Over the last decade, Sara Sampaio has delighted the world on catwalks and magazine covers spaning the five continents. The supermodel is now venturing into the business world – she has acquired a stake in PHUNK and takes the position of Chief Innovation Officer. The commitment to hard seltzer drinks and the Ready to Drink segment starts in Portugal and targets Europe, Brazil, and the United States of America.
It was in New York, where she has lived for over a decade, that Sara Sampaio first came across hard seltzers. These drinks have some key features; carbonated water, to which flavors and a reduced alcohol content are added.
Sara Sampaio has now acquired a stake in PHUNK but in her first foray into the business world, she will not limit herself to the role of investor. Thus, she will take on the role of Chief Innovation Officer (CINO) – identifying strategies, business opportunities and new technologies. She will also play a key role in the development of new products. The first PHUNK by Sara Sampaio is due to be launched and it promises to shake up the segment.
The supermodel acknowledges that being a PHUNK CINO brings her an incredible sense of pride. “Now I have the opportunity to use all my creativity with a brand that I love. Right from the start with the creation of new flavours, campaigns… I also want to highlight the ease with which I joined the team and that happened because we share the same vision and the same values. I am very happy to be part of this project!”.
The former Victoria’s Secret angel explains that “it all started when I was in Portugal on holiday with my family. I had already tried hard seltzers in the United States but wanted to try them in Portugal. I found PHUNK, tried it and loved it – it ended up becoming the drink of the holiday and it brought up my curiosity to find out who was behind the brand. The rest is history.”
Sara Sampaio believes that “hard seltzers are the trendy drink”, and explains why: “I love wine, but I don’t always want to drink it. I don’t always feel like it, especially when it’s hot, I’m by the pool or on the beach – it’s not practical to have a bottle of wine or beer, as beers have a lot of gluten and I swell up a lot. Hard seltzers are the ideal drink, they are practical, refreshing, low in calories, have pleasant flavours and all you have to do is take them out of the fridge”.
And why PHUNK? Sara Sampaio states that she started by being “in love with the cans”, which “are cute and colourful”. But what really made the difference was the taste: “I’ve tried many hard seltzers in the US and none compares to PHUNK.”
Regarding the transition from fashion to the business world, the CINO from PHUNK admits that “it has been a very rewarding time in my life, because I can finally get my ideas out there and have more control over what I do. It is also interesting to be involved in the whole process, creative and production, from the beginning to the end”.
As for goals set, Sara Sampaio is clearly ambitious: “We want to take PHUNK everywhere, to the whole world! We want people to fall in love with the drink, first in Europe and then in Brazil. However, the US market is our main objective. I know we have a long way to go but I believe we will make it!”.
For More Information:
https://phunkdrinks.com/