Raphael Vidigal

LM: Pernod Ricard is a global leader in the premium beverage segment. Combining various strategies, the brand is recognized for adding value to its products through experiences and close relationships with high-net-worth clients. But that’s just the market description. How would you define Pernod Ricard’s product?
R: I describe Pernod-Ricard as a creator of togetherness; we create or acquire products with an eye on their purpose for the various moments or consumption needs of our customers or potential customers. All this without losing our main focus: ensuring impeccable quality, which demonstrates our resilience over the years and our leadership in the global super-premium market.

Bringing these two parts together, we create experiences to showcase to the consumer, often in a sophisticated way, the versatility of our vast portfolio at moments that will forever inscribe in their memories the pleasures and details of each of our brands.


LM: Pernod Ricard has been nationally and globally praised for measures to reduce carbon emissions as well as waste production, all while maintaining brand growth rates and ensuring the company’s profitability. What other initiatives are on the company’s radar? You, as Head of Prestige Brands, do you intend to focus your efforts toward any specific goals?
R: Certainly, this is one of the mantras for the world of the future, in which we want not only Pernod-Ricard but all of humanity to continue enjoying moments of togetherness in a cleaner world. As subsidiaries, we have an important role in conveying these initiatives and ensuring future sustainability not only in our beverage production but also in how we communicate and how materials are produced locally. We have a strong mission to reduce as much as possible the production of materials harmful to nature—such as plastic glasses, for example, which are gradually being replaced by bio-cups. Our communication platforms are fully digitized, avoiding paper prints, whether for business cards or contract signatures. We’ve implemented a 100% digital purchasing model to further reduce paper waste in daily transactions, and even smaller initiatives like eliminating plastic cups in our facilities, among others.


LM: We know it’s hard to choose a single favorite from a list of beloved things, whether our favorite songs, dishes, or drink labels. Even though it’s a tough task, we’d like to ask: what is your favorite label among Pernod Ricard items?
R: That’s a good question! I truly believe in leisure moments—I can’t say I have a single favorite product; it depends on the moment. For example, when I’m celebrating with friends and business partners at home, I love to share that moment with a fine whisky like Royal Salute. However, if I’m at a sophisticated restaurant dinner, I prefer to pair it with a Perrier-Jouët champagne, and if I’m at a party, I tend to enjoy a Monkey 47 with tonic. It all depends on the moment of the day, as the brands are very interesting. But I must say I’m particularly fond of the Martell Cognac labels in our portfolio.

LM: Raphael, can you tell us a bit about your journey to the role you hold today? What have been the main highlights of your career so far that have marked you and shaped the professional you are today?
R: Since the start of my professional career, I’ve always worked in the beverage and luxury markets. I believe my standout contributions have been bringing to the companies I’ve worked for a perspective gained from being out there, spotting market opportunities. Another highlight has been my resilience and belief in business success. 

When I was younger, I had the opportunity to accelerate small brands that today perform very well in the local and global markets—such as Dom Pérignon champagne and Belvedere Vodka. Thanks to the success we achieved, I was invited to be a Board Member with a permanent seat in the brand’s global decisions, and I also worked as a marketing manager at LVMH with other products. 

At that time, I saw a big opportunity in the gin category, which was still very small and just starting to gain attention in the country. About seven years ago, I observed that even if it was small in 2016, the exponential growth trend meant that the gin market would be as important as, or even larger than, vodka. At the end of 2018, I was invited by Thibault Cuny—today CEO of PR India and Emirates—to develop business development for Pernod Ricard Brazil’s luxury beverages market in order to accelerate a broad portfolio that included gin and other captivating brands. I didn’t hesitate to make the change. 

Under my management—and that of my dedicated team, handling 12 brands across sales, marketing, and digital initiatives—this year we will deliver an 800% increase in revenue compared to when I first took over management of the brands, with an average margin efficiency of 59% and revenues exceeding 80 million reais.

LM: Stepping a bit away from the core of work, tell us what keeps you grounded—what does Raphael Vidigal do for Raphael Vidigal?
R: I love being with people, especially friends and leaders who have a story to tell. I’m very observant and enjoy learning from these success references throughout my week. I’m deeply grateful for my friendships and my family. My wife and I like to travel on weekends, whether to the beach or her farm in the countryside. I consider myself a “liquid being,” as Bauman said—I adapt like water to different moments: our gym classes, seaside runs, bike trails, rock concerts (I’m passionate about music), visits to museums and art exhibitions, harmonized dinners, and even time to savor a good drink accompanied by a fine cigar.

LM: To make a day productive, light, and end it on a positive note, what’s your checklist? Meditate, exercise, hold meetings? What ensures you’re in your best state to produce?
R: I like to split my time into two slots: mornings to respond to emails and afternoons for business meetings. However, something that has been helping me focus is returning to sports. Since childhood I’ve loved sports—I was South American vice champion in swimming when I was very young. Today, cycling and spinning classes help me clear my head from a busy life. I also enjoy reading about various sectors—tech, agribusiness, fashion, even automotive—staying informed about a bit of everything, especially the best practices I can draw inspiration from for my business.


LM: We can’t lie: we looked you up online before this interview, and something caught our attention—you’re quite low profile, aren’t you? Is that intentional? To keep your personal life more private?
R: I’d say I’m low profile on social media; I don’t like exposing my private life or my wife’s for security reasons. However, offline, I’m fairly well-known. Even though I have a growing focus on digital initiatives, I really enjoy being with people in person. (laughs)


LM: Metaverse, e-Commerce, NFTs—dozens of terms have popped up in our world lately. How do you feel about this ever-increasing virtualization of the world and the transformation of the material into the intangible?
R: Early on, I bet on this irreversible path for commerce and the future of interpersonal relationships. Since 2019, supporting our closed virtual community project—now renamed Le Cercle—we’ve seen triple-digit growth and a powerful average ticket per client, along with product launches that were 100% virtual, such as our Aberlour whisky with Amazon, which, without even setting foot in Brazil, took 1st place in whisky sales for a week on the site and 1st place in beverages and spirits. I love bringing physical experiences to the digital realm, like hosting talks by strong industry names—such as Sandy Hyslop, master blender for Royal Salute, Chivas, and The Glenlivet—for our local audience, as well as exponentially selling physical experiences on our platforms and amplifying knowledge and education digitally.

Today, I’m studying the NFT universe extensively; Pernod Ricard launched its first distilled spirit bottle in this format—a limited-edition Royal Salute by designer Richard Quinn—along with exploring product sales via cryptocurrency purchases. It’s an irreversible future we’re studying closely.

Regarding the Metaverse, which excites us greatly, we’re exploring ways to move into this new universe ethically and within the law. Our industry must be very careful and thoroughly ethical to avoid reaching those legally unfit to consume our products. This is work still in progress for the future, so we can protect underage audiences from mass communication within this new reality.