130: How Arette Built a 100K-Case Tequila Brand From the Bar Out With Eduardo Orendain

<p>How do you build a 100,000-case tequila brand without a big marketing budget — or, until recently, even a U.S. sales team?</p><p>Arette Tequila did it largely from the bar out.</p><p>The family-owned brand shipped more than 100,000 nine-liter cases in 2025, growing about 20% last year, with another 20% growth projected this year. More than 80% of its U.S. sales are still in bars and restaurants — the result of a strategy built around bartenders, independent distributors, and years of relentless market work.</p><p>In this episode, we talk with Arette CEO Eduardo Orendain about what that kind of brand building actually looks like.</p><p>For much of the past decade, Eduardo was essentially working the U.S. market himself, at times traveling 36 weeks a year. He joined distributor ride-alongs, went account to account, and stayed at bars through the end of the shift — listening to what bartenders and customers were actually saying.</p><p>The goal was to make Arette a tequila bartenders would recommend when nobody from the company was in the room and no incentive was attached.</p><p>That approach also shaped Arette’s distributor strategy. Rather than moving toward the biggest national houses, the company has largely grown alongside smaller independent distributors — and has stayed with essentially the same network for more than a decade.</p><p>We also get into:</p><ul><li><p>How Arette narrowed its business from bulk tequila, private label, and multiple brands to focus on one</p></li><li><p>Why Eduardo believes “awareness creates trial, but quality creates loyalty”</p></li><li><p>Why data is a rearview mirror — and working the market can reveal what’s coming next</p></li><li><p>How bartender demand turned Arette Fuerte from a distillery pour into a commercial product</p></li><li><p>Why smaller brands can sometimes win more distributor mindshare by choosing smaller partners</p></li><li><p>Arette’s next phase: building its first U.S. team and expanding beyond its on-premise stronghold</p></li></ul><p>This episode is a practical look at how patient, focused, trade-led brand building can compound into meaningful scale.</p><p><strong>For the latest updates, follow us:</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.businessofdrinks.com/"><u>Business of Drinks website (sign up for our newsletter!)</u></a></p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@Businessofdrinkspodcast"><u>Business of Drinks YouTube</u></a></p><p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/business-of-drinks/"><u>