Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/113109
Head and Heart by Rachel Burkons / photos by Anne Watson ICONIC BRANDS INC. OFFERS A PORTFOLIO WITH A UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE TO GET A-HEAD Above: The Iconic Brands team puts their heads together. Left to right: Rachel Harris, COO; Kim Brandi, CEO; Adam Carreon, VP Sales; Steve Asis, Regional Sales Manager. W hen Kim Brandi created KAH Tequila, the result was a fusion of culture-driven craftsmanship and classic quality. A Latina with strong personal and cultural connections to the Day of the Dead, Brandi and her partners came up with a unique calavera (the famed painted skulls associated with the holiday) bottle for the brand, which launched onto the national stage with great success. Three years after KAH���s launch, Brandi is at it again, working with co-founders Rachel Harris and Thomas Parker and a new team on creating a dynamic portfolio of spirits under the Iconic Brands Inc. umbrella, and, once again, Brandi���s brought her A-game to the portfolio���s branding and packaging. ���I���m an artist, so the visual impact of these brands is certainly important,��� explains Brandi. But with one look at the Iconic lineup, ���visual impact��� seems an insuficient term to describe these eye-catching bottles. From Deadhead Rum, which features shrunkenheads-as-bottles, complete with eyes and mouth sewn shut, to Apocalypto Tequila, a half-man, half-jaguar bottle that channels the spirit of Mexico, to Flashbang Tequila, which comes in a 50 ml. replica of the U.S. Army���s M84 distractional device, these packages are downright explosive. ���We���re a highly creative company,��� says Brandi. ���We produce premium spirits and have a lot of fun doing it.��� But with brands like Deadhead leading the charge, Iconic doesn���t just think outside the box���they mystically blast it away. Inspired by bloodrevenge rituals practiced by the Peruvian Jivaro tribe, Deadhead���s unique packaging plays homage to the warrior spirit. ���The Jivaroan people were the only natives to survive the Conquistadors,��� says Brandi. ���As an entrepreneur, I take that strength and spirit as a woman in a predominantly male industry. As a brand, we���re taking that spirit to rethink the rum category. Rum is already a rogue category and Deadhead captures this spirit. Rum is the heart and soul of the mega revival of classic tiki cocktails that is driving growth in the on-premise. Deadhead is positioned to be a great contender. As for the off-premise, there���s one me-to brand after another. We are deinitely not that,��� says Brandi with a laugh.