Spirit And Beverage Experts Join Forces to Form the Liquid Connection (TLC)

NEW COMPANY SERVES SALES AND MARKETING NEEDS FOR BEVERAGE BRANDS



Tempe, AZ, August 12, 2009---Spirit and beverage brands have a new ally as they seek to enter and establish themselves in the marketplace with The Liquid Connection (TLC), a new sales and marketing company formed by industry veterans, Timothy Rose and Dave Andrea.

TLC introduces new beverage brands to the market and specializes in on-premise promotions and film/entertainment product placement. Rose and Andrea each boast long histories in the spirit and beverage industries with flagship brands.

Rose, who hails from Ohio, began his career in the spirits industry. Following his passion, he moved to Arizona working with Glazer’s, one of the nation’s largest distributors of wine, spirits and malt products. With more than 13 years at Glazer’s, Rose was a key account manager serving premium clients, including The Phoenician, The Princess, Marriott Hotels, and Hyatt Hotels and Resorts. From there, Rose joined Sidney Frank Importers, where he helped implement innovative programs for launching and marketing Grey Goose and Jagermeister, and introduced the Jagermeister on Tap machine. He went on to become National Sales Manager for Behn of North America, where he introduced Dooley’s Toffee Liqueur, Kleiner Feigling Vodka, and Guasti Clemente Italian wines.

“In my experience, developing key relationships with distributors is essential to the success of any spirit and beverage brand,” says Rose. “Today, the industry continues to experience significant consolidation, and distributor sales reps have become more sophisticated and effective as a result – all of which makes it highly important for a new brand to partner with distributors and stand out among the crowd.”

Andrea built his career owning and operating restaurants, bars and clubs. By the 1980’s Andrea was the operating partner for two large volume dance clubs in Phoenix and Scottsdale. From there, he went on to open over a dozen restaurants and clubs – from small quick serve restaurants and college bars to full-service restaurants. Andrea met Rose at Amnesia, a bar Andrea owned and managed in Phoenix where Rose was introducing Jagermeister.

Andrea says, “We believe great brands are built by word-of-mouth through their successful introduction at on-premise accounts, such as restaurants, bars, and nightclubs, which generates pull-through demand at the retail level. Additionally, we also generate excitement and awareness with our ability to place our client’s products in the hands of set designers and prop masters at all of the major network TV shows, feature films and movies.”

Headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, TLC’s clients include two new brands – El Grado Tequila and Verve, an energy drink. El Grado Tequila – a category-defining brand and one of the year’s most significant new tequilas – launches with its sponsorship of Dempsey Racing. TLC has created an on-premise program for the brand, the “Real Margarita” campaign, offering consumers a chance to win a real diamond while enjoying El Grado tequila. For more information on this brand and campaign, go to www.elgradospirits.com

Verve is a fast-acting energy drink that has attracted attention from the health/medical community. TLC has partnered with its brand owner, Vemma, a supplement company which has found a way to take an already successful daily supplement product and put it into an energy drink that tastes good. For more information on Verve, please visit www.vemma.com

In this challenging market, Andrea concludes, “The biggest challenge is the overwhelming amount of new products hitting the market. Tim and I can help our clients establish a brand that will stand out among the proliferation of products by creating unique promotional campaigns aimed at on-premise accounts and the consumer.”

About The Liquid Connection (TLC)
The Liquid Connection offers marketing and sales solutions for emerging beverage brands. The principals at TLC have more than 25 years experience in the successful development of distributor relationships and marketing, specializing in on-premise promotions and product placement. For more information on TLC, go to www.TheLiquidConnection.com.

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Company Contacts:
Dave Andrea
Dave@TheLiquidConnection.com
602-738-1274

Timothy Rose
Tim@TheLiquidConnection.com
440-823-6006

Media Contacts:
PMG; 323-337-9042; Henry Eshelman/Michele Angeloni
heshelman@platformgrp.com; mangeloni@platformgrp.com

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PMG

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