She knows how to cultivate a brand.
And Kendall Jenner roamed through fields of agave on horseback to announce the launch of her 818 tequila brand in California with moody visuals shared to Instagram on Monday.
The 25-year-old supermodel toured the farm located in Jalisco, Mexico, but made sure to turn off comments to her 164million followers after facing cultural appropriation backlash for naming her new beverage after her Calabasas area code, despite tequila’s deep-rooted Mexican history having no affiliation to the affluent community she grew up in just outside of Los Angeles.
Kendall proved to be the perfect ranch hand as she walked side-by-side a horse while touring the grounds of her agave fields.
‘What an incredible experience I have had thus far, learning about this beautiful place, it’s beautiful culture, and the beautiful people,’ she captioned the series.
‘@818tequila has launched in California… we will be rolling out to the rest of the US all summer long, keep a look out!!!’
Kendall beamed while wearing a white cropped tank top and a striped long-sleeve blouse while sipping on one of the flavors from her new brand.
Her dark brown hair was tied into braids and she appeared to be mostly makeup-free for the desert shoot.
The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star took a swig from a bottle of her Reposado before climbing atop chopped down agave for a snap shared with her Blanco.
Almost immediately after announcing her latest venture earlier this year, Kendall faced intense scrutiny for the name of her brand and the attempt to diminish tequila’s cultural significance in the Latinx community.
‘There was just a lack of respect to the culture and the importance of tequila to Mexico,’ bartender Lucas Assis told Yahoo Life in February. ‘She didn’t even know how to properly drink tequila.’
He went on to explain how agave takes up to nine years to fully mature before being able to harvest, a questionable time frame since Kendall noted that she had only spent four years perfecting her new brand.
‘The plant is embedded in the country’s history and culture. Celebrities need to understand the detrimental effect their brands can have on the tequila industry but even most importantly on the agriculture of the agave plant,’ he said.
‘Using Mexico’s culture and history for nothing other than capital gain is culture appropriation. Not to mention leaving the family-owned small distilleries, who have been doing this for generations, struggling to keep up with the sky rocketing prices of the agave, due to farmers simply not being able to keep up with the demand.’
It was back to business as usual on Monday afternoon when Kendall made an appearance at Mel and Rose liquor store to celebrate the launch.
Kendall wore a loose white long-sleeve top with straight leg jeans and a navy blue 818 vest with a ‘Kenny’ patch.
Enthusiastic fans were treated to 818 merchandise (including hats and shirts) thrown by Jenner into the crowds from a bright green truck.
