SAB’s Brutal Fruit Spritzer brand is in collaboration with the buy local advocacy campaign, Proudly African, to showcase local innovation and profile local talent at the Paris Fashion Week, in line with the shared values both organisations espouse of leveraging their brand equity to support local brands and industries.
SAB’s Brutal Fruit Spritzer’s participation at the Paris Fashion Week, taking place from 4-5 October, coincided with SAB’s 130th anniversary and provides an opportunity to celebrate Brutal Fruit Spritzer – one of its finest local homegrown innovations – on an international stage. The showcase will highlight SAB’s Forever Committed to South Africa pledge of sourcing locally sourced ingredients, supporting locally empowered supply chains, and developing strong local brands and forging local partnerships with like-minded partners.
In line with its commitment pledge to South Africa, SAB will also partner with local knitwear couture brand, MAXHOSA AFRICA, for the brand’s highly anticipated debut at the Paris Fashion Week, which is expected to receive great critical acclaim.
As part of the activations at Paris Fashion Week, Brutal Fruit Spritzer will export their famed Pink Table to the City of Lights where it will host a select group of “besties” — an affectionate term the brand uses to refer to its loyal fans — from South Africa and across the globe where they will embark on a stylish adventure and experienced the glamorous charm of the city.
As a custodian of the local fashion industry in South Africa, Proudly South African will use the opportunity of the Paris Fashion Week to profile four of its members, creatives and fashion designers who are set to dress its Chief Marketing Officer, Happy Makhumalo Ngidi, at the event. These local fashion designers are SCALO by Sello Medupe, Otsile Sefolo, the founder of Otiz Seflo, Imprint ZA, founded by Mzukisi Mbane and Township Luxury by Lebogang Khumalo.
“South African Breweries is committed to localisation and creating innovative experiences through their brand Brutal Fruit, which is at the forefront of elevating experiences on the global stage by celebrating fashion and bringing South Africa to the world. Our partnership with Proudly South African feels especially meaningful given the incredible work the organisation is doing to champion local fashion, South African designers and drive awareness of the importance of proudly supporting South African-produced brands wherever in the world they may be. Our unwavering commitment to South Africa mirrors the values of Proudly South African, and we are delighted that we have found like-minded partners with whom we can work in concert to put South African brands on the international stage,” says Zoleka Lisa, Vice President of Corporate Affairs at SAB.
“For us, taking part in the Paris Fashion Week is not a big party but rather an extension of our localisation efforts and of the Local Fashion Police (LFP), where we will unashamedly showcase our local brands to the world. As we show support for our local industries, we are not only helping them to scale up, but we are also allowing others the opportunity to appreciate the talent and contribution that South Africans can offer to the world. The SAB’s Brutal Fruit Spritzer brand illustrates this point poignantly: that when South Africans support local, they enable our brands to come into their own and to confidently compete with the best in the world. This is what we mean when we say, ‘Loved Here, Made Here’, our brands are born of South African creativity and passion, cherished at home, and now celebrated globally.
Our participation at the Paris Fashion Week is a culmination of years of hard work and galvanising support for the local fashion industry through the strategic partnerships we have forged with like-minded organisations such as the SAB and via pioneering initiatives such as the Local Fashion Police. Our participation at this event will help to put the local fashion industry on the international map and will further embolden us to work harder to galvanise all available resources to drive the localisation agenda,” says Ngidi.
SAB VP of Beyond Beer and Innovation, Leanne Martin added: “Paris is one of the most desirable and aspirational cities in the world and what better way to provide a beautifully curated experience that celebrates women, elevates connection, and reminds every guest that they truly belong in a sophisticated world than by bringing the Pink Table to Paris where we reiterate our message: This is right where you belong. We are excited to bring this innovative, uniquely South African experience to the Paris Fashion Week, and the interest it is expected to generate will reaffirm our market leadership and capabilities to provide world-class entertainment on a global stage while driving an important social agenda.”
Ngidi commends the SAB for its unwavering commitment to localising its production since the company’s inception 130 years ago. Today, the SAB sources 95% of its ingredients locally, which is a testament to their consistent support for local talent and industries, which is in line with the Proudly South African mandate of leveraging consumer buying power and procurement spend to drive the localisation of the economy.
