Welcome to Happy Hour, our quick-scroll guide to the news, views and moves of the bev/alc sector. Subscribe for the next one.
What with all the adaptogenic sodas and protein beers and spiked energy drinks and electrolytes and vitamins and overly earnest, moralising messaging, it’s easy to forget: drinking is meant to be fun.
Some brands seem to be remembering that.
-Diageo launched a new ‘lovely day for a Guinness’ outdoor campaign which is simple, clever and, guess what guys, fun.
-Skrewball released a peanut butter and strawberry jelly whiskey.
-Veuve Clicquot announced a bright yellow LA beach club pop-up, built around the idea of joy.
-And multiple press outlets have been writing about Grey Goose Vodka’s Honey Deuce cocktail (allegedly, one sold every 1.5 seconds at the US Open). People love drinking it. People love talking about it. If we were to consult the critic within, we’d say its success is less about the vodka and more about the funness of having a drink with three cute little melon tennis balls while watching the tennis.
More bev brands need to have more fun. Or get more creative with garnishes?
Or, maybe, they need to have just the right amount of fun? Somewhere between the evangelising about people not drinking and the truth that most people actually are drinking lies a magical land: moderation.
This year we’ve seen more and more brands get into the middle, offering lowered ABV options for the people that want to tamp things down a touch.
Diageo is launching a new mid-strength line, with a set of 20% versions of its classic brands, and the founders of Quarter Proof have also launched a new half proof spirits brand, Demi.
Keep scrolling for the news and views we saved this month.
OPINIONS THAT ARE WORTH IT
-Every now and then, LinkedIn delivers an intelligent and well-informed opinion. It’s worth reading Lofted Spirits’ Peter Marino’s take on the non-alc beer market. He says it might not be the opportunity it’s being painted as, and not all brands should jump to launch a NA extension.
-The LA Times says Gen Z doesn’t want fizz.
Our take: Are demographic generalisations useful? Is this actual behaviour change, or are there just a lot of great young bev/alc brands offering still options right now?
-“Every dollar Campari spent teaching Americans what a spritz is, how it’s meant to taste, when to order one, also taught them the category, not just the brand,” writes strategist Will Poskett. So what do you do when the other brands start surging up the ramp you just built into that category?
-RTD success isn’t just about putting your famous brand in a can, says Tavern founder and New Rules friend Mike Perry.
-Ben Tannenbaum visits Ulaanbataar Cocktail week and muses on what culture and heritage means for drinking, for recipes, for menus, for craft, for hospitality.
IN LESS GOOD NEWS
-Diageo has had a rough time. The Spirits Business reports on its new strategy which, in short means: less premiumisation, less focus on China, more RTDs.
-French winemakers could be facing a historic low harvest after this year’s heatwaves and drought in Europe.
NEW NEW NEW
Sarti is Campari, but pink. Ok it’s not quite as simple as that, but it’s interesting watching how the brand is being launched in the US…. some lavish marketing activity, and a confected sense of scarcity and mystery.
-Dos Hombres has launched a reposado tequila.
-Old Speckled Hen has an alcohol-free version in a bid to “woo younger drinkers”.
Our take: A heritage beer brand, jumping on a trend, late to the party as it is, and hoping that slapping ZERO on their packaging is going to win over younger people. No.
-Baileys is back with another Terry’s Chocolate Orange special edition.
Our take: Chasing novelty for novelty’s sake is a dead end (we’re looking at you protein sodas). HOWEVER, seasonal, limited, for-a-short-time-only novelty can work.
-Everything comes in a can now. And it looks like one of Liquid Death’s founders is hoping to sprinkle some tinned brand magic on the sparkling wine space.
-ChampionSips is a NA beer with 10g of protein.
-Nutrabolt now does beer-flavoured energy drinks.
-Everleaf has a ‘swicy’ hot honey edition.
-Haku Vodka hires Rina Sawayama as brand ambassador for its ‘made to shine’ brand campaign.
-Athletic Brewing and Graza got together and had a baby (a NA pils brewed with olive oil).
BIG MOVES
-Champagne is about to be stronger. You can thank the heatwaves.
-Modelo is going all-in on college football.
-Veuve Clicquot is bringing a whole beach club to LA.
-Cutwater is making $1b of sales every year
Our take: Sometimes it pays to be the contrarian. While a lot of brands are going low or no, or embedding healthy extras, Cutwater is just selling really strong drinks.
-“We’ve created a technology that transforms beer discovery into something far more personal,” says Heineken on the launch of an AI-powered tap that apparently lets people personalise their beer.
Our take: this is obviously highly unlikely to be rolled out to the masses but even so it begs the question: who asked for this? Don’t most consumers just want to be poured a perfectly brewed, chilled, foamy beer, and have it presented to them, without much input?
-Campari hires Alan Cumming to celebrate the delicious bitterness of Campari.
-Brewdog is hoping to worm its way back into our hearts once more – and it really wants us all to know that things are different now.
FORMATS THEY ARE A-CHANGING
-ABInBev says it’s going to make beer more affordable. Details on how, exactly, seem scarce, but Drinks Intel says smaller cheaper formats, and larger better value formats.
-Moët Hennessy is also thinking about packaging, promising to cut down glass and reduce its carbon footprint.
The New Rules is a labor of love by nihilo.agency
Need design support for your brand? Reach out! hi@nihilo.agency
And support our work by:
Subscribing
Sharing
Inviting us to speak at your conference or event on branding/bev/alc/fun
Cheers.