The Cabinet: Liquid Summer 22

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to Liquid, a printed, quarterly round up of our weekly Liquid Thinking articles, which offer our commentary and insights into a wide range of drinks-related subjects, ranging from the role of NFTs through to why most RTD brands appear to be so boring.

Not all the articles will be relevant to your specific area of 'liquid interest', nevertheless we're sure you will find something that stimulates your thinking and possibly even changes how you view a particular opportunity or challenge.

So now just grab a drink, sit back, sip and enjoy.

ALL MIXED UP

WATERS GOING ON?

Something’s in the water; but why?

OUT OF AFRICA

Why drinks from the continent are finally having their moment.

WHAT IS AN NFT ANYWAY?!

NFTs are here, but what value, if any, do they have for brands?

GAMING DRINKS

No really, who are they for?

What are mixers really for? 40

TIME FOR TEA

Why tea will never, and should never, be the next coffee.

NON-ALC RTDS

SHREWD MOVE, OR CONFUSING PROSPECT?

Though non-alc spirits answer a clear consumer need, there remain substantial hurdles to convincing consumers not only to buy them, but to try them in the first place. The most immediate of these is cost, followed a close second by confusion of what and how to drink them. Much like their spirit cousins, RTDs then, seem to offer a solution. But are they cause for confusion?

As the weather begins to brighten — and the correlation between sensible Government Covid policy and the spiking number of new cases broadens ever further — one thing’s for certain; alfresco drinking is on the horizon. Did you know if you spot your first inappropriately shirtless man by the end of March, it’s going to be a great summer? We’ve counted two so far.

But we digress. Longer evenings and shorter sleeves mean that it must be RTD season. Yes, though the season for canned drinks seems to have drifted into most of the year, spring is a particularly ripe time for new launches aimed at summer drinking, from hard seltzers to now... non-alc RTDs.

The necessity for portable, canned formats during the first Covid lockdowns prompted much of the first wave of these products in Spring 2021. They included Gordon’s 0.0, Lyre’s, Caleno, Amplify, Stryyk and Martini. Most — though not all — stuck to the formular of non-alc versions of familiar serves, e.g. gin and tonic. However, new launches in 2022 are fortunately a little more creative.

A NEED FOR SOMETHING DIFFERENT –BUT NOT TOO DIFFERENT

First up, there’s the new range from non-alc aperitif brand Everleaf. The brand, one of the first non-alc spirits originally launched in the UK by bartender and conservation biologist Paul Mathew in January 2019. It expanded the range, adding Everleaf Mountain and Marine in late 2020, renaming the original Forest.

Aptly, they’ve chosen the trending spritz serve for their debut into canned formats. Everleaf Forest Spritz is described as bittersweet with saffron, vanilla and honeyed orange blossom. Mountain Spritz combines cherry blossom, strawberry and rosehip. And Marine Spritz uses bergamot and savoury seaweeds.

ADDING A TWIST

Even when keeping things simple, brands are adding a twist and following the trends. Also new to market are the non-alc expressions from St Andrews-based distiller Eden Mill, which has combined its alcohol-free ‘gin’ Eden Nil with both tonic (as expected) and lemonade.

The brand says they are intended to provide alternatives to “typical soft drinks”, so it’s interesting that they have opted to mix with one of the most widely available soft drinks and one that’s become a default choice for abstainers who struggle to find sophisticated non-alc brands behind the average bar. Perhaps the sweet and familiar will prove a tempting lure to consumers who have not yet tried its non-alcoholic distillate made using water, juniper, coriander, lemon balm and cardamom?

SENSORIAL FULFILMENT

Perhaps the most innovative approach comes from the Mocktails brand. Though producers are increasingly mastering replicating the taste of spirits in their non-alcoholic formulas, they often fall down when it comes to other sensory experiences. The heat and let’s put it delicately, the high you get from booze are a frontier only being attempted by a few. But when it comes to mouthfeel, the Mocktails brand is the first to attempt to offer something satisfying in a can.

Its new range features Mockarita, Mockapolitan, Mockscow Mule and Sansgria; we’re not going to insult your intelligence explaining each one. Each can features a widget to nitro-charge the liquid, adding texture, aroma and a visually differentiated liquid meant to resemble a freshly shaken cocktail.

