Grey Goose. Price is the taste.
Grey Goose costs twice as much as most vodkas, and in blind tests people pick the cheaper bottle. Yet it is one of the best-selling spirits in the world, because the price you pay changes what it tastes like.
THE GIST ON GREY GOOSE: "Story Over Substance"
Who built Grey Goose?
The same man who took Jagermeister from a boring OAP aperitif to the number one party drink in America, just by changing the story around it. Grey Goose was the same trick, but much bigger.
It launched at 30 dollars, twice the price of the most expensive vodka available, and everything was then built to service that price.
What did they actually do?
They made it French, because France means luxury. They put it in wooden crates so bartenders would handle it differently. An obscure institute they had created called it the best vodka in the world, and they put that in an ad in the Wall Street Journal. Then came the Sex and the City product placements.
Every decision was about perception, not the product.
Does price really change taste?
It does, and studies prove it. The same vodka in a cheaper bottle tastes worse. Grey Goose sold a more expensive experience, not a better vodka.
They learned from the best. De Beers created A Diamond Is Forever in 1947, and now every engagement ring has a diamond in it. Create the desire, then sell the thing that satisfies it. Quality is whatever the story says it is.
Do pricier spirits taste better to you?
Your take. One tap, then see how everyone else voted.
Quick answers
Why is Grey Goose so expensive?
It launched at 30 dollars, twice the price of the dearest vodka, and everything was built around servicing that price.
What did Grey Goose do to build its image?
It was made French, shipped in wooden crates, praised by an institute it created, advertised in the Wall Street Journal and placed in Sex and the City.
Does price change taste?
Huw says studies prove the same vodka in a cheaper bottle tastes worse.
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