Finland’s national drink has charmed Asia – F1 World Champion Kimi Räikkönen teams up to support his favourite drink

Hartwall Original® Long Drink is a refreshing mix of Finnish artisan gin and grapefruit. It has charmed Finns for 65 years and is also called as the national drink of Finland. Now the Formula 1 World Champion Kimi Räikkönen has teamed up with Original Long Drink to help the drink conquer the world. The collaboration will be visible in chosen export markets, especially in Asia, for years to come.

Hartwall Original Long Drink is the world’s first gin cocktail in a can that was invented for the Helsinki Olympics in 1952. Hartwall, who produces this iconic beverage, has now entered into a long-term collaboration agreement with Formula One World Champion Kimi Räikkönen. Räikkönen will be the face of the Original Long Drink and help to expand the export sales in chosen markets, especially in Asia.

Original Long Drink is currently sold in 15 countries world-wide, newest market openings were done to Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong, where the drink has been very well received. At the moment, the Original Long Drink is sold in almost two thousand stores in Asia. The excellent reception has encouraged Hartwall to focus more on exports and Kimi Räikkönen will play a major role in presenting this unique Finnish beverage into the Asian market.

 “We are constantly looking for new distribution partners, especially in Asia. We believe that our cooperation with Kimi Räikkönen, the growing Nordic trend, and the unique story of the Original Long Drink will interest consumers and bring success to our partners as well as us,” says Kalle Järvinen, CEO of Hartwall, the Finnish brewery that produces the beverage.

Original Long Drink is close to Kimi Räikkönen’s heart

The collaboration between Kimi Räikkönen and the Original Long Drink began at the initiative of the World Champion Räikkönen himself.

“I only take part in projects if I have full faith in it and can stand behind the product. Original Long Drink is a iconic drink for Finns and people also call it as the national drink of Finland. Original Long Drink has created a whole new category of ‘long drinks’ in Finland, better known as “lonkero” among the Finns. I believe that there are millions of people who will love the drink once they try it,” states Kimi Räikkönen. 

The international marketing concept of the Hartwall Original Long Drink is firmly rooted in Nordic imagery, Finnish lifestyle and originality.

“There is something original in the Finnish mindset. People are unpretentiously themselves and let others be the same way. Kimi Räikkönen, also known as the Iceman, is an excellent example of this. We could not be happier that Räikkönen suggested this collaboration for us. Kimi really puts his heart into helping Original Long Drink to conquer the wolrd,” Brand Manager for the Original Long Drink, Eeva Ignatius says.

Original recipe and heritage

The unique taste of Original Long Drink has charmed Finns for decades and year after year the drink rules the sales statistics as the number one alcoholic beverage in the Finnish liquer store Alko. Original Long Drink is still produced according to the original recipe from 1952 mixing Finnish artisan gin and refreshing grapefruit. The gin manufacturing process is a carefully cherished artisan work and all the gin ingredients are hand-selected.

Hartwall Original Long Drink was originally developed for the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. For the first time ever, Helsinki was going to be packed with visitors from all over the world. Since the local restaurants didn´t have enough manpower to serve them,

Hartwall brewery developed an innovation: a cocktail in a can, easy to serve and ready to drink. The current package design represents the running track at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium, reminding us of how the classic was born.

Further information: Eeva Ignatius, Brand Manager, Hartwall Ltd, eeva.ignatius@hartwall.fi

Media enquiries: Hanna Leppäniemi, Communications Manager, Hartwall Ltd, tel. +358 400 998133, hanna.leppaniemi@hartwall.fi

Images: http://mediapankki.hartwall.fi/l/DhgFC62hDw6b

Hartwall Original Long Drink

Hartwall Original Long Drink is the world’s first long drink. The Original Long Drink was created for the Helsinki Olympics in 1952. The classic gin drink charmed visitors but also Finns—and keeps on charming them year in, year out. Original Long Drink on our website www.originallongdrink.com and on social media https://twitter.com/originallongd, www.facebook.com/aitolonkero and https://instagram.com/originallongdrink.

Hartwall Ltd

Hartwall is the growing leader in the beverage industry. We manufacture the drinks Finns love to live and celebrate with. Hartwall’s best-known brands are Hartwall Jaffa, Hartwall Novelle, Lapin Kulta, Karjala and Hartwall Original Long Drink. We are also a strategic partner of the Heineken and Pepsi brands in Finland. 

Hartwall’s modern production facilities are located in Lahti. The mineral water bottling plant is located in Karijoki and the head office in Helsinki. We have 700 employees at Hartwall working with the beloved classics and innovative novelties, and indirectly Hartwall employs 11,000 people in Finland. We are part of the Danish Royal Unibrew Group. We promote a responsible drinking culture. We operate actively for the environment and put emphasis on local production. Without Hartwall, Finland would be a drier place to live. www.hartwall.fi