‘90% of the deals that exist today are because of that collaboration’ — AKA on the impact of his collab with Cruz
Kiernan “AKA” Forbes claims his collaboration with Cruz Vodka to launch the Watermelon flavour influenced many collaborations liquor companies did with celebrities.
The rapper took to his Twitter timeline to make the statement.
“Cruz Watermelon opened up the entire industry. 90% of the deals that exist today are because of that collaboration,” he wrote.
After a near decade-long partnership with the brand, AKA decided to walk away from the deal.
In 2016, the rapper signed a massive collaboration deal with the luxury brand that included TV and print advertisements, outdoor events and billboards nationwide, launching watermelon and banana flavoured vodkas with Cruz.
In a statement shared on his social media in May, AKA revealed his ambitions to create his own spirit brand.
“He outlined a change in his business model from AKA partner to AKA-owned brands. We appreciate his vision and agree it's the logical next step for him. While AKA will remain an integral part of the Cruz family and a valued business partner, as per his request, we will be phasing his name off the Cruz Watermelon bottle and will phase Cruz Banana out of the market this summer.
“Going forward the AKA brand name will be reserved for AKA-owned products. This will happen in a phased manner from May to October 2022. We are excited to see what the Supermega will bring to the SA drinks market as he enters this exciting new period in his career,” read the statement.