NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Finnish Long Drink – the incredibly refreshing citrus soda with real liquor, built on the heritage of the legendary Finnish alcohol category of long drinks – is thrilled to announce the appointment of beverage industry veteran Rudy Costello as its new President and Chief Sales Officer. Looking towards the brand’s next chapter as it continues to expand to new markets across the U.S., Rudy joins The Finnish Long Drink to lead sales and commercial strategy and to support the achievement of revenue targets.
Rudy brings more than 25 years of experience in the distilled spirits and beverage industry to this role, having managed and built businesses, established new markets, and advised on marketing and sales strategies for a number of leading brands. Previously, Rudy held senior roles at Beam Suntory across finance and sales, and was President and CEO of Stoli Group, where he overhauled the brand’s distribution strategy and helped launch Nick Jonas and John Varvatos’ Villa One Tequila.
The Finnish Long Drink has also named Danny Mandelbaum as Vice President of Marketing. Danny brings two decades of transformative brand marketing for world’s leading beverages to the company to lead marketing efforts, brand vision, communications and digital strategy.
The brand has also announced that Gordon Macpherson, Andy Hyman, Blake Krynicky and Chris Heslep will join its sales leadership team as Regional Sales VPs to help lead the brand across the West, Central, MidWest and East regions of the country.
“We believe The Finnish Long Drink can be a mainstream product in the U.S., like long drinks are in Finland, as people here absolutely love it, with our fans being our biggest advocates,” says Evan Burns, CEO and Co-Founder of The Finnish Long Drink. “To honor our fans and support the movement, we’ve built one of the best teams in the space to make sure we truly achieve the brand’s potential.”
The long drink was born from a desire to create a revolutionary liquor drink that was refreshing, delicious, and fast to serve during the 1952 Summer Olympic Games in Helsinki. Since then, it has become Finland’s top selling alcohol category. Now The Finnish Long Drink is on a mission to bring the national drink of Finland to America; for its citizens far and wide to experience the refreshing, unique, and legendary Finnish Long Drink.
With four refreshing expressions, The Finnish Long Drink is rapidly expanding and is currently distributed in 21 U.S. markets, including California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Texas, Nebraska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, Ohio, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. It is easily available via Drizly and at thelongdrink.com. Further distribution markets are to be announced later this year. For more information, please visit thelongdrink.com and follow on Instagram @longdrink.
About The Finnish Long Drink
The Finnish Long Drink is a top selling category of alcohol in Finland – a legend that is now available in America. The roots of long drinks go back to the 1952 Summer Games in Helsinki, when the country of only 4 million people was still recovering from World War II. Concerned about how to serve drinks quickly enough to all the visitors, the government commissioned the creation of a revolutionary new liquor drink that was both delicious and fast to serve – and so the first long drinks were born. Now this legend has finally been brought to America by the next generation of Finns who want the world to experience the refreshing and unique Finnish Long Drink. The Long Drink garnered a Gold Medal (94 Rating) at the prestigious New York International Spirits Competition (NYISC). Expressions include:
– Traditional (5.5% ABV) – effortlessly smooth, the traditional flavor is the perfect introduction to the legendary, traditional Finnish long drink.
– Zero (5% ABV) – all the great taste of the traditional long drink with zero carbs or sugar
– Cranberry (5.5% ABV) – just for fun, switch the classic citrus flavor for cranberry
– Strong (8.5% ABV) – for those looking for an extra kick
For More Information:
https://thelongdrink.com/