BRAVE COMMERCE

Episode: Proximo Spirits’ Lander Otegui on Leading with Legacy in a Fast-Changing World
Date: September 23, 2025
Host: Rachel Tipograph (MikMak), Sarah Hofstetter (Profitero)
Guest: Lander Otegui, Proximo Spirits Executive

Episode Overview

This episode centers on how legacy brands—specifically in the spirits industry—can stay relevant amidst rapid consumer, cultural, and technological change. Lander Otegui, a senior executive at Proximo Spirits, joins Rachel Tipograph and Sarah Hofstetter to discuss the unique challenges and advantages of being a privately-owned, legacy-driven company in a category with rich heritage, turbulent market shifts, and new generational tastes.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Value and Challenge of Legacy in Beverage Spirits

[06:40–09:28]

• Heritage as a Differentiator: Lander credits the lasting success of Proximo’s brands (Cuervo, Bushmills) to authentic heritage and storytelling, which resonates with consumers seeking more than just product—they seek identity and history.

  • Notable Quote

  “This industry is more of a reflection of your personality… you choose it for the flavor, but you also choose it for what it represents and for what it stands for.” — Lander [06:57]

• Legacy as an Innovation Platform: While heritage gives credibility, Lander underscores the need for constant innovation:

  • Notable Quote

  “You cannot sit in your laurels and just rely on history to drive these types of brands. You have to always be trying to look for what's the next stage for this category and how can I continue to be relevant for today's consumers?” — Lander [08:54]

• Speed of Consumer Change: Lander astonishes the hosts by revealing how swiftly consumer preferences now shift:

  • Notable Quote

  “In the past, consumers didn't change for decades or for hundreds of years, when now they change pretty much every month.” — Lander [09:09]

Privately-Owned: Freedom to Take Bold Risks

[11:27–16:09]

• Goldilocks Advantage: Proximo is “just right”—with the independence of private ownership and the resources/legacy of a major player.

  • Sarah observes:

  “You’ve got the Goldilocks situation, you’ve got the private ownership but massive brand equity. It seems like a perfect recipe for making bolder moves.” — Sarah [11:27]

• Culture of Challenging the Status Quo: From being the first to distill tequila, to pioneering innovations like using ovens for agave, to inventing product subcategories (e.g., Cristalino), Proximo’s brands have repeatedly led market-defining changes.

  • Notable Quote

  “We follow our guts as a company ... most of the successes have come from passion and from driving the love for the category and making sure that every move that we make is a move that is in the benefit of the tequila category.” — Lander [14:35]

• Cristalino as Case Study: Lander shares Cristalino’s emergence as a recent major market innovation—arising not from research, but conviction and taste [15:39].

Translating Long-term Vision to Daily Execution

[16:09–18:19]

• Internal Culture: Proximo’s legacy aids employee passion, linking individual work to broader impact.

  • Notable Quote

  “When people start seeing our portfolio, they fall in love with the brands and it allows them to sell it and to execute in a much easier way. Because when you have something that you're passionate about and something that you truly believe in, it's easier for you to sell that product.” — Lander [17:13]

• Community Investment: Beyond products, Proximo invests in sustainability and the local Mexican tequila community (schools, bioproduct recycling, water treatment), reinforcing employee pride and public goodwill [17:36].

The Unique Flexibility of Tequila as a Category

[18:25–21:40]

• Product for All Occasions: Tequila stands out for having both “high end” premium sipping products and “entry level” options for college parties.

  • Notable Quote

  “That flexibility allows you to talk to a broad range of consumers, but also in a broad range of occasions.” — Lander [19:14]

• Globalization & Expansion: Once mainly in Mexican restaurants, tequila is now a global spirit found across cuisines and price points, helping fuel category and portfolio growth [20:30–21:37].

Storytelling and Digital Shelf in a Regulated Market

[21:40–25:03]

• Digital Fragmentation: With discovery moving online, it’s a complex challenge to communicate nuanced brand stories in highly regulated spirits e-commerce—with extra layers from 3-tier distribution.

  • Notable Quote

  “Any other category that's non-alcoholic, you can sell directly to consumers... in our case, you have to go through the famous three tier systems.” — Lander [22:55]

• Personalization and Segmentation: Success relies on targeting different consumer types with tailored messages—e.g., mixers, gifters, sippers—all in very limited pixel space.

• The Power and Pitfalls of Recommendations: Purchase decisions hinge on recommendations (online and in-store), making clarity and credibility all the more important, especially as the information landscape becomes noisy and “nerdy” [23:46–25:03].

AI and the Battle for Truth

[25:03–26:30]

• AI as a New Gatekeeper: As consumers (and platforms) turn to AI, brands must ensure correct, compelling, and authorized brand information is what gets surfaced—not misinformation from dubious sources.
  • Notable Quote

  “Brand truths and consumer knowledge is a tricky thing right now that you have to make sure that you're constantly searching and updating and feeding the tool so that it gives the answer that you're expecting.” — Lander [26:05]

The Bravest Thing Lander’s Done

[26:30–28:57]

• Professional Leap: Moving to a new country (the US) and bringing Mexican, risk-taking DNA to a different competitive landscape.
• Building Great Jones Distillery: Lander recounts the seven-year, high-stakes journey to establish the first distillery in Manhattan, overcoming “impossible” obstacles.
  • Notable Quote

  “It took us about seven years to crack the code...And today, Great Jones Distillery is sitting there in the middle of Manhattan.” — Lander [28:37]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “How would you cannibalize your business today? If you were your own competitor, what would you do to take your company down?” — Rachel [03:21]
• “People can talk about...be comfortable being uncomfortable...but really, how do you poke holes in the spaces that you're in?” — Sarah [03:44]
• “We're lucky that we're family owned...that not only looks at the next quarter report, they look at the next 200 years.” — Lander [15:31]
• “When you have something that you're passionate about...it's easier for you to sell that product.” — Lander [17:13]
• “Brand truths and consumer knowledge is a tricky thing right now...you’re constantly searching and updating and feeding the tool so that it gives the answer that you're expecting.” — Lander [26:05]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Intro & Innovator’s Dilemma (Market Agitation): [03:03–05:07]
• Spirits Industry and Proximo Spirits Overview: [05:35–06:40]
• The Value of Heritage & Change: [06:40–09:28]
• Private vs. Public Ownership, Risk-Taking: [11:27–16:09]
• Internal Culture & Mission: [16:09–18:19]
• Tequila’s Market Range: [18:25–21:40]
• Digital Challenges in Regulated Industries: [21:40–25:03]
• Navigating AI & Brand Truth: [25:03–26:30]
• Bravest Moment (Great Jones Distillery): [26:36–28:57]
• Wrap-Up and Reflections: [28:57–29:35]

Final Thoughts

This episode is a masterclass on balancing legacy with innovation, and offers inspiration and concrete examples for leaders tasked with future-proofing classic brands. Lander’s insights on employee motivation, risk-taking, and wrestling with the challenges of digital transformation and AI are particularly noteworthy for anyone in brand stewardship or regulated industries.