As the official spirit of a grateful nation, Heroes Vodka is on a mission to provide exceptional taste and superior value to consumers, while honoring those who serve, protect, and perform outstanding work. We get the full story from Trisha Cancilla, Vice President of Marketing and Brand Strategy at R.S. Lipman Company.
A TIME FOR HEROES
Heroes Vodka was founded in 2009 by Travis McVey, a US Marine Corps Veteran who proudly served as a Presidential Honor Guard from 1989 to 1992.
As a fearless serviceman, as well as an innovative and determined entrepreneur, McVey endured the life-changing tragedy of losing a good friend in combat during the War on Terror in Afghanistan.
The harrowing experience paved the way for McVey to embrace the American dream of owning a business that would enable him to continue to serve his country from home.
McVey’s founding vision was to develop a brand that partners with well-known Veteran organizations to assist them in getting ex-soldiers the care they deserve. With Heroes Vodka, his dream has proudly become a reality.
Heroes Vodka was first bottled on November 11th 2011 on Veterans Day – 11.11.11 – a special date that occurs only once in a century and epitomizes the rarity of this event.
As the ‘Official Spirit of a Grateful Nation’, the company’s mission is to provide exceptional taste and superior value to consumers, while honoring heroes who serve, protect, and perform outstanding work in their communities.
The brand was created to give back to heroes who sacrifice their time – and often lives – for their country.
BUILDING THE BRAND
Today, Heroes Vodka is a part of the R.S. Lipman Company (R.S. Lipman), a Nashville-based international supplier of wines, spirits, beers, and mixers who, in 2009, began producing Lonely Cow Wines, thereby laying the groundwork for building a diverse alcoholic beverage portfolio.
As such, R.S. Lipman gives 10 percent of Heroes Vodka’s profit back to three carefully selected Veterans charities – Night Stalker Foundation, The Legion Fund, and Team Red, White & Blue.
“To date, we have given over a quarter of a million dollars, excluding the in-kind donations we make to various other organizations that support local heroes,” introduces Trisha Cancilla, Vice President of Marketing and Brand Strategy at R.S. Lipman.
Consumers can usually tell when a company takes shortcuts in favor of increasing its bottom line and decisions like this can kill the brand and cause detrimental effects.
Heroes Vodka understands that if you have a high-quality product and are persistent in sharing the story of the brand, it will resonate with the right consumers; it may take longer, but those are the companies with staying power.
“Quality, perseverance, and integrity are the winning combination to long-term success in this industry. While you can see fads come and go, the brands that stand the test of time are high-quality products with a reason for being,” she explains.
“Quality, perseverance, and integrity are the winning combination to long-term success in this industry. While you can see fads come and go, the brands that stand the test of time are high-quality products with a reason for being”
Trisha Cancilla, Vice President of Marketing and Brand Strategy, R.S. Lipman Company
NATIONAL HEROES’ DAY AND THE LEGACY PROJECT
National Heroes’ Day is celebrated each year on October 8th in the US and has been observed since 2020.
“This is an occasion that honors real-life heroes and recognizes that the title of ‘hero’ can be given to many other individuals outside of the armed forces,” Cancilla acclaims.
“A hero is also the teacher who stays after school to make sure the student understands the text. It includes the doctors who go above and beyond to ensure their patients get the best care possible, or the first responder that takes care of local emergencies.
“There are so many types of heroes, and we want to honor and recognize each of them.”
Cancilla has also been integral to envisioning The Legacy Project, an initiative by Heroes Vodka which honors a new hero each year alongside supporting a charitable initiative of their choosing.
The nominated hero also appears on the packaging on the back of each bottle of Heroes Vodka.
“I realized we could use the bottle itself to expand our giveback by changing the hero on the back label annually, allowing us to highlight real, individual heroes from across the country,” she excites.
A HEROIC FUTURE
Looking ahead, Heroes Vodka has numerous plans in place to develop its efforts to give back by expanding its fundraising events and range of merchandise.
“We are planning to launch the Heroes Hall of Fame to provide a platform that enables consumers to support charities serving heroes of all types.
“Over the next 12 months, we will additionally launch our first Legacy bottle, honoring a new hero while also unveiling a new additional charitable partner for the year. We are very excited to continue honoring our heroes of the armed forces and beyond,” Cancilla concludes.
With an innovative and ambitious pipeline of projects on the horizon, the company strives to be remembered as the great-tasting vodka that honors those who have dedicated their lives to helping others.
