IngridLaVon, a 25-year company govt based mostly in Chicago, IL, was on the hunt for clear tequila so as to add to her weight-reduction plan ─ and one which she really enjoys. Not discovering tequila favorable in her 20’s, she tried just a few completely different manufacturers however discovered all of them very costly.
On account of these frustrations, about seven years in the past, Ingrid determined to make her personal tequila.
Formally launching in February 2025, Geneba Tequila is without doubt one of the few tequilas created by an African American lady and distilled with girls in thoughts. By means of the model’s GenebaCares Basis, Geneba Tequila helps girls’s empowerment and private {and professional} improvement, accessible through a QR code on each bottle.
“Geneba Tequila is called after my late mom Geneva,” says Ingrid. “It took us about two and a half years to carry it to market, and I at all times knew the identify I wished throughout that time-frame. I used to be creating this tequila for me and for girls like me.”
Handcrafted within the coronary heart of Jalisco-Degollado, Mexico, Geneba Tequila is made utilizing 100% Blue Weber agave, slow-cooked in conventional ovens and double distilled in small batches to make sure clear, purity and taste integrity. Developed with notes of vanilla, gentle pepper and pink apple, this spirit is right for sipping neat or mixing into cocktails.
Geneba Tequila Climbs the Ranks
Since launching earlier this yr, Geneba Tequila has gained fast momentum, promoting greater than 150 bottles throughout the first 48 hours, incomes recognition as a “10 Black-Owned Model to Watch” by The Spirits Enterprise and serving because the tequila of alternative for the 2025 Academy Awards at this yr’s signature gifting lounge.
With Ingrid’s company background, her and her husband had the information and expertise to have the ability to absolutely fund this enterprise and produce Geneba Tequila to life.
“I did quite a lot of studying and requested a ton of questions, speaking to of us each throughout the distribution world and hospitality trade, to really get an understanding of every part I wanted to know,” Ingrid explains. “So, whereas there have been errors made alongside the best way, I leaned into the a part of me that I used to be very assured and comfy in, which helped offset me not figuring out the trade.”
On account of Ingrid’s arduous work, Geneba Tequila is making a fast rise to fame, having only recently partnered with Illinois retailer, Binny’s Beverage Depot. Now, the tequila is on the market at 15 areas throughout choose Binny’s Depot shops statewide. The spirit can also be accessible for buy in 39 states on their web site.
“This can be a defining second for Geneba,” Ingrid says. “Our mission has at all times been to carry girls collectively via distinctive tequila that empowers us to collect and develop whereas creating the lives we deserve. Being on cabinets at Binny’s permits us to attach with much more of our neighborhood throughout Illinois.”
Standing Out on the Shelf
Whereas tequila is a excessive performing class in beverage alcohol, it’s additionally an especially saturated class. And once you’re competing in opposition to so many different manufacturers with restricted shelf area, you want to have a strong advertising technique.
For Ingrid, meaning promoting one thing you 100% consider in and stand behind.
“I’m not a giant proponent of promoting one thing that I don’t consider in. I wanted my model to be empowering, and with my background in company and being mentored by different girls, I wished our model to have the ability to try this, as effectively,” she explains. “Every part in regards to the spirit was created with girls in thoughts, from the packaging and labeling to the bottle itself.”
Geneba Tequila can also be one of many few manufacturers in the marketplace to be accredited by the Tequila Regulatory Council (CRT), which permits Geneba to incorporate a QR code on their label so prospects can entry the model’s tequila ecosystem.
“This permits shoppers to have the ability to look into and take a few of our lessons,” Ingrid says. “We did our first-class in April known as Desires to {Dollars} that mentioned my journey together with seven methodical steps so shoppers can learn to take one thing that they’ve at all times had of their coronary heart and manifest it into income.”
Geneba Tequila’s Future Development
Although the partnership with Binny’s Beverage Depot simply started, Ingrid says she has future growth plans for her tequila model.
“We shall be introducing Geneba Tequila to Connecticut in Could, each in shops in addition to on-line,” she says. “We’re tremendous enthusiastic about increasing our footprint into retail shops in Connecticut, however the purpose is to at all times dominate the place you reside. We’ve got our flag planted in Illinois, so we’re going to achieve success in our yard first.”
