Cape Verdean entrepreneur Emileno Ortet plans to export DeePuna grogue
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on A Nação
Cape Verdean entrepreneur Emileno Ortet has created DeePuna, a brand of grogue already sold in Cape Verde and aiming to break into the United States and Europe. After two years of preparation, he is banking on the diaspora and seeking partners to expand exports, according to newspaper A Nação.
Cape Verdean entrepreneur Emileno Ortet is preparing to export DeePuna, his brand of grogue, a traditional sugar-cane spirit. The United States is his first target market, Cape Verdean media outlet A Nação reports.
Ortet spent two years developing the project, from choosing the sugar cane to improving production and obtaining an export licence. Already presented in Praia and sold in Cape Verde, DeePuna was created as a tribute to his mother.
Based in the United States, where he says he spotted demand for grogue at parties, the entrepreneur has contacts in that market. He is also seeking partners in Europe and is counting on interest in grogue and ponche, a drink made from the spirit, among the Cape Verdean diaspora.
