Heading for Success with Arehucas Rum: OCTAVIO MARRERO
Talking about rum in the Canary Islands means talking about Arehucas, a brand with over a century of history that has become a valid symbol of the archipelago. Behind its position as the best-selling rum in the Canary Islands and its national and international expansion lies the strategic work and commercial vision of Octavio Marrero, Sales Director of Arehucas Distilleries. In this interview, Octavio shares his career in the industry, the sector’s challenges and opportunities, and how Arehucas is taking the Canarian flavor beyond our borders.
Let’s learn more about him in the following interview:
TRL: What was the biggest challenge you faced in launching your rum brand, and how did you overcome it?
The biggest challenge has been to position Arehucas as a benchmark rum in the Canary Islands and as a quality rum in Spain and internationally.
TRL: How do you see the rum market developing in the next 5-10 years, and what trends do you think will shape the future of the industry?
The rum market is an expanding market, becoming increasingly premium, and above all, it will be a category of significant innovation in the coming years.
TRL: Can you share a personal experience or moment that significantly influenced your brand’s direction?
Arehucas is a brand from the Canary Islands’ DNA, and we must always be very cautious with changes. As a personal experience, advancing innovation in recent years has allowed us to increase the perception of the product quality for consumers and, all this can be translated, for example, into bringing customers to the harvest so they can experience our Canary way of living (El lado canario de la vida).
TRL: How do you balance tradition with innovation in your approach to rum-making or marketing?
It’s easy. We’re a very versatile company, quick to decide and we adapt ourselves to the market and the new trends. Attending international trade shows also helps us better understand the category and its development in the coming years.
TRL: What are some recent initiatives or products you’ve launched that have been impactful?
An Arehucas premium Ronmiel, Ronmiel Selección Familiar, with local botanics (coffee from Agaete, oranges from Valsequillo, and honey from the Blue Tajinaste flower…), and the Arehucas Sherry Cask Oloroso rum, from the Arehucas Sherry Cask collection, with Pedro Ximenez and Arehucas Sherry Cask with Palo Cortado as previous limited editions from Sherry Casks.
TRL: How do you educate consumers about your rum, and what’s the most important lesson they should take away?
In the Canary Islands, rum is like a religion or a culture. We are a land of sugarcane and rum. Consumers increasingly appreciate high-quality rums with aromas and flavors that remind them of the freshness of the land where they live. Arehucas meets this passion with our range of standard products, our Selección Familiar references, and our super-premium rums.
TRL: How do you manage quality and consistency as your brand grows and enters new markets?
Our export manager, Priscila Garcia, designs the strategy for entering new markets and regularly attends events and fairs to gain a deeper understanding of the world of distilled spirits, specifically rum. She represents Arehucas in exports and provides us with feedback so we can design a range of products tailored to the international market.
TRL: Can you share a collaboration or partnership that helped elevate your brand to additional levels?
Our current collaboration with Hijos de Rivera, Cerveza Estrella de Galicia, is helping us to have greater distribution and gain more capillarity in the national market to reach more product tests among national consumers, and it will help us promote our range of premium rums.
TRL: What is your long-term vision for your rum brand, and how do you see your role in the rum’s evolution industry?
Arehucas is a company with 141 years of history, and we want to continue writing the history of the company through rum and its people. We want to be part of an industry that adds value to brands and consumers, and we want to be a benchmark for quality and good work.
TRL: What’s one piece of educational advice you would give rum lovers to better understand the spirit?
Just be open to learn about the immense world of rum… Visit distilleries and sugarcane fields, and try products to give a coherent opinion without being influenced by social networks or popular opinions. People need to live the experience of sugarcane cultivation, harvesting and aging in barrels, and above all, they need to let themselves be guided by the senses of a distillery.
TRL: How can people learn more about you? Website? Social media page?