STEPS IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

What’s clear when looking at the range of non-alc RTDs available

is that this segment of the market is still very much in its infancy. And brands are having to walk a very fine line between offering something familiar enough that consumers feel comfortable to sample, but exciting enough to make them want to in the first place.

RTDs are increasingly becoming a crucial recruitment tool for brands hoping to tempt consumers to commit to a fullsize bottle, offering a way to trial it at an affordable price, while also demonstrating how to mix it.

However, they now have an increasingly diverse, nuanced and sophisticated soft drink market to compete with. What’s

the difference you ask, say between an Everleaf Spritz and Campari’s traditional non-alc aperitif drink, Crodino? About £1.40 per can/ bottle. Whereas Crodino is widely available in multipacks where each bottle works out at roughly 90p each at their cheapest, the Everleaf cans have an RRP of £30 for a 12 pack, or £2.50 per can.

Non-alc spirits, even in RTD form, still have a high price point that they’ve perhaps not yet convincingly justified to consumers. It will be the role of creative branding agencies, as well as flavour innovation teams to figure out ways to differentiate them, visually as well as through taste.

THE FUTURE

Flavour and experience wise however, these new RTDs feel like they’re taking the category in the right direction, moving the experience of consuming one beyond a direct replacement for existing full strength serves (an area ripe for consumer disappointment) into something that can’t be compared and able to stand on their own.

The addition of new textures and mouthfeels — in short, additional sensory experiences — as well as distinct and unique flavour profiles will be a key method for differentiation from the soft drinks category, will better help producers justify

their prices and will truly pit them as a worthy replacement for alcoholic products.

Expect not only further non-alc RTD products to launch — this is not a radical prediction — but expect them to offer greater experimentation when it comes to flavour, heat, mouthfeel and even replicating the buzz from booze. The likely biggest shift however, is the expectation that more and more brands will debut with an RTD first — winning consumers over in a much more cost effective way — rather than their spirit replacements themselves.

JUST A GIMMICK, OR SUBVERSIVE RECRUITMENT TOOL?

From fashion designers, musicians, drag queens and even now computer games, brands are increasingly collaborating with a wider array of public figures, as well as other well-known brands, to bolster their own. But does it work? Can brands really piggyback on their partner’s fanbases? And what kind of statements are such collaborations trying to make?

Yes, when it comes to attracting new consumers, we have gone waaaaaay beyond what goes into the bottle. As the countless bottle wraps from designer fashion brands now show, in this visual world we now live in, it’s what’s on the bottle that also counts. Yet, amidst the social, environmental and political flux of the past few years, the ever more diverse collaborations between drinks brands and partners outside of the industry, are truly taking things a step further still.

A TEMPORARY IDENTITY?

We’re not talking celebrity brands, or partnerships between fellow drinks brands; though both continue to produce some interesting results. Instead, we’re focusing on a new and growing wave of collaborations between drinks brands, fashion designers, musicians, prominent public figures and now, computer games, all of which are taking things beyond merely bottle design in fact and deep into the world of marketing.

Why are they happening? While some brands are using such partnerships to reach consumer groups that would otherwise overlook them, others use their choice of figure head as a way to outline the political or social leanings of the brand and the causes it wishes to champion. And the way in which brands are using collaborations as a temporary, assumed or reinforced identity, is both accelerating and evolving.

FOR THE CAUSE

For Constellation Brands, its recent partnership with actress Reese Witherspoon for example, is an opportunity to champion feminist causes, as well as a method by which to — however loosely — talk about its own feminist past.

The partnership involves the launch of The Editor’s Edition Rosé from the company’s SIMI Winery, to celebrate Witherspoon’s Book Club. Each month, the club chooses a book with a woman at the centre of the story. Speaking on their symbiotic relationship, the brand has pointed out that both its senior winemakers are women, while shining a spotlight on one of the company’s founding figures, Isabelle Simi and her resilience through prohibition in the 1920's.

