced as early as 1888, but it became a recognizable brand with its unique corporate design only in the middle of the twentieth century. In 1970 the vodka was exported to the European market, in 1971 – to the USA. In 1993, Finlandia vodka became one of the best-selling vodkas in the world.
In addition to the classic vodka, we also produce flavored variations of vodka: cranberry (since 1994), lime (1999), mango (2004), wild berries (2005), grapefruit (2006), tangerine (2009) and black currant (2009).
The classic Finlandia vodka bottle design (1970-2000) is the work of Finnish designer Tapio Virkkala. The current bottle design Crystal Ice (2003) and Melting Ice (2011) was created by Finnish designer Harri Koskinen.
Absolut Vodka
The Swedish vodka brand Absolut has been produced by Vin & Sprit Group for over 130 years.
The history of the world brand “Absolut” begins in 1879, when the first “absolutely pure vodka” – “Absolut rent Bränvin” was produced. The method of continuous distillation, purification of vodka from unnecessary impurities and preservation of its natural qualities, proposed in 1879 by Swedish entrepreneur Lars Olsson Smith, is still used today in the production of Absolut Vodka.
Thanks to Smith, Absolut vodka began to be exported abroad, where it became an extraordinary success. Smith died in 1913, and his business was continued by the president of Vin & Sprit AB, Lars Lindmarge. 
In 1979, the Absolut vodka brand also celebrated its centennial with such an event as the beginning of mass exports to the USA.
The history of creation of such appearance and design of the bottle, which Absolut vodka has now, is very interesting and unusual. Gunnar Broman, a specialist in advertising and promotion of Absolut brand, while walking around Stockholm and looking at store windows noticed an old pharmacy bottle. He was attracted by the simplicity and at the same time elegance of the form, and therefore this design was adopted as a basis. During the development of the brand design the bottle shape was finalized and the decision was made to refuse the label to emphasize the crystal clear contents of the bottle. And even today the shape of Absolut vodka bottle is recognized as a masterpiece of design: simple, but at the same time unique and recognizable shape, clear contours, crystal clear glass really create a feeling of purity.
For legal reasons (it was impossible to register the trademark “Absolute Pure Vodka” in the USA) the name of the brand was renamed to “Absolut Vodka“. And to emphasize the geographical origin of the drink, “Country of Sweden” was added.
All the changes in the brand design did their job, and already in 1982 Absolut vodka surpassed its competitor – Finlandia vodka, and in 1985 – the main competitor on the US market – Stoli (“Stolichnaya”) vodka. Now Absolut vodka is the most popular imported vodka in the U.S., and in terms of production volumes it ranks third in the world.
History of the vodka brand “Stolichnaya”
Vodka brand “Stolichnaya ” is one of the most famous vodka brands all over the world.
Despite the fact that the trademark and recipe of vodka were registered in 1938 in the USSR, the vodka was produced only 3 years later.
Starting from 1971, export to the USA was organized. Distribution in America was handled by the American company PepsiCo. In the USA, Stolichnaya vodka is better known asStoli. In 2000, the British company Allied Domecq bought the rights to sell the vodka in the USA.
The Stolichnaya brand belonged to the Russian company Soyuzplodimport until 1999, and at the end of the twentieth century it was sold to the Dutch company Spirit International (which still owns it today).
The label of Stolichnaya vodka is quite memorable due to the combination of white, red and gold colors. The label also depicts the Moscow Hotel, which was built shortly before the registration of the Stolichnaya trademark. On top of the image of the hotel is the name of the vodka in Latin“Stolichnaya vodka”.
Have you noticed that the design, bottle shape and label play an important role in promoting a vodka brand and establishing it as a brand? The global vodka brands reviewed in the article prove that bottle and label design can make a product unique, bright, memorable, and what is important – it also affects sales (a vivid example of this is the success of Absolut vodka after the design update).
Branding agency KOLORO specializes in creating vodka brands. We create not just beautiful product packaging, but also offer options for positioning the product on the market!
