Mix with Mendis

New luxury retailing concept takes nontraditional approach

2008-11-07T12:55:00.011-05:00

Over the past month I have covered certain aspects about our current business model, focusing on; Mendis Million Dollar Bottle, our signature premium collection and our new promotion campaign being released in January 2009, starting with the promotion at milliondollarbottle.com in the next month. However, Mendis unique product and our signature premium concept is not only what makes our business unique in itself, but also in how we intend to retail our product.

Here at Mendis, we have come up with a very unique approach to the sale of alcohol that does not involve selling through traditional retailers or online, this approach is part of our Luxury Retail Store Promotion Campaign. This campaign involves us forming exclusive alliances with other companies to sell our product in a unique way (I’ll leave it at that for now). We are forming exclusive deals with our partners for two principle reasons, firstly, because we are the innovators of this concept, we are selecting the ideal companies to partner with for this campaign to achieve optimum ROI, secondly, so that no other alcohol company can come along and align with whom we have selected as the best to work with and be brand aligned to.

Correct brand association is critical when building a luxury brand; you want to make sure you have control of your brand by; where it is placed and who is being seen with it. Therefore, we want similar status luxury brands aligned with the Mendis name and the brand placed in an environment where we know the audience is of the caliber we are targeting to purchase our product. A traditional alcohol store is too low end for the Mendis signature premium brand to be positioned in, as such, our Luxury Retail Store Promotion Campaign is about developing a unique environment in which we can have a fair amount of control in the placement and audience, which also contributes to building Mendis brand identity.

I could go on and on for pages about this concept and how we are going about developing it, as our report on this is rather lengthy, but then that would be giving away too much information about what exactly we are doing, spoiling all the fun. So check back next week when I will provide a bit more insight as to what it is we are doing and when precisely we will be going live with our new promotion campaign.

Chris S. Richardson
President

Mendis Million Dollar Bottle goes confidential

2008-10-31T11:41:00.008-05:00

Over the past two weeks we have entered into an agreement over Mendis Million Dollar Bottle with another party, now exactly what this agreement is all about, you will have to wait until January 2009, as we are now confined to confidentiality under the agreement until then. However, I can tell you one thing; it is going to be some breaking news when we do announce what is taking place with the Million Dollar Bottle. If you want a hint what is going on, keep an eye on milliondollarbottle.com in the next month as we will be releasing the first part of what is going on there. For now we have this domain directed to our main page, though that will change in the coming weeks.

Unfortunately, now we are tied into confidentiality agreements on our business I really can’t spill the beans, so to speak, on what is going on until we actually have everything completed. That said, we have a few things working out and will soon start releasing information and promotional material, starting with the site milliondollarbottle.com, which will lead to our new official website in January.

To back this news we have coming out in January over Mendis Million Dollar Bottle, we have a national media promotional campaign being rolled out also. This promotion will be our first large scale, planned promotion campaign for the Mendis brand, which makes this a very exciting time for us here at Mendis.

As I mentioned a few weeks back, we at Mendis have decided to build the Mendis brand in line with the Million Dollar Bottle and exclusive "signature-premium" collection of limited release bottles. Mendis Million Dollar Bottle was the first bottle in this collection, though we will have more news on our second release in the New Year and pricing for it. For now, I don’t want to mix up our campaigns we have going so I will forgo discussing more about this second collection, until we release full details what is going on with the Million Dollar Bottle, so keep an eye out for more on this.

Chris S. Richardson
President

Fresh perspective to saturated market segment

2008-10-17T16:53:00.011-05:00

Today I was going to post the name of the company whom we are in talks with in relation to Mendis Million Dollar Bottle, but we are not quite finished with the terms of the agreement, so for now, I will hold off on that news.

As you may know from last week’s blog, we have decided to develop upon Mendis luxury brand and not move the product into mass market production. Mendis coconut brandy is a very unique product, that we have gone through a lot of production and legal work to achieve, which no other beverage company has, as such we want to maintain the integrity of it.

Currently in the market, you get premium, ultra premium and super premium alcohol. There are numerous brands touting themselves as the next best product in each of these categories, but no one has taken it upon themselves to go about creating a unique product that no other has, refined to a level of such exquisiteness and luxuriousness, except for Mendis. As such, Mendis being the leader as it is in luxury, we have coined (and own digital rights to) the term “Signature Premium” as the new level of premium in alcohol and consumer goods.

