What a fun weekend- despite the cold & dreary weather!  We took the RV and spent time on the west side of MI and got Cráz Cello into 5 new places, including Fortino’s Gourmet Store, Noto’s, Beach Liquor and Hardings Market!

We are excited to finalize our new innovation- stay tuned for more details to make your cocktails even better and also look amazing!!

The Background

In November of 2018, Jason & Christie Verbrugghe visited Napa for a long weekend and while enjoying some fantastic wines of the region, Jason decided to look into a new product venture, that originated with a lemon wine.

After several recipe attempts and testing with an old college friend, Dominic Savone, we pivoted from wine and began playing with Dominic’s 50-year old family LímonCello recipe from Frosinone, Italy and Cráz was born.

We didn’t stop there. We wanted something a little healthier and with a lower glycemic index from most other cello liquors, so the final batches have half the normal sugar content from the original recipe.

In addition to the new spin of the Cráz LímonCello, we had the brilliant idea to expand our product line to offer lime and orange flavored cellos.

The Cráz LīmCello is the first in this market and the Cráz OrángCello is an invigorating competitor to only a few other orange manufacturers worldwide. These 2 flavors are our top sellers.

The Brand

We worked with a creative Italian designer to create the Cráz brand and to make our bottle labels stand out and pop at shelf!  They are completely different from the normal picture of Italy and lemons, and this follows our whole brand strategy to make the Cráz brand more fun, lively and exciting.

We recently ran a social media contest to ‘name our lady’ on the bottle. The winning name….Ginger!

Part of how we differentiate Cráz is thru reinvigorating the overall use of Cellos in the U.S. to exploit these awesome fruit flavors and elevate cocktails to another level.

The Product

Cráz Cello is made right here in Detroit. It is handcrafted with no additives, no preservatives and no coloring with half the sugar and carb count.  Our calories per serving come out to be between 20-40% less than other LímonCello brands. It is also made with organic and gluten-free ingredients.

The Launch

After 20 months of laborious administrative work to get federal licenses and permits and then obtaining 3 state liquor licenses: MI, IL & NC, Cráz was launched in August 2020.

We launched in a pandemic lockdown!  Despite the COVID crisis, we were able to sell out the first batch in 1 day

With creative marketing tactics from Dmedia5, through all Christie’s marketing & advertising experience in the last 20 years and feet on the street with the founders!

In the past few months since launch, we are in almost all downtown Rochester restaurants and bars, a total of  >60 restaurants & stores in over 38 cities!!

Some liquor stores are already on their 5^th order of Cráz Cello .

We are working on other adding additional state ventures, online sales options, pre-made cocktails and other new innovations with this fun brand!

Well, Cráz is busy working on a new innovation for an addition to cocktails that would both make a cool decor and offer a new flavor & taste additive!  Stay tuned for our unique concept!

We just got done uploading a couple new cocktails, some of these are coming from our awesome Cráz supporters and their own recipes!!  Try the Michelle’s Twist and Ethos- two new cocktails for spring with the refreshing use of cranberry juice! Our goal is for your next cocktail to be exciting- not boring!  Enjoy- 

Well- Just a quick reflection on the past few months of our launch- DURING a pandemic!!  All of our Cráz fans have stepped up and supported!  Even with restaurants closed, our liquor stores throughout 35 cities now have seen huge success and our amazing trifecta of flavors have jumped into the market, flooding craft cocktails with super fresh citrus flavors and hopefully taking your enjoyment to an elevated level!!!  Now that we are just launching into restaurants who are excitedly reopening, we cannot wait to see how we grow from here-

Jason, Dominic, Christie & John- the Cráz Crew thanks everyone!