Bacardi History: Opportunity During Prohibition
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Bacardi faced challenges when the US enacted Prohibition in the 1920s, banning alcohol. Rather than seeing Prohibition as daunting, Bacardi reacted with an unusual strategy of advertising Cuba as a tourist destination to drink Bacardi rum, and expanded into producing beer and deepening ties in Mexico during this time. They were able to continue courting the US market and expand their business despite Prohibition through creative advertising and diversifying their products and markets.
Bacardi History: Opportunity During Prohibition
- 1. Bacardi History: Opportunity During ProhibitionBacardi History: Opportunity During Prohibition
- 2. Over the course of more than 150 years, Bacardi has overcome challenges to achieve success both inside and outside of its original home in Cuba. The family business faced a major hurdle in the 1920s when the United States enacted the Prohibition that banned the sale, manufacture, and consumption of alcohol. While Bacardi has built its reputation on delivering top-notch spirits from Cuba to the United States, it did not find the situation daunting.
- 3. Instead, Bacardi reacted with an unusual strategy. Forced to shutter its U.S. operations in this challenging business environment but still interested in courting the U.S. market, it began advertising Cuba as a tourist destination and its rum as a prime reason to travel there. A major international airline began to publicize the availability of Bacardi rum in Havana. It was also instrumental in opening an elegant, high-class bar in one of the first skyscrapers in Cuba. Bacardi even expanded during the Prohibition. It began to produce Hatuey beer in 1927 and deepened its ties to Mexico in 1931.