The Brazilian launch of the French aperitif — in partnership with Pernod Ricard, executed by Single Brands. From the immersion in Podensac to national distribution, a ten-year brand construction.
In 2018, Lillet arrived in Brazil. Until then, no bottle had been imported, none had been sold — the French aperitif created in 1872 in Podensac, southern Bordeaux, had no presence in the Brazilian market. Pernod Ricard invited Incora to lead the full strategy, launch marketing and the design of national distribution for the brand in the country.
The scenario was simultaneously promising and demanding. The sophisticated consumer already mastered the repertoire of European aperitifs — Aperol, Campari, vermouths — and the French ritual of the apéritif was gaining ground as a social moment. But the category had a consolidated winner and a second place already taken. To build a third path — French, timeless, lighter, anchored in cocktail culture — required a full market education operation and a commercial strategy in waves, not a launch campaign.
The thesis was designed over ten years. Not a launch, but a slow brand construction, executed in interconnected phases — each educating the market for the next. Begin with origin (Podensac), prove the product through cocktail culture, conquer fashion and lifestyle, take on a cultural agenda (female empowerment, Carnival), and only then expand distribution. The brand would reach opinion-makers first, then their followers, and lastly the mass retail.
Lillet carried a rare narrative advantage: it was already part of global pop culture. In 1953, Ian Fleming invented the Vesper Martini in the first James Bond novel — Casino Royale — and the recipe calls for half a measure of Kina Lillet. This repertoire was treated as a brand asset from the first event — a cultural shortcut that required no explanation.
The operation was executed by Single Brands — the Incora group's company specialized in the beverage market. Under Lucas Albuquerque's strategic direction, Single Brands designed and led the ten-year plan to build the Lillet brand in Brazil — from the immersion in Podensac to national distribution, through cocktail culture, fashion, lifestyle, editorial media and cultural activations. Today, Lillet is available across the country's leading retail chains — Pão de Açúcar, Sam's Club, Assaí, Atacadão, Carrefour, Extra, Mateus and dozens of others — in all states.
