Pernod fights back with Havanista

Pernod Ricard has registered the trademark Havanista in the US with a view to launching the brand there if the country lifts its embargo on Cuban imports.

Produced and bottled in Cuba, Havanista is being positioned as “a premium Cuban rum aimed specifically at the US market.”

The move follows yesterday’s decision by the US Supreme Court not to intervene in the long running dispute between Pernod Ricard and Bacardi over the Havana Club trademark.

While Pernod Ricard has the distribution rights to Cuban rum Havana Club outside the US, Bacardi USA sells a product under the same name, which is not produced in Cuba, within the US market.

Last year the US appeals court backed an earlier ruling that Cubaexport, the Cuban state-owned company which produces Havana Club, should not be allowed to renew its Havana Club trademark in the US.

With many expecting the 50-year-old trade embargo between Cuba and the US to be lifted soon, Jérôme Cottin-Bizonne, CEO of Havana Club International, the joint-venture between Pernod Ricard and Corporación Cuba Ron, introduced the Havanista brand with a view to bringing “the unique quality and taste of Cuban rum to US consumers”.

Suggesting a strong similarity between the two brands, he added: “If you like Havana Club – you will love Havanista!”

Despite being embargoed from the world’s largest premium rum market, Pernod Ricard expects to sell four million cases of Havana Club this year across more than 120 markets. To see how the brand has strengthened its position over the past 12 months, look out for the annual Power Brands report in May’s issue of the drinks business.