Fridae

This launch testifies to the power of the LGBT market as an important Consumer segment, to be respected and supported, as evidenced by our interview with the Head of Sales & Marketing at Sweden-based Love Spirit.

The Fridae Editorial Team caught up with Erik Jansson to hear more about the innovative alcohol company’s plans to launch in Asia and align the launch with supporting important work in HIV and Rights Advocacy through APCOM, the APAC non-profit organisation.

‘We believe that in these difficult times we can demonstrate support and respect for the LGBT Community and all that brings us together and it's even more important to support initiatives that support the Community, especially those affected by HIV, in these difficult times'. ‘While we are not aiming to be a ‘gay brand’ as such, we nevertheless have a great admiration for the LGBT Community globally and its fight to secure equal rights and inclusion – and we believe that this Community can be a role-model for all peoples of the globe, illustrating how people across all colours, creeds etc can find sufficient communality to bridge what may otherwise separate them’.

‘Consequently, we as a company have decided to focus our philanthropic and communications efforts on celebrating what we share, as opposed to what may divide us, and to focus those efforts in particular on supporting and celebrating awareness raising around the LGBT Community – and we decided that as our first manifestation of these goals, we would sponsor the 2020 HERO Awards and APCOM’s efforts to put spotlight on acts of LGBT thought-leadership and bravery in the APAC region’.

‘In addition, when deciding to support Bangkok-based APCOM in this way with a donation from our Love Spirit Foundation pot of money, an important factor was Thailand’s quite recent and very positively significant decisions to legislate to further the legal rights for same-sex couples and create a heightened awareness internationally of Thailand as an LGBT-friendly country and destination.  In doing this, Thailand is showing real and positive political thought-leadership for South East Asia, complementing Taiwan’s pioneering same-sex partnership legislation as a first in Asia’.

‘While we are still a company in its relative infancy, we have sought from the onset to reflect as best possible these values in our social media and other marketing related efforts.  Obviously, we are ultimately a company keen to sell our products – and it is from such sales that we may earn the money to allow our Foundation related efforts to come out in support of important and effective efforts – and we obviously hope that people will like our products and values – and as a first step, will check out and follow our social media efforts, principally on Instagram and Facebook’.

‘In short, as companies and individuals claiming to have inclusive values, it is our strong conviction that in this day and age where ‘talk is cheap’, perhaps even more so than previously, it is critically important that we then also demonstrate and seek to support those values via our actions, whether it is how we operate as businesses or how we behave as consumers when deciding which product or service providers we will support with our money and brand loyalty. Money talks and we should use that power to support positive change’. ‘We can’t wait to hear more from APCOM about the nominations for this year’s HERO Awards!’

'If you'd like to support APCOM and its good work, alongside us you can do so by clicking here'.

 We'd also like to bring your attention to an important survey which seeks to give an LGBT voice to investment related issues and could help get additional funding for APCOM by completing the Survey.