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By Sunday Ani
On April 5, two Nollywood celebrities, Ini Edo and Ik Ogbonna, were unveiled as alcoholic beverages ambassadors. Presenting the Nollywood stars in Lagos, the chairman and managing director of the company, Dr. Innocent Onwunali, represented by Samuel Elaigwu, described the event as epoch-making.
He said: “Today is a great day for us at Iki Leads. We are unveiling brand ambassadors for two of our premium brands, Meridian brandy and Meridian club cream. We are talking of people of proven integrity, and high societal standards, Ik Ogbonna and Ini Edo.
“Ik Ogbonna will represent the Meridian brandy, while Ini Edo represents the Meridian club cream. It was a difficult decision for the company because we needed people with impeccable desire to represent our brand. Iki Leads represents excellence and getting people of excellent standing in the society is a difficult one. So, we searched deep and got what we wanted. It wasn’t easy but we got what we wanted.
“Today, Ik Ogbonna is a celebrated name in the Nigerian movie industry. Ini Edo has huge followership of the female folks as well. So, we believe and we know very well that their presence and endorsement of our brands will help to push the products even beyond the shores of Nigeria.
“Our brands target every class of people in the society. The Meridian club cream is a quality drink made from premium materials targeting the elite in society, and when we talk about the elite, we talk about the Meridian brandy. It is a macho drink that is actually meant for men. If you know what you are doing as a man, you will go for the Meridian brandy.
“The two products are quality drinks that can compete against any imported drink in Nigeria today. They are proudly Iki Leads and 100 per cent Nigerian-made, they are equally making waves outside the country.
“The Meridian club cream is the female version of the Meridian brandy. We target the elite female folks with the cream. It is also doing very well in Nigeria and beyond. That is why we brought someone like Ini Edo to help push the product because her endorsement will go a long way.”
Also, the Iki Leads factory manager, Ozorigbo Ogochukwu, noted that, with the two ambassadors, the products would be pushed to the next level.
“We hope to have a good market share with the ambassadors. We also hope that, in time to come, more products will still come from the company. We are trying to create a kind of product that gets to various classes of people.
“We have different SKUs that are for the males and for the females, like the Meridian brandy and the Meridian club cream. We have very good products that will do well in the market, if the ambassadors will help us to market them.
“When you come for brandy, we have the best of collections. And when it comes to the cream, it is not only limited to being a milk alcoholic content, it is also nutritional because of the ingredients used in making the product. I believe so well that it will do well in the market,” Ogochukwu said.
The new ambassadors commended the company for producing such wonderful products that could favourably compete against their foreign counterparts.
According to Ik Ogbonna, “Meridian as a brand has been so good to me and, when the offer came, I knew it was something I was going to jump at because it is a brand I have supported long before I became its ambassador.
“So, making my position as the brand ambassador official is something I cherish and appreciate, and I hope we will have an amazing working relationship. If I speak about a product, you might not take my word for it but I would encourage everyone to taste it and understand why it is more than special.”
On her part, Ini Edo said: “It is a drink I have personally tasted; I love it and I’m sure that people who believe in me when I represent something will equally love it when they also try it. It is a premium brand and I like to identify with premium.
“I just love the drink, and I think women will love it, particularly the cream. I think a lot of females who love good wine will love it because it is really cool, especially when you have some ice in it. It is very refreshing and it is not harsh. I think a lot of people will fall in love with it as well.”