The Luxury ladder will now look like this;

Premium (level determined by production process)
Ultra Premium (level derived by pricing of final product)
Super Premium (level derived by pricing of final product)
Signature Premium (level determined by intrinsic value)

“Signature premium” is defined by us as limited short run collectible consumer goods that hold intrinsic value due to their uniqueness, artistic scarcity and personal signature marking. At this point in time I don’t want to give too much away of what our business model is, as no one has done what we are going to be releasing, but you will find out in the first week of Janaury 2009 all about this new exciting concept in alcohol.

Currently, we are having a completely new flash site being built to align with Mendis coconut brandy “Signature Premium” brand, though the branding is not the unique element of our business model, it is in how you will be able to browse and buy alcohol, Mendis is going to change the world on how alcohol is marketed and sold. This is the most exciting stage in our companies history and it is something that will change not just our history but also the industries.

Chris S. Richardson
President

Niche market opportunities open up for luxury branded goods in bad economic times

2008-10-10T11:06:00.015-05:00

The past few weeks have been both extremely busy and also highly productive. As some of you will be aware, we are selling our first production bottle, the first and only bottle in the world of coconut brandy, for $1,000,000, this unique bottle comes signed by the founder of Mendis, Mr. Mendis, whom founded The House of Mendis back in 1947. The past fortnight, both Billy Yip (Mendis agent) and I have been in detailed discussions over this bottle with a another company. We will have further news relating to this exclusive deal, though no public announcement via media will be released until we have talks completed. This development and association further strengthens the Mendis name as the ultimate in luxury.

Given the current world economic condition and feedback our agent Billy Yip has had in relation to our Million Dollar Bottle, we have found that investors and wealthy individuals are looking for unique investment opportunities in tangible collectible investments, as such we have decided to align our business model more with our Million Dollar Bottle; signature branded limited release art bottles. Mendis will be the world’s first and only exclusive limited production run alcohol brand.

This concept is expanding the original idea of Mendis Million Dollar Bottle, Mendis is a one of a kind luxury product and as such we want to keep it that way. We want to continue building out Mendis luxury brand, particularly in light of demand from people of a certain investment class that are looking for unique collectibles. This is what Mendis coconut brandy was founded upon and as such we should continue grabbing traction in our specialty niche market segment.

So for now, watch this space to fill in the blank for developments with Mendis Million Dollar Bottle.

Chris S. Richardson
President

Mendis featured in Bora Magazine (UBS Bank)

2008-09-26T11:58:00.007-05:00

Mendis Million Dollar Bottle has received quite a bit of publicity, from being on E! to the Times Square Big Board, since its launch over a year ago. This one of a kind priceless luxury item has received coverage in numerous high-end publications around the world, which has proven hard for us to follow where it is being covered and even harder getting copies of the editorials to show our readers here.

Luckily we managed to get a copy of a review done by Bora Magazine this month; which is published by one of the world’s most renowned wealth management institutions, UBS. The publication is distributed to Bora Magazine and UBS clients. The Mendis name is synonymous with luxury, as such, it is fitting for Mendis to be covered by one of the world's most prestigious institutions for the super rich.

Chris S. Richardson
President

Look at the facts

2008-09-19T12:02:00.027-05:00

It has obviously taken a considerably longer time to get Mendis into the market than we first thought, though unlike most other alcohol products, with Mendis coconut brandy we have had to lobby the Federal government to get this new product approved as a "new product". Unlike other alcohol products that simply fit within existing pre-defined categories, with Mendis we have had to have it defined. This creates a competitive advantage over other similar branded products (in our case brandies/Cognac).

Mendis has three key advantages in both the white spirits category and within its own category of Brandy that give it a competitive edge. Firstly, by using a unique maturation process with a light wood called Hamilla, Mendis is the world’s first white matured Brandy produced from coconut. Secondly, Mendis has an unmatched smoothness as it is matured for a minimum of two years in the tropical climate of Sri Lanka, as opposed to most Brandies that are matured in sub-tropical/temperate climates that mature at a slower rate. Lastly, Mendis has created a brand new niche category in distilled spirits, namely “Coconut Brandy” (not to be confused with all other products that are Flavored Brandy/Vodka, by law they must carry the word "Flavored" on the bottle). Therefore, Mendis offers both Brandy and white spirit drinkers a quality and refinement that they have never experienced in either category before.

