Black Woman-Owned Tequila Brand Seeks to Gather, Grow and Give

Ingrid LaVon is the founder of Geneba Tequila, named after her mother, Geneva. PHOTO PROVIDED BY SENSEI COMMUNICATIONS.
Ingrid LaVon is the founder of Geneba Tequila, named after her mother, Geneva. PHOTO PROVIDED BY SENSEI COMMUNICATIONS.

Black Woman-Owned Tequila Brand Seeks to Gather, Grow and Give

By Tia Carol Jones

Ingrid LaVon first came up with the concept for Geneba Tequila in 2012. She had started her health and fitness journey after having her son and wanted a drink option that was healthy, natural and had less sugar.  

She was told that tequila was a more natural drink option, and which ones were the best to consume and how to make drinks using tequila that wouldn’t derail the progress she made in her health journey. 

Ingrid LaVon found out that tequila is made from agave, which is only grown in Jalisco, Mexico. She stopped drinking all the other alcohols. Through further research, she decided she would own her own tequila. During COVID-19, she realized that people could be courageous and do hard things. By 2023, she had become a tequila connoisseur. She knew what tasted good, which ones had additives and what kinds of additives they had. She was in her favorite Mexican restaurant and told the owner she would own a tequila one day. The owner brought her the phone number of a man who brought more than a dozen tequilas to market.

Ingrid LaVon knew she wanted her tequila to be different, to be clean, to be additive free, all the things she needed to reboot her metabolism and to feel good and to not have a hangover after drinking. Ingrid LaVon named the Geneba Tequila after her mother, Geneva. She hired a branding company from Mexico and had a specific directive, the tequila needed to reflect the essence of a very graceful, classy, elegant, but courageous and bold woman.

“Through that conversation and journey, I decided that I wanted to create a tequila specifically for women,” she said.

It means that everything from the taste to the aroma, to the aftertaste, to the smell, the body and the dressing of the bottle, was created with the woman in mind. In conjunction with the product itself, Ingrid LaVon wanted it to be mission-driven. A product that every woman would be proud to purchase, because it was created by a woman, but proud to have on their shelf. 

The mission of Geneba Tequila is to gather, grow and give. Gather, to bring women together through the product to enjoy the spirit in a safe and responsible way; Grow, women personally and professionally, partnering with an online academy to bring classes to women who are interested in being in the spirit industry; and Give, to give back to women so they can continue to thrive and be who they want to be for themselves and their families.

Ingrid LaVon said the Blanco is very soft and sippable because it is double distilled. The reposado is aged about six months, with an oak color, aged in oak barrels and is great when paired with a cigar.

“I believe every woman has an opportunity to be who they want to be and I decided to do something very unorthodox and very different and it’s been quite the journey,” she said.

While Geneba Tequila will be brought to market this month, it will fully launch in January 2025. Ingrid LaVon is very excited to bring it to market and have it fully launched. She had people taste the tequila. The response from tequila drinkers is that the Blanco smelled good and was so smooth that it was sippable and did not have a bite. There are currently six bars and restaurants that have already asked for the tequila, before they tasted it. 

Ingrid LaVon wants women to know that it is OK to go into spaces and places where they may be the only one or one of the only. She has found that telling people that her tequila is for women is refreshing, because people are looking for products to invest in that means something.

“It means something to my son to have seen his mother, a Black woman, bring a tequila to fruition and to be the first tequila on the market to have an image of a Black single mother’s face on a tequila, it’s never happened before,” she said. She added that she is excited to bring a luxury product to the market that also has meaning on so many different levels.

For more information about Geneba Tequila, visit www.GenebaTequila.com.


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