License Tequila – Can Margaritas Quench China’s Thirst For New Experiences?

When we started the venture, I would gleefully describe our project and our goals to any enquirer, and a fair few that didn’t even ask me in the first place. After
 a while though, I settled on something less time consuming: “Do you remember when Turtle from Entourage starts distributing that tequila brand? Yeah, it’s basically that”. The minor caveat being we aren’t growing the tequila brand in Hollywood with celebrity endorsements, but rather in a country that has only recently even legalized the sale of 100% agave tequila.

Standing in a Bund bar last September, surrounded by members of the Mexican Tequila Chamber and Consulate and a host of major brands, two friends and myself became business partners. Admittedly, this was perhaps lubricated by a few margaritas, but Cassia Imports was nevertheless born. Jacob, a native of Austin, Texas, had been eager to bring the highly awarded Dulce Vida Tequila, an Austin based brand, to Shanghai and beyond, and the door was finally open to do so. We were going it alone.

Our mission was to shape our company around Dulce Vida, and then apply our nous to a range of other exciting products. The main challenge for us was to find the right balance between ambition and pragmatism. After all, is China ready for tequila yet? What about craft beer? Port, perhaps? These questions form the basis of how we run things. Our attitude is:
it’s not about whether China is ready for certain products, but how and when could it be. This means a heavy emphasis is put on education – engaging with potential customers and illustrating the benefits and nuances of our selected drinks. There have been many skeptics along the way, but China is a place that routinely defies odds and doubters. It is infectious. Our faith that we will challenge the establishment in the drinks industry has never wavered.

The word ‘tequila’ often conjures images of a cheap spirit that relies on salt and lime just to make it bearable – at least until 
the next morning. But it is so much more than that, and launching the finer stuff in a country free from this frat party reputation actually makes a lot of sense. After all, take 
a look around you as you pass through Shanghai. Isn’t this a place bursting with new concepts and people trying new things? Isn’t this the very reason we all stuck around? One word comes up a lot when discussing our vision for tequila in China: Baijiu. Baijiu is China’s national spirit, and nothing is going to change that, but in truth baijiu has very little bearing on us.

Imported spirits do only account for about 2% of the alcoholic beverage market currently, but as Chinese disposable income continues to rise, more and more money 
is being spent by the younger generations in specialty bars, restaurants and clubs where baijiu is nowhere to be seen. This
 is a particular area where we see tequila gaining a foothold, especially one with the character and quality of Dulce Vida. Essentially, we have to pick our battles. Cocktails aren’t traditionally a part of Chinese drinking culture: most domestic spirits are drunk straight, as a palate cleanser or as a toast, and as such they dominate banquets and dinner parties. Whisky, however, has shown that some inroads can be made, and our aged Anejo tequila can be enjoyed in many of the same cocktails as a good whisky and even sipped straight with no mixers, so again we arrive out our old friend ‘education’.

China is evolving before our eyes, and so are people’s tastes and thirst for new experiences. Not so long ago, the notion that Shanghai would have a raft of microbreweries seemed laughable, but look at it now. If we’ve learned anything, it’s that the pace of change here should never be underestimated. Blink and you might miss it. We are determined not to.

Ben Joseph and Jacob Papermaster co- founded Cassia Imports with Sebastian Robinson. For more information, visit www.cassia-imports.com