THE FUTURE IS DIGITAL — BUT WE KNEW THAT

Collaborations are also now going far beyond physical assets, something being explored in particular by Pernod Ricard. Of course, Absolut has long championed LGBTQ+ causes and aligned itself with the community. Its latest collaboration reinforces its alliance with pushing for equality, as well as celebrating that community itself, through its latest work with Drag star Tayce, fashion designer Chet Lo and the Institute of Digital Fashion.

The project called Second Skin Couture aims, according to the brand, “to challenge existing stereotypes and perceptions of fashion and provide a vision of the future — a world where what you wear

isn’t tied to the binds of gender, seasonal trends, religious expression, or function”. The team have collaborated to create a translucent ‘second-skin’ garment as part of a series of projects designed to drive conversation and progress in the UK.

What the heck does that last sentence mean? In the real world, Chet Lo has designed a non-gendered garment made of a light, translucent and futuristic fabric and which aims to blur the line between skin and material, “to symbolise how the wearer can express their true and purest self on the outside in future fashion”. The physical garment itself has been modelled by non-binary model and Drag Race UK star, Tayce.

Hold on to your conceptual hats. The garment is also being made available digitally for UK consumers to ‘try on’ in the metaverse, in the Ateliers Institute of Digital Fashion’s metacloset. Got it? The digital filter was made available to access via social media platforms from early May to coincide with the London launch event. According to the brand, the project is intended to inspire people to show their true identities.

ASSUMING A NEW IDENTITY

For other brands, collaborations are helping themselves, rather than their consumers, to assume an identity of their choice. Another Pernod Ricard brand, Ballantine’s — the world’s second-bestselling Scotch whisky in fact — has been ramping up its efforts over the past two years to attract a younger, more diverse audience in markets across the world,

particularly among the 30-something demographic. Its use of collaboration is helping it assume a younger, hipper identity, more connected to the zeitgeist.

In its first wave of activity in late 2020, it worked with director Oscar Boyson and photographer Sophie Jones, to launch a short film and billboards across 20 global markets. The work featured images of black dancers and kissing female partners with slogans including ‘There’s no wrong way to move’ and ‘There’s no wrong way to feel’. Though clearly reaching out to a new generation, it also aimed to show how founder George Ballantine ‘did things his own way’ when he founded the conventional codes of whisky back in 1827.

However, brand new for 2022, is a collaboration with one of the world’s biggest computer games, Borderlands, to create a limited-edition bottle design. The design features an image of the character Mad Moxxi, a bar owner in the game’s Pandora setting. According to the brand, the character has also been appointed the Chief Galactic Expansion Officer (CGEO) for the brand and has even created a video to promote responsible drinking from her bar. The bottle also allows access to exclusive Borderlands 3 content.

And crucially, the character will also recruit a team of Borderlands fans, who will create content, give out exclusive merchandise and share Moxxi’s own content, to build brand awareness and further fans to the brand. Chivas Brothers’ Global Marketing Director of Ballantine’s, Mathieu Deslandes said: “Our partnership with Borderlands is an exciting first step into the world of gaming and is part of our ambition to open up the Scotch whisky category to new fans and reach new audiences.”

WHAT’S REAL?

It seems the new wave of brand collaborations at their heart, concern notions of identity and belonging. The work of brands, creative design agencies and celebrity and brand partners seem to have the intent of ‘helping’ consumers gain a greater sense of their own, perhaps shifting identity, granting them permission to truly be themselves. Or else, brands are using them to shift their own identity, proving to the consumer sets that they wish to reach, that they’re truly one of them and reflecting them and their interests back in their marketing activity.

Is any of this particularly revolutionary? At its core, the work reflects the kind of marketing activity brands have been using for decades, probably longer. What has shifted and what is different are the increasingly pioneering, contentious, socially important and sometimes subversive social, political and sexual issues brands are willing to put their names to, or the increasingly digital, ‘meta’ methods being employed. Just like in society, the notion of identity is becoming ever more fluid.

Playing it safe and standing on the side-lines is no longer an option to reach younger generations who prize self-expression and standing up for their beliefs and sense of self, in increasingly visible ways. It makes sense then that these campaigns and collabs are melding and working between real world and digital venues, not only expanding their reach, but reaching consumers where they’re at.

