Sidney Frank — Jägermeister & Grey Goose
Does the name Sidney Frank ring a bell?
He’s the guy who made Jägermeister a huge worldwide brand, then pioneered the super premium vodka market by creating Grey Goose out of thin air and later sold it to Bacardi for $2.2 billion.
Rarely seen without a custom-made Davidoff cigar in his mouth, Sidney hired a financial advisor to teach him how to spend all that money.
Not something you hear every day, huh?
This is the story of alcohol baron and philanthropist, Sidney Frank…..
Although he died a billionaire – on his private jet, no less – Sidney Frank was born in 1919 to a poor Jewish family in Montville, Connecticut.
He went to college at Brown but had to drop out after the first year because he was too poor to afford tuition. At college was the first time he slept in real bedsheets, instead of sewn-together flour bags he had at home.
Sidney was socially outgoing and a good ‘hang’ so he made friends with kids of wealthy people and got inspired after visiting their homes.
That brush with privilege made a lasting impression on him.
In an interview after a ginormous donation to the Brown University, Sidney gave advice to young students:
“If you meet any important people, keep in touch with them … And marry a > rich girl. It’s easier to marry a million than to make a million.”
In unrelated news, in the late 1940s, he married Louise Rosentiel, daughter of Lewis Rosenstiel – the founder and owner of Schenley Industries, one of largest American distillers and spirit importers at the time.
(Although that wasn’t an easy feat, she rejected his proposal 5 times.)
Nice move señor Frank, following your own advice!
After marrying Louise, Sidney Frank obviously joined her father’s family business. As the son-in-law, he could’ve slacked off at work and enjoyed the weekends with his newly-wedded wife.
But if he did that, we wouldn’t be reading his story today, would we?
No, he took it seriously and one of his first assignments was to fix the money-losing scotch department in England.
He flew to London, whipped those Brittons into order, tripled the revenue and came back to New York a hero.
Continuing to climb through the ranks, Sidney became company president in 1960. As president, he was responsible for making Dewar’s Scotch Whiskey the best-selling liquor in the country.
But he was forced out of the company after a family dispute in 1970.
Starting from scratch again, he had 2 choices:
-- Curl up, cry like a baby and adopt a victim mentality.
-- Start a competitor company and show his in-laws how it’s done.
Being a chad he is, Sidney Frank obviously chose the latter.
Starting a spirits importing company with his brother in 1972, he immediately secured importing rights to Gekkeikan sake and started supplying sushi restaurants.
He almost tripled their imports after a year and then almost doubled them again after 2 years! It took them only 7 years to 10x the imports of Gekkeikan sake.
But that wasn’t enough for the company to thrive.
So Sidney would stroll around New York at night and pop into bars to see what people were drinking.
One night in 1974, he came across a group of blue-collar German immigrants drinking a sharp-tasting herb digestif called Jägermeister.
This odd-tasting liquor was no big seller but it seemed to have a steady fan base, who were consuming it for medicinal purposes rather than its strong buzz.
At the time, Jägermeister was selling only *checks notes* 600 cases in the ol’ US of A – that’s just 50 cases per month!
But Sidney saw the potential, flew to Germany to meet with Jäger’s executives and secured importing rights with the magic of his grit and charisma.
That must’ve been the moment his business skyrocketed hockey-stick style, right??
Sadly, no.
The business was doing so poorly that he had to sell his beachfront property in Antigua for $500,000 (now it’s worth billions) and his fine art collection – in order to pay his workers.
Here he was, a 65-year old with a struggling business, selling his possessions just to make payroll. Certainly didn’t seem like he’s gonna become a billionaire in the next 20 years, did it?
That’s where everything changed.
And like many great stories, this one took a turn thanks to a bunch of college kids.
But these were no ordinary college kids, no no – they were DRUNK college kids.
A full decade after the Sidney Frank Importing Company secured rights to Jägermeister, some kids at LSU decided this herb liquor was cool, possibly precisely because of its horrible, sharp taste.
Then some college students called Jäger “liquid Valium”, basically saying it was an aphrodisiac.
