By Lindsey Kin

I attended the Sarita Golden Carpet event on Saturday, 27 February. The dazzling affair was held at Taboo, situated in the heart of Sandton. Dressed to the nines, Joburg’s crème de la crème could be spotted walking Sarita’s golden carpet.

Flashing paparazzi lights; television interviews by Dolly Ndlovu; trapeze artists; Joburg’s finest of house music; beautiful people; and the never-ending flow of Saritas, made for a magical night of elegance; glitz; and glamour. VIPs mingled in the exclusive Sarita VIP lounge, decked out with a designer Sarita cocktail bar; alluring centre pieces of golden masks with red and white jewels; and chocolate balls to tantalise the taste buds.

The event was beautifully organised, reflecting the true brand essence of South Africa’s premium apple ale, Sarita. It was clear that everyone was having a fabulous evening, which created that sexy party atmosphere infused with ‘Sarita chic-ness’. All VIPs were made to feel like ‘Hollywood stars’ for the night. Babalwa Rasane, Craze presenter and CEO of Urban Glamour, comments: “ I am having a lovely evening tonight, and feeling very glamorous with my Sarita in-hand.” She added that Sarita had definitely created a golden experience.

During the soiree, I had the opportunity to interview the lovely Tumi Mohube, Brand Developer for SAB, and her colleague, Nomty Malevu, also Brand Developer; as well as Sales and Marketing Director for Beyond Red, Greg Lipton, who handles the events on behalf of SAB.

1. Kin: Looking around tonight, how would you describe your target market?
Lipton: Sophisticated.
Malevu: Hard-working; some single; some not-so single. Women who know who they are; know where they are going; and know what they want out of life.
Mohube: Our target market knows which brands speak to them, and Sarita speaks to them.

2. Kin: Would you say then that Sarita is solely targeted at women, or both men and women?
Mohube: Our target market is mainly women; however, we do not discriminate against men. Men form part of our brand family, but Sarita is a female brand.
Malevu: As Tumi said, Sarita is targeted at the ‘glamorous woman’, yet we do not exclude the brand from men.
Lipton: Effectively, it’s anyone who would like to have the ‘champagne of apple cider’.

3. Kin: How would you describe a day in the life of a Sarita woman?
Mohube: The Sarita woman is all about being fabulously glamorous in every aspect of her life, whilst enjoying only the best things that life has to offer.
Lipton: Glamorous all the time!
Malevu: She works hard, and she plays equally as hard.

Before concluding my interview, I threw in a few ‘quirky’ questions to get the golden creative caps going, and to discover more of Sarita’s brand personality.

4. Kin: If Sarita were a shoe, what shoe would it be?
Malevu: Jimmy Choo.
Mohube: Christian Louboutin.

5. Kin: If Sarita were a handbag, which handbag would it be?
Malevu: Marc Jacobs.
Mohube: Louis Vuitton.
Lipton: Either a Hermes; or Louis Vuitton.

6. Kin: If Sarita were a car, which car would it be?
Lipton: Definitely a Bentley.
Mohube: I second Greg’s answer, definitely a Bentley!

7. Kin: Any future plans for Sarita?
Mohube: We have more Golden Carpet events coming up in the near future, to celebrate Sarita and create a golden experience for our current and future clients.
Malevu: We plan to ensure that our consumers feel glamorous at all times when they are drinking their Saritas. With these events, we hope to create the brand message: ‘One simply cannot be seen without their Sarita’.

The event was thoroughly enjoyable. Being able to feel like an ‘A-lister’ for just one night was fabulous. In the words of Kimora Lee Simmons: “Fabulosity always needs to be maintained,” with Sarita’s ultimate glamour accessory.