We were lucky to catch up with Shiva Abadi Mortazavi recently and have shared our conversation below.

Shiva, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

We are breaking industry conventions right now with our new product! We have innovation in the Ready To Drink (RTD) category beyond flavor and alcohol style – and while our unique recipe is delivering all the positives that consumers are embracing and asking for – it’s the retailers that are trying to keep up with so much change and new entrants in to the RTD segment.

We have taken the best attributes associated with 3 growing categories: Hard Seltzers, Spirit Based Cocktails and Canned Wine, and engineered out the negatives associated with each category. Unique to Melograno, we start with a 100% organic blue agave wine base which allows us to leverage the desirable attributes of spirit based cocktails: Gluten Free, Complex flavor profile, super premium image and the sessionable ABV, low calorie, low sugar and easy to drink, approachable nature of the hard seltzer category. All of this wrapped up in stunning package design! We are definitely re-writing the rules of this category and winning awards as we do it!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

In the simplest terms, we created Melograno Premium Craft Cocktails because we didn’t see any brand, offering or option that was reflective of ours.

A brand is like a “badge” and outward symbol that says something about you, sends a message that you want to be associated with it, that it aligns with your values, or provides a unique functional benefit that complements your lifestyle, aesthetic, beliefs or passions.

There was nothing in the Ready to Drink category that was sophisticated, made with organic ingredients, gluten free and certified vegan – AND tasted good, AND was sophisticated and aesthetically pleasing.

Seeing a gap in the market, we developed Melograno using our own wellness philosophy and culture, we took a creator’s approach rather than a manufacturers “copy and paste” and a design-first aesthetic for the stunning packaging that doubles as an artistic statement. The result is a luxury beverage brand designed to turn heads. Melograno delivers all the refreshment consumers love, with unique and exotic flavors from around the globe. We say #Intentionallydifferent, because we mean it, and Melograno Premium Craft Cocktails is the result!

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

We are very proud of the number of followers on our IG account! These are organic followers gained by a lot of face to face interaction at our events, tastings and sponsorships. I may have personally talked to over 60% of them. Being the co-founder of the brand and interacting with people as we share the story of the brand is really meaningful and people want to continue to see more about the brand and watch us grow, so they are invested in our success and become fans as well as followers.

For those starting out, I’d advise to focus on one channel, master the cadence, the style. Build upon what works, before you introduce another platform. A big mistake is thinking the same content will work across different social platforms. Really tailoring the message, content and the relevant moments when you know we will get the most engagements and follows – these are when the brand personality can really connect and you will get rewarded for that. We have also worked with some micro-influencers, which can be hit or miss, but we learn something each time and get better for it.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Absolutely – my top 3 have to be… 5 Levels of Leadership, Emotional Intelligence 2.0 and Speak.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://melogranococktails.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melogranococktails/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/melograno-cocktails/

Image Credits
Tim King Paige Arial Dough Agency