Do we all just crave a bit of spice?
Spiky flavors, weird formats, eye-grabby branding... consumers are magpies, and should be treated as such.
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Humans are creatures of habit - we pick up the same brands, we follow the same routines, and some of the world’s biggest businesses have been built around that truth.
HOWEVER.
People also love novelty. There will forever be a promising little space for a brand to pop up and say, ‘hey, look at me, I’m like that thing you’ve been buying forever but different.’ In the food and bev space, people are even more susceptible, because the promise of a new flavor, or the flash of a new bit of branding on a shelf, can be hard to resist.
We’re seeing bev brands tap into this magpie-like impulse in a few ways: flavor, format, brand. Welcome to the nexus of novelty:
1)Flavor
Spiciness has been a super-trend of the last 12 months. You’ve got Absolut’s tabasco vodka. You’ve got Cointreau Spicy. You’ve got the Orange Blossom and Cacao edition from Hendrick’s. And even Stoli’s new ginger beer is formulated with a hint of chilli. People want potent, interesting, new flavors.
2)Format
The rise of the RTD speaks for itself, but already there’s signs of bev brands thinking about what comes after the standard tin. Companies are investing in ready-to-go shot pouches, tins with sachets attached, and see-through packaging. As more and more companies move toward canned offerings, there’ll inevitably be more slants on the format, to reclaim some of that novelty.
3)Brand
It’s the original differentiator – the way to tap into people’s search for newness You only need to look at our catalog of young bev brands to see how all of them are using it to steal people’s attention’s away from other, more familiar drinks options. The best bit about brand is that it’s both hook and line - get people’s attention once, become familiar, and use brand to keep them coming back for more of what they love.
Now, for the news:
COCKTAIL LAND
Are complex cocktails out? Delish says bartenders are bored of all the garnishes and novelty for novelty’s sake, and are going back minimal ingredient, simple cocktails.
Guys, canned cocktails are such a big deal that The Atlantic has written about them and wow, that’s a headline.
Canned cocktail brand Moth has a new brand platform celebrating “taste, togetherness and the unexpected”.
Moët Hennessy is getting into the ready-to-serve biz, with a line-up of bottled cognac cocktails aimed at Gen Z.
Our take: we like that this feels so refined. While lots of other brands are trying to get that ‘hello there fellow kids’ zany energy, MH has adopted branding that feels dignified without being boring.
Jose Cuervo tequila cocktails, now IN A CAN.
ZERO BOOZE
Arkay is launching an alcohol-free whiskey under its Beyond Spirits line.
Our take: the language and the branding is all over the place with this one. The whiskey world tends to skew premium, and if you want even a little alcohol-free slice of that you need branding that can compete.
To complicate things further, Arkay announced new brand messaging this month, saying, “We don’t sell alcohol-free spirits, we sell happiness.” Read that, then take another look at their NA whiskey packaging.
Suntory continues to expand into the US and Europe, launching Nivo House in a small number of states in America.
Beyond Meat continues to baffle as it pushes ahead with it’s all-trend-everything new drink, which has an ingredients list that feels like a checkbox of every single hyped ingredient (except beef tallow).
BEER TIME
We spotted Cobra founder Karan Bilimoria musing in the brand’s origin story, over on LinkedIn. What’s interesting here isn’t his emphasis on determination, but the way he spotted a very defined moment and ritual (sitting down to a curry), and made something specifically for that.
Can anything stop Bero? Their latest release is a series of alcohol-free shandies with fruit flavors that are, apparently, inspired by Zendaya herself.
Our take: These guys are smart. A novel product for them, but an old classic for everyone else, and with flavors that are just the right blend of familiar and trendy.
Anyone for an apple beer from Keystone Light?
THE MONEY BIT
Whiskey brand Uncle Nearest has had turbulent times, but looks like it’s found a buyer – and they’re pledging to honour the brand’s cultural significance.
RTD aqua fresca brand Bawi just closed a $6m investment.
We noticed quite a few whiskey brands on The Spirits Business’s list of the fastest-growing spirits of 2025.
THE FORMAT PLAY
This RTD is going all-in with its novelty play, serving low-cal fruity vodka cocktails with an attached sachet that includes caffeine and other functional add-ons.
Our take: Fun, but will anyone buy this a second time?
Heineken partners with Heinz for a six-pack of beer that…. also has some ketchup attached.
We’ve seen a lot of people talking about this one: Svedka’s canned vodka water, in a see-through can.
BRANDING & MARKETING DOING ITS THING
818 Tequila has launched a Best Summer Ever campaign - focusing heavily on fun times, big sweepstakes, and nothing really being too serious.
We’re a little late to the party on this, but quite fond of this extra-long beer pack, made by Long Trail Brewing Co. It’s charming (although there’s always a bit of suspicion around whether these kinds of stunts are actually sold, or just farmed out to the press).
Coors Light also decided to get stretchy, with an 18-inch ‘Tallerboy’ canister that fits three cans inside it so you don’t miss any World Cup action by having to run to the fridge. It’s currently ‘sold out’ on their website.
We side-eyed Asahi a little bit for this brand refresh of Twisted Shotz.
Our take: this ticks a few boxes: pre-gaming, naive ‘who gives a shit’ branding, that BuzzBallz-esque bonkersness. But does it feel like they’ve shoehorned a bit too much in here? Is it a little derivative?
Vodka brand Tito’s unveils its first UK campaign, and it’s going for confident, no-nonsense messaging.
Lagunitas has a new look.
Madonna is now the face of Absolut.
BOOKMARK AND READ LATER
Fellow Substacker Camille Moore has written a great analysis of Grey Goose (acquired by Bacardi in 2004 for $$) and how it’s an essential case study for what brand actually does. As she says: “Bacardi was not buying production capacity, supply chain, or recipe IP. They were buying a frosted bottle, a French origin story, and a perception they could not have built themselves in twice the time.”
Ok, we all know about celebrity beverage. But, bear with us, what about the ultimate celebrity beverage – an endorsement from Jesus himself? The Guardian investigates a budding new bev category: Christian energy drinks.
India has a plenty of wild-growing agave plants. The BBC asks whether it might, eventually, be a rival for Mexico.
Finally, we’re blessing you with not one but TWO new reports about the bev sector:
1)Snaxshot’s State of Beverage
The New Rules is a labor of love by nihilo.agency
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