In the United States, Cinco de Mayo celebrations are an early start to summer festivities. Whether in on-premise locations or at a friend’s home, celebration intentions look to be up compared with last year, based on “Numerator’s 2024 Q2 Holiday Preview” report.

The report found that 39% of survey-takers intend to go out to eat (up from 38% last year), while 37% noted plans to gather with family and friends (up from 33% last year). When it comes to purchase intentions, 73% of respondents indicated intents to purchase food, while 63% indicated plans to purchase alcoholic beverages. Upon deeper insight, the report noted that 76% of those planning to buy alcohol will go for Margaritas.

With Margaritas being such an iconic part of Cinco de Mayo celebrations, Cointreau, the orange liqueur and essential ingredient in The Original Margarita, announced it is shaking up Cinco de Mayo with a new twist on credit.

The orange liqueur brand is appealing to Margarita-lovers nationwide as they can apply for their very own Lime of Credit, a not-so-real credit line that offers the chance to win real money to help them invest in better Margaritas — those made the MargaRight way, with Cointreau, tequila and fresh lime juice.

Consumers can visit Cointreau.com/LimeofCredit to apply for their chance to win. On May 3, applicants will be notified if they’ve been approved for their Lime of Credit. Thousands of lucky Margarita lovers will win a $20 cash-out via a digital payment app.

Additionally, on May 2, New Yorkers can visit the Cointreau Credit Union, a temporary pop-up “bank” at Hudson Yards from noon 7 p.m. ET. Attendees will have a chance to win their Lime of Credit in the form of a pre-loaded gift card, which can be used to celebrate this Cinco de Mayo. The pop-up also will include exclusive merchandise giveaways, photo opportunities and more, the company says.

To offer deeper insights in the campaign, Nicolas Beckers, president and CEO at Rémy Cointreau America, shared with Beverage Industry the makings of the program as well as the symbiotic relationship between the Cointreau brand and Cinco de Mayo in a Q&A setting.

Beverage Industry (BI): Cointreau announced its Lime of Credit campaign, leading up to Cinco de Mayo, where consumers can enter for a “not-so-real” credit line for a chance to win real money to help invest in better Margaritas. What motivated the company to create this campaign?

Nicolas Beckers (NB): Margaritas are synonymous with Cinco de Mayo, and as an essential ingredient in The Original Margarita, Cointreau wanted to show up in an innovative way — and thus the Lime of Credit campaign was born. This year, we wanted to encourage consumers to experience better Margaritas, those that are made the MargaRight way — with Cointreau, tequila, and fresh lime juice.   

While Cointreau has had tremendous growth over the last several years, there is even more headroom to expand the brand — especially as consumers continue to seek high quality ingredients in their cocktails wherever they are. We continuously push ourselves to reach consumers in fresh ways, so this year we are taking on the financial world ― in a playful way of course ― to bring some unexpected excitement to this year’s Cinco de Mayo program.

BI: Cinco de Mayo celebrations often are associated with Margarita cocktails, for obvious reasons, but why is engaging with consumers around this holiday so important for Cointreau?

NB: The Margarita is the No. 1 cocktail consumed in the U.S. and enjoyed all year long, with consumption peaking in May for Cinco de Mayo. As a named ingredient in The Original Margarita recipe, and the No. 1 branded spirit in the Margarita on cocktail menus nationwide, Cointreau is an essential part of both the Margarita and Cinco de Mayo celebrations. It is a great occasion to remind our consumers that there is only one way to enjoy a Margarita made MargaRight — and that’s with Cointreau.

BI: How successful have previous Cinco de Mayo-focused campaigns fared, and what performance do you anticipate from this current campaign?

NB: The brand has had very strong growth over the last few years, including very positive Cinco de Mayo performance last year, which reiterated Cointreau’s relevance across all consumption occasions, whether entertaining at home or enjoying Margaritas at your favorite bars and restaurants. 

In 2023, during the week of Cinco de Mayo, Cointreau achieved +18% value growth, according to Nielsen, outpacing key competition and categories, including +11 points vs. total spirits and +4 points vs. tequila. 

This year, we look forward to seeing how consumers celebrate Cinco de Mayo with Cointreau. We have already seen promising signs, with consumers highly engaged with the Lime of Credit campaign across our socials, and showing strong interest in the sweepstakes, with a +127% increase in unique entries in the first 24 hours of going live compared with last year. We are expecting even more great results with this year’s Lime of Credit campaign as Cinco de Mayo draws near. (Data Sources: Technomic Menu Data, NielsenIQ xAOC + Liquor Plus week ending May 6, 2023).