Distilled spirits supplier revenues have grown on average 6.5% since 2000, with white ultra-premium and Flavored Spirits driving that growth. In the two largest selling categories, Vodka and Rum, ultra-premium brands grew 38% and 43% respectively in 2007. With Flavored Spirits, Flavored Vodkas now account for almost 14% of all Vodkas sold while Flavored and Spiced Rums now account for over 48% of all rums sold. There is a clear demand by consumers for ultra-premium flavored white spirits. A "matured" naturally flavored (made from the fruit) white product does not exist today. Mendis Coconut Brandy is that product!

Mendis will not just stand out as the world’s first white matured coconut brandy, but it will also stand out on store shelves as a clear brandy against all the dark brandies. The other added benefit of Mendis is that is has a very neutral base over all other brandies. By neutral, I mean, it does not possess the common harsh characteristics associated with brandy- this lends itself to being mixable like vodka. However, that said, the natural coconut flavor really comes out when mixed in cocktails, giving a complexity to drinks that no other clear natural spirit can offer.

Yeah, I am drinking the Mendis cool aid, but you know what, so will you once you get to taste this truly unique clear spirit we have created. I truly believe within 3-5 years, matured clear natural fruit brandies will take over artificial flavored vodkas as the drink of choice. As I view it, nothing comes from hindsight, only foresight, so with that, we must look to new invigorating products that add a new dimension/edge to pre-existing products, not just following the heard as so many brands have done with this vodka boom and are now subsequently failing because of it. Most small vodka companies are running at deep losses, purely and strategically in the hope of being bought out, how Grey Goose was by Bacardi for $2 Billion, though little do these companies realize those vodka days are gone and their days are numbered.

The true art of luxury and premium spirits comes from the craftsmanship involved in creating flavor in the product, not over boiling it (like vodka) to burn out all discernable characteristics, there is no art in doing that, anyone can do that and they have as is evident in all the vodkas in the market.

Craftsmanship in alcohol comes from the balanced distillation of a product achieved through years of experience the master distiller has earned over the years, along with the skill in laying product down for maturation, turning it and blending it to create a masterful creation. This process is what makes a “premium” distilled spirit, not some over boiled ethyl-alcohol mass produced by some out sourced distillery.

What the market needs is a specially crafted clear spirit produced straight from fruit, aged and refined to a velvety smoothness second to none, with natural fruit favor and mixable like vodka to meet the demand by consumers for mixable products- this is the true definition of “ultra-premium” / “super-premium”. Unfortuately the market hands out such definitions to over priced vodka. Currently, in the global alcohol market no such product exists and it is a sector that will be the next biggest boom market in alcohol. Mendis has been specially crafted with this idea in mind.

From the tastings we have held to date, consumers and industry people present have been so impressed with Mendis' taste, that they go so far as to say that it is by far the smoothest product in the market bar none, along with being extremely mixable, unlike any brandy currently in the marketplace. Now, I know there are many consumers (and peripheral industry people) that perceive taste by image and will categorically state that such and such a product is the best. Though give me 5 minutes with them in a private blind tasting and I will change their mind- challenge me on that if you want.

Like all great ideas and visions, it takes a starting point. This is the point we are at now, with time I believe this new sector of clear spirits will soon become broadly recognized with distributors and mixologists and blossom into the next multi-billion dollar market for alcohol. Nothing happens over night, but it will with time and education.

Chris S. Richardson
President

Advisory board

2008-09-15T10:09:00.005-05:00

As I mentioned the other week we have been in talks with several parties pertaining to a couple of different matters concerning Mendis operations, well one of these sets of talks was over Mendis Million Dollar Bottle. To date, we have not spent much effort in getting the bottle much publicity, this has been in part due to us allocating our company resources to legal matters for the successful prosecution of our Federal permit and state level licenses to bring into the U.S. the world’s first clear brandy made from coconut.

