Case Study: Trump Vodka

It should go without saying that a company's owner or spokesperson should be an advocate and/or consumer of the product being produced by the company in question, this in many ways could be considered one of the basic blocks that build the foundation of a successful company, and is believed to be the underlying issue behind the eventual downfall of Trump Vodka.


Trump Vodka was a licensed brand created in 2005 by Drinks Americas in partnership with the Trump Organization which led by now US president and real estate mogul Donald J Trump. Donald Trump served as this new venture's de facto spokesman. The vodka was initially produced in the Netherlands and later Germany with Donald Trump speculating that it might overtake Grey Goose Vodka in a short period of time with "Trump & Tonic" (Trump Vodka mixed with tonic) becoming the most popular cocktail in the United States, however, this speculation was far from what actually occurred.


It should be noted that despite President Trump's various alleged vices, he's a teetotaller and has never touched a drop of alcohol since the death of his elder brother Fred Trump who reportedly died at age 43 due to alcohol-related health complications, and the alleged rampant alcoholism prevalent in his mother's side of the family.


Despite their solid marketing plan and catchy slogan of "success distilled", and several large-scale orders being placed in Russia and Israel, the lack of alcohol in Donald Trump's diet soon became a determent to this vodka venture. Additionally the expensive price-tag associated with the manufacturing of the vodka bottles reduced their ability to produce large quantities of Trump Vodka.


It should also be noted that several lawsuits pertaining to quality control and the timely delivery of orders also put a huge strain on the operations of this company, not to mention Donald Trump loosing interest in this venture. Due to falling sales numbers and a lack of cash inflow, Trump Vodka officially ceased all operations in the United States by 2011.


Despite Trump Vodka being a now-defunct company, Trump Vodka products are still being sold in an unofficially capacity by H. Pixel International in Israel based on a signed deal with Drinks Americas.