Brisbane-based craft spirits startup Lula Rum is launching into the China market in a major step towards global expansion by founder Jesse Stowers.
Lula has secured a coveted spot at the China International Import Expo in Shanghai for the launch of its flagship Lula Rum product and Lula Coco, a tropical inspired rum released this year featuring notes of coconut and cacao.
“For a small, independent brand like ours, this is a massive moment,” says Stowers.
“We’ve always focused on making a quality product that stands on its own two feet - no fancy stories, just a yummy rummy, sharable deliciousness.
“To get this kind of recognition and have the chance to introduce Lula to Chinese consumers is a huge validation of our hard work and the Aussie craft spirit.”
The China International Import Expo, now in its eighth year, will feature more than 4,100 exhibitors from 138 countries and regions to showcase their products.
Stowers says the push into China comes on the heels of growth for the brand in Australia and New Zealand, and support from federal funding via the Export Market Development Grants program.
Prior to launching Lula in 2021, Stowers forged a career in the beverage sector, working in marketing and business development roles for liquor distributors as well as time mixing cocktails behind a bar.
While he appreciates the gin category, Stowers says he chose the white rum sector for his entrepreneurial journey because he sees the product as “synonymous with Australia” and not least because there are just four major players in the market led by Bacardi.
The Jamaican-style white rum was awarded a silver medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in 2022, shortly after Stowers launched to the market and since then the rum has won multiple awards including a bronze medal in the New Zealand Spirits Awards.
Stowers, who launched Lula in New Zealand this year, has grown the company’s distribution base through direct connections and promotions with restaurants and cocktail bars in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific.
The company is also stocked by major liquor retailers such as Dan Murphy’s and BWS while also growing its online direct to consumer distribution business.
“Lula was born from a belief that rum should be about fun and flavour, not just history and tradition,” says Stowers.
“Characteristically and traditionally, the consumer’s perception of rum has been a product or category directly marketed towards ‘pirates and punching on' or ‘masculinity and motorsports'.
“Lula was born out of the desire to break the mould and capitalise on this market gap.”
Stowers says his time in the industry provided insight into key marketing fundamentals for the venture.
“You drink with your eyes before you drink with your mouth and people do not shop for what you offer- but how they make you feel,” he says.
“Understanding these principles, Lula was launched as a means to diversify the rum market by creating a brand that has greater appeal than the traditional consumer base through putting a 'new coat of paint', dialogue and aesthetic.”
Prior to launching Lula Rum, Stowers was a hospitality consultant for Liquid Specialty Beverages, helping licensed venues to develop “more successful, relevant and efficient” beverage strategies.
Born in New Zealand, Stowers spent time growing up in Mackay where his father had a range of bottle shops. Surrounded by sugar cane farms in the tropical north, it was the perfect storm to inspire his rum-distilling future.
Lula is produced from local sugarcane and mellowed for two years in former bourbon barrels, with the product’s unique coconut charcoal filtration delivering what Stowers describes as “an unbelievably smooth sip that has set it apart in a crowded market”.
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