However, since we are near completion of our Federal and state level legal work for licenses we decided to start directing attention to providing a platform to promote the Mendis Million Dollar Bottle from on a larger scale, this involved us bringing in someone to handle this operation under a strategic alliance. In short, the end result of these talks is assignment of a reputable experienced agent to exclusively handle the branding and promotion of the bottle. Effective from this week Mendis Million Dollar bottle will be handled by our exclusive agent, Billy Yip. Billy Yip has extensive agency experience in the fashion world and entertainment industry.

In addition to the appointment of Billy Yip as the exclusive agent to Mendis Million Dollar bottle, in co-ordination with him we have entered into talks with several different parties relating to the marketing and promotions of Mendis Million Dollar Bottle, this will extend to the potential re-branding and image of the bottle under strategic sponsorship deals we are working on with it.

Even though we have not released Mendis yet for sale, we have been proactive in the development of marketing deals to make sure when we do launch there is a comprehensive marketing and promotions campaign to back the brand into the market.

To make sure we have the appropriately experienced individuals working with us for success, we have created an advisory board to Mendis Board of Directors that holds several individuals that we view as key to assisting Mendis in achieving its goals during our launch stage in our target markets. These individuals have extensive relationships relating to distribution and marketing.

Later this week, I will cover why these delays have exist and what benefits Mendis has gained through procedures we have gone about dong that has given rise to these delays.

Chris S. Richardson
President

Thanks ladies!

2008-09-05T14:43:00.005-05:00

Things have been busy at Mendis as we host tasting nights at bars and venues. We have been hectic planning a couple of big events over the past two weeks and will disclose what we have up our sleeves once we get all the paper work signed off on. I think the past two weeks have been some of the most productive on a marketing and events front and more details will be disclosed as we firm things up.

I just wanted to quickly say a big thanks to our impeccably dressed servers and models at our past events, without you we could not do it. Thank you ladies! Below are a few pictures of them from our last tasting event.

Ladies mixing it up with Mendis- taking a pose for the camera behind the bar as they do their mixology genius with Mendis.

Lindsay concocting some delicious cocktails with Mendis coconut brandy. New bottle being popped open as that one is nearly empty.

Ladies taking a break, why not have a drink.

VIP Private Event

2008-08-19T12:42:00.008-05:00

Over the next few days we will be mailing out invites to select VIP to attend an exclusive private tasting of Mendis Coconut Brandy/Mendis Million Dollar Bottle at a venue in Atlanta, Ga.

The invite will not disclose the venue, rather, contact details will be on the invitation to call for reservations (which has been blotted out), for which we will require your unique VIP number. So keep an eye on your letter box to see if you have been invited for this exclusive private event in Atlanta.

Kimberly Thomas styles Mendis bottle

2008-08-14T09:09:00.002-05:00

Fashion model, Kimberly Thomas holding Mendis Million Dollar Bottle.

BUZZ UP Mendis

2008-08-13T16:07:00.007-05:00

Check Mendis out in TrendHunter Magazine and on Yahoo.

Mala Bryan styles Mendis bottle

2008-08-13T08:49:00.001-05:00

Fashion model, Mala Bryan holding Mendis Million Dollar Bottle.

Mendis at Baltic White Nights - Swimwear by Tara Matthews July 2008

2008-08-06T08:31:00.004-05:00

The other week, Mendis was presented to models at the Baltic White Nights - Swimwear by Tara Matthews July 2008 fashion show, held on 5th Avenue in NYC, as part of a post shoot interview to get their reaction to Mendis Million Dollar bottle. The video is in the process of being edited and will be a few weeks before we have it, but here are a couple of shots from the night.

Big thanks

2008-08-01T09:30:00.004-05:00

Last night was the soft launch of Mendis in NYC at the 49 Grove Lounge. The evening involved product tasting along with the photo and video shoot for Mendis new digital media campaign. I firstly have to pass my sincere thanks to Aram for allowing Mendis access to his plush lounge in West Village, without such, the evening would not of been made possible. In addition to Aram, I have many other people to thank for attending and assisting in setting up the evening, though you know whom you all are, as always, I am greatful for your attendance and assistance.

