We actually go back and forth, like, Should we tell our story on the cans, or should we just point people to TV? It’s like instead of having the little “Our Story” blurb on the side of a can, you have 15 episodes a year and people can watch it.Ĭooke: It’s so true. But the more we can show, the more loyalty we would actually foster, just because people would appreciate the hard work. So there’s only so much of our work lives that they show. We don’t show enough of it, and Bravo, they don’t want to turn it into a Loverboy commercial. Because why go support a celebrity if they’re not even running the brand?ĭo you think getting to showcase the behind-the-scenes of the brand - everything from the business successes to the knock-down, drag-out fights - creates a stronger connection with your consumer in a way traditional marketing can’t?Ĭooke: Absolutely. And as Kyle will tell you, I’m probably the hardest critic and give the most feedback.Ĭooke: I think when you’re actually building something instead of slapping your name on something, people are going to root for you. I don’t put anything out there unless I would drink it myself. I think it’s obvious that the overall theme of a lot of these businesses that do flop is that they’re products that already exist that these women and men are just slapping their own label on instead of completely embodying what the brand is, which is what we do with Loverboy. I mean, if Carl and I were left to our own devices, we would have made some bro-ey seltzer called, like, Send It, but it was looping in Amanda as a target consumer and saying, “What kind of brand would you like to see?”ĭo you watch other Bravo shows and take note of what kinds of products work with this audience and which ones fall flat?īatula: I’m a huge Bravo fan. But it also coincides with who’s buying these progressive adult beverages, right? I looked at all the consumer data, and women are pretty underrepresented and underserved in alcohol. When you decided to go into this business, were you gearing it toward Bravo’s built-in audience?Ĭooke: It’s less about Bravo’s built-in audience it’s really today’s consumer. The entrepreneurial trio talked to the Cut about reality-TV stigma, their booming merch line, and using their Bravo platform to create a business that can stand on its own. The couple was soon joined by Radke, who now holds the position of vice-president of sales he and Batula have both quit their day jobs to join Loverboy full time.Īvailable in nearly 15 states, on the shelves of retailers like Whole Foods and Target (and with a social following greater than its competitor Truly’s), the brand has transcended the Bravo fandom, meaning someone with a Hibiscus Pom Loverboy in their hand may not even be privy to the latest fight its founder got into with his Hamptons housemate. The past three seasons have documented Loverboy’s inception by Cooke and Batula, who, after noticing the free exposure they were giving other alcohol brands, set out to make a drink of their own that was tastier than a hard seltzer but healthier than a Twisted Tea. The sparkling hard tea comes from Summer House’s Kyle Cooke, Amanda Batula, and Carl Radke, who have been putting their drunken weekend antics in the Hamptons on display for five seasons now. Launching a brand has become such a common trope that the network has taken note and, after Frankel sold her company for a reported $100 million, now includes a “Bethenny clause” in contracts that cuts Bravo in on a brand’s success.Īlthough few of these products break through the Bravo bubble and into the mainstream the way Frankel’s Skinnygirl has, Loverboy is joining those exclusive ranks. Or, famously, SHE by Shereé, which viewers saw go from a “fashion show with no fashions” in season one of The Real Housewives of Atlanta to phantom “joggers” set to be released in “September, spring, summer” in season ten.Įven so, Bravo fans will flock to get their hands on the novelty of Karen Huger’s La’Dame perfume or a Brooks Marks tracksuit - wearing them the way an NFL fan wears a jersey. Not to mention the flops, like Teresa Giudice’s short-lived peach sparkling wine, Fabellini, cases of which are surely somewhere in a Paterson, New Jersey, warehouse, seeping into our water supply. Viewers have seen (and bought) it all, from Craig Conover’s pillows ( Southern Charm) to Hannah Ferrier’s insect-repellent fans ( Below Deck Mediterranean). Photo-Illustration: The Cut Photos: Getty Images Loverboyįrom Sonja Morgan’s toaster oven to Bethenny Frankel’s Skinnygirl, launching a brand has become a rite of passage for Bravolebrities.
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