Leblon kicks off ‘Road to Rio’ campaign

Bacardi-owned Leblon Cachaça has begun a three-month international #LEBLONRoadTriptoRio initiative across the United States, Europe and Brazil to raise money for the Developing Minds Foundation.

The tour will span more than 70 cities across the three continents and has set a target of raising US$50,000 for the Foundation, which supports educations in Rocinha and City of God, two of Rio de Janeiro’s largest favelas.

The Leblon events will be held from May to August 2016, ahead of the Rio Olympic Games, with a portion of the proceeds from signature Leblon cocktails, plus Road Trip to Rio memorabilia, going to the charity.

The first stop on the US tour was New York on 12 May, followed by the European start in Edinburgh on 13 May. The Brazilian segment gets under way from June.

“We are honoured to get on the road and support the Developing Minds Foundation with a three month tour ending at the Big Brazilian Games,” says Steve Luttmann, Founder of LEBLON Cachaça.

“By sponsoring Developing Minds charity events in 70 cities across three continents, we are confident we can meet our fundraising goal and truly benefit children’s education in Rio, a charity we hold near to our heart.”

Founded in 2006, the Developing Minds Foundation builds schools and supports education initiatives in areas affected by violence and poverty. In Rocinha and City of God, the two areas set to benefit from the Leblon campaign, the charity has focused its efforts on building and supporting technology schools, where children are taught to repair hardware, edit videos and code for software – all skills relevant for the job market.

Earlier this year Bacardi announced it was expanding the distribution of Leblon, including into the global travel retail channel.