Post analysis, the evening was a great success, with Mendis being sampled neat and also as a cocktail and I’m sure everyone present will vouch just how smooth and mixable Mendis is. We have some amazing video footage shot by an awesome film crew, that we will up loaded to the web, as soon as we are in receipt of it, which will be once it is all edited by the guys.

Chris S. Richardson
President
Mendis International, Inc.

Mendis Coconut Brandy Unveiled at World Premier for Exclusive Tasting

2008-07-31T11:15:00.002-05:00

New York, NY (PRWEB) July 30, 2008 -- Mendis International Inc., creator of the world's most expensive bottle of Brandy- the Mendis Million Dollar bottle, announces today the exclusive World Premier tasting of Mendis Coconut Brandy- the world's first Coconut Brandy, at the 49 Grove lounge in NYC on July 31st.

This evening affords the opportunity for a select few to be the first in the U.S. to experience Mendis Coconut Brandy. "Luxury goods are not created overnight, but with passion and dedication combined with a commitment to excellence, Mendis is a product of such standard. It is with the utmost pride that I personally present this exclusive evening of sampling that will set the benchmark in liquid luxury," stated Christopher Richardson, Founder and President of Mendis International, Inc..

About Mendis Coconut Brandy:
Mendis Coconut Brandy is a 100% all-natural clear Brandy distilled from coconut essence. It is matured for a minimum of two years in Halmilla wood casks. Mendis has a subtle taste of coconut with a velvety sweet texture and unmatched smoothness. The product can be experienced neat or on the rocks and offers limitless options for mixing as a clear spirit.

About the Mendis Million Dollar Bottle:
The Mendis Million Dollar bottle is the world's first ultra-premium Coconut Brandy bottle. This exclusive collector's bottle has been signed, dated and numbered by the Founder of the House of Mendis, who founded Mendis back in 1947.

For brand information visit: http://www.mendisbrandy.com

For press enquiries or media event access, please contact:
Cherise Brogdon
Director, Media Relations
cbrogdon@mendisbrandy.com

###

World Premier Tasting of Mendis Coconut Brandy

2008-07-29T00:03:00.000-05:00

MENDIS WORLD PREMIER TASTING @ 49 Grove

2008-07-25T08:31:00.006-05:00

MIX WITH MENDIS at the WORLD PREMIER tasting of Mendis Coconut Brandy at the 49 Grove club.

Mendis Million Dollar Bottle prototype will be on show, along with the opportunity for guests to sample Mendis exquisite ultra-luxury clear Coconut Brandy in the plush surroundings of the 49 Grove club.

This event is a closed VIP event by invitation only. If you are interested in attending please contact a site administrator with a request.

Event made possible by;

49 Grove
49 Grove Street
New York, NY 10014-3403

And

Mendis International, Inc.
MENDIS Coconut Brandy
MENDIS Million Dollar Bottle

For media relations or event details please call:
Cherise Brogdon, VP media relations,
Mendis International, Inc.
(P) 718 568 3694

Film crew:
Videographer: Billy D. Aldea-Martinez
Photographer: Lana Jane Beck

-This is a pre-launch tasting and photo shoot event, MENDIS offical launch is being held in Miami, FL-

MIX WITH MENDIS- Gansevoort Hotel event

2008-07-24T14:09:00.004-05:00

Mendis in A4 Magazine (Poland)

2008-07-19T10:05:00.003-05:00

Editorial on Mendis- Thing to have.

Mix with Mendis Million Dollar Bottle

2008-07-18T11:41:00.005-05:00

As usual things have been very busy and interesting the past few weeks. This past Wednesday we held an event called MIX WITH MENDIS where people could get to see Mendis Coconut Brandy bottle in person. The event was held at the luxury Gansevoort Hotel in Manhattan, photography was snapped by Lana Jane Beck, with the event made possible by Billy D. Aldea-Martinez and Billy Yip- so a big thanks to you all. Lana should have pictures ready in the next few days for you all to see the glamour that took place.

We are going to try to host a few more MIX WITH MENDIS events where people can be some of the first to see the Mendis Coconut brandy bottle- Mendis Million Dollar Bottle. We are still rolling things out with Slip N Slide, just shoring up the legal contract work on that side of things. In relation to our license, it will be completed in the coming weeks, once finalized we will be able to move forward with all that you have been reading about over the past few months.

