Botivo on brand building with Jeff Goldblum
The co-founder of non-alcoholic apéritif Botivo talks brand purpose and getting Jeff Goldblum to perform on its travelling yellow piano.
As part of its ‘Yellow Hour Sessions’ series, Botivo surprised fans ahead of Goldblum and his band, the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra’s show at Royal Albert Hall on 30 June.
The American musician and actor, known for roles in Jurassic Park and The Fly, took to the brand’s travelling yellow piano in front of more than 100 fans outside the London concert hall for an impromptu pop-up performance.
Botivo co-founder, Imme Ermgassen, said: “We know Jeff’s a mega musician, so when we heard Jeff was a fan of Botivo, we had to approach him to play on our yellow piano.”
Of the link-up, Ermgassen said that it happened organically. “We had someone that we knew, I think from Universal, who represents him, and so we approached him about the opportunity, and it went from there,” she said to The Spirits Business.
“It started as a thing that we never thought would happen, but then he really wanted to treat his fans with something that felt quite intimate and personal, and he’s also a fan of Botivo, so everything sort of made sense and the Venn diagram came together.”
“Its been quite a few months of organising and the Royal Albert Hall have been amazing as well. They’re another team that pulls off these amazing surprises for people,” she added. “It’s funny doing a marketing thing when you’re not allowed to tell anyone about it. That is one of the challenges where you’ve someone who’s that famous, but you can’t tell people about it before, because obviously then too many people show up – but you also want people to show up and to talk about it.”
In terms of marketing, Ermgassen explained how Goldblum’s surprise performance lines up with what Botivo is looking to do as a brand.
“Our brand purpose is all about bringing people together and sprinkling magic wherever we go, and it just felt like a strong alignment,” she said. “I think if you do these things, it needs to make sense. It needs to feel like the vibe of the person, the vibe of the brand, and the moment, and what you’re trying to do kind of all fits.”
She added: “He’s quite a theatrical character and we’re quite a theatrical brand. He also doesn’t drink, even though some people also do drink Botivo with alcohol, so it made total sense.”
A non-alcoholic apéritif, Botivo is made with rosemary, thyme, gentian, wormwood, orange and honey, infused through an aged British apple cider vinegar base.
Botivo, however, defines itself as a pleasure brand, rather than a moderation brand in the non-alc space.
Brand building
Botivo posted the video with Goldblum on its social media, which has since tracked more than 100,000 views within its first day.
His appearance is the biggest yet for Botivo’s Yellow Hour Sessions, which is described as a ‘series of live musical moments centred around the yellow piano’. The piano has also appeared at festivals such as Taste of London (17-21 June) and will be at We Out Here later in the summer.
Ermgassen hopes to get more famous faces on the brand’s piano in the future, as well as more well-known pianists. Right before Goldblum, British pianist Camden Stewart was a performer.
“We’re trying to build a community of amazing pianists and performers who we’ll tell about pop-up events and things like that, so the plan is to continue doing it,” Ermgassen said.
“It’s a launchpad to a strategy, which we’ll put more of a focus on,” she continued.
“We want the piano and events to start being much more of a centrepiece for the brand, so we wanted to put a stake in the ground and do something cool. More famous people for sure, but it’s about finding people who want to create really intimate and magical moments.”
The piano itself will be featured increasingly in the brand’s promotion too.
“Our piano is an iconic part of our label, and sometimes we perform shows on it. It’s increasingly something we’re using more and more as iconography around the brand,” Ermgassen said. “If you look at the label on our bottle, or our can, the centrepiece is this big yellow piano in the illustration.
“When we first launched Botivo, the first thing we did was build it in real life where it’s got a keyboard in it, and we purpose-built it, so it’s on wheels, and it opens up into a bar at the back.”
She also contends that the idea isn’t to just show up and do samples.
“We always like to put on a show and entertain people, and then we can sort of hand out cans at the same time,” she said. “At the Jeff event, we were handing out our ready-to-drink cans, so people could sip on refreshing Botivo Spritz while listening to the secret show.”
The idea of doing things that are “really pleasurable and magical” has become a “real centrepiece” of how Botivo activates as a brand, Ermgassen emphasised.
For instance, its collaboration with London-based Coco de Mer in April, which was one of our top marketing moves for the month.
“It’s a luxury pleasure brand that’s a bit disruptive and sort of playful again, and that’s what it should be about,” Ermgassen added.
Related news
Top marketing moves from May 2026