New Orleans bars were selling out of the drink as soon as it was arriving and Sidney Frank, being the business genius he is, jumped at the chance.
After immediately renting 8 Jägermeister billboards in the area, he also assembled a team of hot girls, dubbed Jägerettes, and sent them to New Orleans.
They weren’t only handing out photocopies of the aphrodisiac story but also went around bars dressed as sexy nurses and doctors, pouring shoots into drunk guys’ mouths.
Another genius creation of Sidney Frank was the cold-tap machine that kept the drink at the bar at freezing-cold temperatures, making it easier to swallow and the brand more unique.
Even though the experts still can’t explain Jäger’s success – other than Sidney Frank’s promotional genius – it became THE party drink and now sells more than 100 MILLION bottles annually!
Onward.
Now, a normal human would say “enough” and start spending more time on the beach (maybe drinking the very same Jägermeister).
But not Sidney Frank, he just tasted blood and liked the taste.
I reckon he was thinking:
“Man, all I am selling is other people’s liquor – f*ck that! About time I created my own!”
He landed on vodka. Why?
Because the most expensive vodka on the market was Absolut at $17 a bottle, and that was considered premium. Russian ones were even cheaper.
But Sidney Frank saw a gap in the market and an opportunity for super premium vodka that would cost almost double.
So he sent his trusted advisors to France to produce one, after he came up with a name: Grey Goose.
Why the hell France? Isn’t France known for wine, champagne and cognac?
Precisely! France has that fancy and premium feel to it AND it’s a brand distinction compared to Russia and Scandinavia.
He partnered with cellar master François Thibault in order to use his skills and experience from cognac distillation business and apply them to the vodka distillation business.
Why cognac?
Because cognac is known for its rigorous production standards, including specific distillation processes and aging in oak barrels, which contribute to its complexity and flavor.
That unrivaled quality was one of many key points the entire brand story hinged on.
Some of the others were:
-- Water from pristine French springs that’s filtered through Champagne limestone (I don’t even know what that means but I’m F*CKING IN!).
-- Sponsoring high-end charity events and sneaking bottles into limos outside the Academy rewards.
-- Smoked glass bottle designed by famous artists that looks premium and expensive.
-- Making sure to put large 1.75L bottles behind bars, looking all pretty up there.
-- Bottles were shipped in wood crates, just like fine wine.
And most important of all: The price.
Grey Goose was double the price of the next premium vodka (Absolut), which contributed to that prestigious brand feel even more.
Nail in the coffin for competitors?
Best-tasting vodka in the world award by the Beverage Testing Institute in 1998. There was no stopping them now.
Finally, 8 years after Sidney Frank got the idea and 7 years after creating the brand out of thin air, he sold Grey Goose to Bacardi for $2.2 BILLION!
Funnily enough, he came up with the name right around the time I was born – and wouldn’t you know it, Grey Goose is my favorite spirit!
There were many other endeavors Sidney was working on before and after, but none come close to the successes of Jägermeister and especially Grey Goose.
After selling to Bacardi, he gave back generously. Among all the philanthropic work he did, above all stands out his $100 million donation to Brown University, paying tuition for poor kids just like he once was.
He also gave outrageous bonuses to his employees, including a $23 million check to his secretary!!
The story of Sidney Frank wouldn’t be complete without mentioning him hiring a financial advisor to teach him how to spend money.
Of course he had a private jet, cooks, maids, gardeners, chauffeurs, the whole nine yards.
But the cherry on top was paying golf pros to play so he could watch them and give instructions on which clubs to use and how to hit the ball. They had $50k salaries and performance-based bonuses. AMAZING!
Why golf?
Because he loved to play and couldn’t do it anymore due to his age and health issues. In fact, he used to play with Donald Trump back in the day, way before he got into the White House.
In the end, he died from heart failure on his private plane with nurses and doctors trying to revive him.
A baller way to call it a life, innit?
Cheers,
Filip - A Sidney Frank admirer
P. S. Sidney Frank is buried in the Rosenstiel family plot in Cincinnati. And I can’t figure out why, because he had a falling out with his in-laws and was forced out of the company. Especially since he remarried after his first wife (from the Rosenstiel family) died.