Pictures from the MIX WITH MENDIS events will be posted on this blog, though we have a formal invite page, if you sign into facebook you will get to see the MIX WITH MENDIS events that have happened and are coming up. So be sure to join the group to keep up on the latest events and news. We have more things in the pipe line, though I will only release details of them as they come to fruition.

Chris S. Richardson
President
Mendis International

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

2008-06-28T13:41:00.003-05:00

I had to post a special post today for Cherise Brogdon our Media Relations Director (up for VP role on July 15th) as it's her birthday.

The Team at Mendis wish you a Happy Birthday for today. We hope you have a great day enjoying the coming of a new year of age.

Warmest regards,
Chris and the Team at Mendis.

Music and Mendis

2008-06-27T22:47:00.009-05:00

Brandy/Cognac brands have been associated with Hip Hop music for some time, need I mention the famous Cognac brand that was mentioned in “pass the ………”. The association of brandy with Hip Hop has produced strong brand recognition and in turn substantial sales growth for those brands that use the music industry as a marketing tool.

When launching a brand, marketing is pertinent to any brands success, without marketing just having the best product on store shelves in it self is not enough to sell it. Therefore, we will commit heavily to marketing the Mendis brand through the most powerful marketing medium available for the alcohol industry to push Mendis- the music industry. As such Mendis has been in talks with a couple of record labels for potential product placement deals, those being, SongBMG and Slip N Slide records. To date Slip N Slide look the more promising of the two, that we will move forward with- primarially due to the fact that we feel their artists best fit our brand and target audience.

Chris S. Richardson
President
Mendis International

Liquid Luxury

2008-06-06T19:13:00.002-05:00

Once again we find ourselves rounding out another week and looking another weekend squarely in the face. These weeks just seem to be going faster and faster the further we get into this year. Anyhow, if you haven’t noticed yet the new intro to our main website was uploaded the other week. The concept is called “Liquid Luxury” and is part of our “Experience the Ultimate in Liquid Luxury” marketing campaign to provide a more visual image of the brands refinement. We are still to overlay the music composition made for this piece, but will have it up in the next week if all things go to plan.

Over the past week, Jonathan Rosenfeld, of Slip N Slide records and I have been throwing ideas around about product placement of Mendis (in particular- Mendis Million Dollar Bottle) in a Trina or Rick Ross video. As we come near to launching I want the Mendis brand to get a big shot in the arm marketing wise, via a mass medium and I think a Hip Hop music video is a great way to go about it. At this point in time we are looking at Trina’s new video to be shot soon for her “Hot Commodity” song featuring Rick Ross.

On top of marketing I am busy arranging representatives for our launch states to educate our distributors sale force on Mendis as a unique product, this is part and parcel of the importer/distributor business relationship. Mendis rep’s will educate our distributors sales representatives on Mendis and how to sell it as a unique product.

As I stated two weeks ago, in my last post, I am still waiting on a response for our license. According to Ronald Gregg (Mendis general council) I have been informed we should hear back next week or the week after, this has been one long wait, so once it is done I will be glad to have it out of the way cause it has been a thorn in my side. Looking forward to next week I hope to have some good news on that front.

Chris S. Richardson
President
Mendis International

Let's get the ball rolling

2008-05-23T09:28:00.003-05:00

Well we find ourselves at the end of another week once again and I for one am looking forward to the long weekend and some nice warm weather, which will be a welcome change from the rain we have been experiencing lately in New York. Though rain or shine work still goes on and that has been the case at Mendis. We are still waiting on our license, which I was informed by Ronald Gregg (our general council) that we will hear back within 2-3 weeks, that was the beginning of this week, so I guess we are still playing a waiting game in relation to that matter. This is just a standard time frame and process for such licenses.

This week also had an interesting twist to it mid-week for me. As some of you know I sometimes drive the Mendis van, well this week I decide to bring it into Manhattan with me and park it on the street for a couple of nights, which turned out to be a bad idea. I woke up yesterday morning to a pleasant surprise down one side of the van, as someone had decided to take it upon themselves to tag it with some pathetic unreadable wording- I blame it on the school system for their lack of creativity. The good news is it is going to get completely re-sprayed next week anyway so I took the whole incident with a pinch of salt.

