Presenting The Cointreau Creative Crew Campaign – #DreamDareCreate

The year is 1849; the place, Angers,France. It’s still the early half of the 19th century and the demand for high quality liqueur is high. The brothers Edourd-Jean and Adolphe Cointreau, visionaries as they were, ventured into the business of distilling naturally flavored liqueur. The y didn’t choose just any flavor for their brand, but resolved to provide something that was rare in their region at the time – Oranges. It was a flavor which appealed both to men and women and they worked to develop a perfect blend of sweet and bitter orange zest for what we know to be Cointreau today.

As much as Edouard-Jean Cointreau was a creative and visionary, his wife Louisa Cointreau was more than a match. She not only ran the company alongside her husband, but did it while he was away at war as well.She hired women workers and led the women’s union, ensuring that they had fair wages and also good working conditions. She was as much a woman of the arts as she was of business, and this reflected in every aspect of her life.

Today, over 100 years later, the Cointreau legacy is carried on by Alfred Cointreau – the sixth generation of Cointreau. We are not just celebrating the brand that Cointreau has built – with numerous awards globally – but we are honoring Louisa Cointreau’s vision and memory.

The Cointreau Creative Crew – #DreamDareCreate

On Tuesday, April 5th, 2016, La Maison Cointreau, represented by Alfred Cointreau himself, Antoinette Drumm, and Valentine Mathieu, held a press conference to discuss the launch of the Cointreau Creative Crew (CCC). They were joined by Betty Irabor, Founder and Publisher of Genevieve Magazine, who will be championing the movement in Nigeria.

L – R: Betty Iirabor, Alfred Cointreau, Antoinette Drumm (Zone Director – Africa and Med ME, Rémy Cointreau Group), and Valentine Mathieu (Cointreau Brand Manager, EMEA)

The Cointreau Creative Crew, inspired by the work of Louisa Cointreau, is a “worldwide philanthropic programme” created to “develop women’s freedom and creativity around the world”. The main objective of the CCC is to push women worldwide to embrace creativity, dream big, and “dare to do it”.To achieve this, they are running a global creative entrepreneurship initiative – #DreamDareCreate.

French Actress Laelita Casta, curator for the cause, has enlisted fellow actress Eva Longoria, entrepreneur Kelly Hoppen and Glamour UK editor Jo Elvin as part of the panel of judges in the UK – where one entrepreneur will be awarded a £20,000 grant to further her creative ambitions.. Here in Nigeria, Betty Irabor, who is a strong advocate of women’s rights and empowerment, will oversee the campaign and curation of judges to select the creative entrepreneur to be awarded a €20,000 grant.

WATCH: Cocktails & Confidences with Eva Longoria

Antoinette Drumm expressed her certainty that this campaign will do well in Africa because it is everything the African woman stands for – bold, creative, strong. We’re extremely excited about this because it’s yet another opportunity for creatives to live their dream. Everyone who has a dream or a talent will be given the opportunity to present their dream to the judges – and the world – and stand a chance to win fund for a creative project. More power to the creatives!

Pictures from the Press Conference

Alfred showing guests how to make a Cointreau cocktail

Betty Irabor and Alfred Cointreau

Charles Alexander, Alfred Cointreau and Thibault Robert

Pictures Courtesy of LSF PR