I’m not sure if any of you noticed the picture that accompanied last weeks blog, though it is actually part of a new image for Mendis being developed, called “Liquid Luxury”, that is going to be rolled out in the next few weeks. I thought I would start sharing snippets of the concept as it is in development. The marketing is about reinforcing the luxurious and unique aspects of Mendis by creating a certain setting that is fitting for the Mendis brand and within that environment portraying a unique element, be it by setting or imagery. If you have any feedback on it I would love to hear it.

I have to give credit to Carolyn L Zannoni for her photography work on the Liquid Luxury campaign, plus she has given great oversight on the development of the project. Carolyn was originally brought on to overhaul our corporate image at the executive level, though she has evolved in the role and taken on additional work with us. We have been extremely pleased with her work and dedication to the Mendis brand and what it stands for- Thanks Carolyn.

Success in building a company does not come about by oneself, but by the holistic knowledge and backing of numerous individuals, for which I have a deep reach of people dear to me that have supported me in bearing Mendis to market. I am indebted to many people for their support, and words in this case simple do not pay due credit to those that have believed in me and the Mendis brand, but I sincerely THANK YOU ALL. Now let’s get this ball rolling.

Oh, to our fashion girl Shana- HAPPY 23rd Birthday for Sunday or should I say Saturday night.

Chris S. Richardson
President
Mendis International

If you want something done right, do it yourself

2008-05-16T10:03:00.005-05:00

Last night I was thinking nothing major had happened this week to write about, however, after a good night’s rest I realized that in actual fact a lot had happened and I had just been too busy to take a step back to decipher the main highlights to talk about. Before I start, just to bring you up to speed on where we currently stand, we are still waiting on our license, that our general council and company secretary (Ronald Gregg) has been handling, I have been informed it will be any week soon.

So what events happened this week that warrant talking about? Well, beginning of the week I got a call from an old contact Jonathan Rosenfeld of Slip N Slide records in Miami. We have done previous work with Jonathan on the marketing side of the business and he dropped me a line to discuss product placement (for Mendis) with one of their artists (Rick Ross or Trina). Working with Jonathan in the past has bought about great results from a marketing standpoint and I am very open to discussing product placement of Mendis in a music video or sung about by an industry leading artist. Our media relations director (Cherise Brogdon) and I will sit down with Jonathan in the near future to see what we can work out.

In addition to this marketing campaign with Slip N Slide records, that we are considering, we have been talking to T. Lang of T. Lang Dance- A Dance Company based in New York this week. T. Lang is in our eyes and many others in the dance industry a fast emerging talented choreographer with impeccable credentials and resume of work that is fast emerging from the underground world of Dance.

We are looking at commissioning (later in the year) T. Lang and her Dance company to compile a very unique piece of dance and music based around the Mendis bottle. As an alcohol company we believe it is important in supporting our community and talented individuals in achieving their full potential, T. Lang is one of those artists we have considered at Mendis to be supported and enabling her to reach her full potential as an artist.

All this work is part of developing a forceful marketing campaign to support Mendis release. Before we commit to any marketing campaign we critique the merits of the medium we are using and if it fits into the image of Mendis as a luxury brand. All too often with the release of new alcohol (from small start ups) they just throw the product into stores and have no idea of how to market it. I think without a doubt, we can confidently say, based on our budget and company size we have done a good job at marketing mendis pre-launch.

The difference with Mendis (besides the taste) is that; most of the concepts of Mendis and the development of it come from me, which I then let others at Mendis review and consider for brand fit. Unlike most, if not all, other alcohol companies that just out source their press work to a third party that knows nothing about the brand or really care about the brand integrity. I always want to have a say over the brand development as being the founder of the image, I don’t see anyone else ever really understanding it as well as I do. As the old saying goes “If you want something done right, do it yourself”, and I have all too often experienced this as I’m sure you all have.

As life goes- time will be the bearer of news, accordingly next week will bring more updates for you on Mendis. In the mean time, I will surely be busy plotting and planning the next moves for Mendis, like a game of chess.

Chris S. Richardson
President
Mendis International