The race is on to speak the language of the first true digital natives, Generation Z; at least the ones legally able to drink. According to IBM, 74% of Gen Z-ers spend their free time online, the Global Web Index reports they spend over 8 hours a day online and according to Criteo 32% of Gen Z transactions happen on a mobile device.

However, this is a generation that values authenticity and are savvy to brands jumping on causes or the cool-factor of other brands for ‘clout’, or for their own gain. Authentic roots in, or affiliation with causes or worlds — from gaming to fashion — is a must if they are truly to win them over. Wrong steps could instead alienate them. And crucially, even when it’s for fun, with a link-up with a computer game or celebrity, there better be a tangible benefit, asset, or product that truly meets consumers needs.

Image source: Ballantine’s Instagram

HAS IT HAPPENED YET?

Tequila has long been tipped as the next big thing… and in some places it is. But while the category may be riding high in the US, is the UK really ready to embrace it?

First thing’s first… there’s tequila. And then there’s ‘sipping’ tequila. Let it be acknowledged that many markets — including the UK — have long moved past the era of tequila simply being an accompaniment to a high intake of salt and lime and a plethora of bad decisions.

Brands such as the ubiquitously popular Patron have helped transform the landscape of tequila, leading the ‘sipping not shooting’ revolution and helping raise both perceptions and prices in its wake. On behalf of those peer-pressured too many times to take a shot at the bar, we thank you.

Yet, in the same way that rum — or more recently hard seltzers — have been touted as the next big thing, in recent years, so has tequila. Yes, it seems that every trend that blows up in the US is then tipped to wash on to UK shores. And while in the States — a market with a much more immediate geographic and cultural connection to Mexico — the lofty tequila-boom may be true, can that really be said for the UK?

‘STRATOSPHERIC’ INCREASES

Arguably, yes and no. Globally, super-premium (think Patron, but also brands such as Don Julio and Herradura) tequilas have been on a stratospheric rise selling 5.1 million cases in 2020, compared to just 665,000 cases in 2005, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the US (Discus). And in the US, total tequila doubled its sales in the ten years to 2020, to 22.2m cases, with volumes up by 5% in 2021. But in the UK, sales are actually also on the up. More than one and a half million bottles

were sold in the 12 months to September 2021, an increase of 36% on 2020, reaching £33m, according to the Wine & Spirit Trade Association (WSTA). Could it be that tequila’s reputation as a drink to celebrate the good (read as: out of lockdown) times, lives on?

BUT THE HEADLINE STATS DON’T STOP THERE

According to CGA, tequila sales in the UK on-trade increased by 106% in the year to February 2022. And though that should be taken with a pinch of salt (lime optional), when accounting for on-trade closures, the overall figures look compelling. On trade sales of premium tequila rose in value from £9.35m to £22.43m, whereas sales of standard rose from £40.22m to £81.47m.

PENT-UP PARTYING

So, why? Well, tequila’s celebratory vibe currently fits with the consumer mood, where pent-up desires for gatherings and celebration are still being acted out, as many are still experiencing their first non-lockdown holiday, birthday, family reunion, etc.

Also, against a backdrop of a shift towards tropical and exotic serves, tequila cocktails such as the Margarita are having a resurgence at home and in bars, both high-end and mainstream. And finally, according to the WSTA, tequila sales are also being driven by the ramping up of the shift in sipping tequila, rather than just mixing it.

“With the public having to find different ways of brightening up their weekends during lockdown periods, we saw a keenness to experiment with new and exciting drinks choices,” WSTA’s CEO, Miles Beale, said.

The fact is that sales are on the up and with that a flurry of brands are now making a play for the UK market. But now that it’s here, will the boom last?

HAS ANYTHING REALLY CHANGED?

Well, the jury is out. The current embrace of the spirit as something to celebrate with, is hardly a marked shift from its long-held image as a party drink. Though sales are booming, have perceptions changed enough to move tequila more into the everyday drinking repertoire of British drinkers?

Unlike in the US, the UK consumer has far fewer cultural ties to the drink and its less ingrained in drinking culture. Also, the star-power driving some of the industry’s fastest growing brands — it seems every US celebrity now aspires to own one — doesn’t fully resonate on this side of the pond either. Sure, we’ve heard of George Clooney, Kendall Jenner and The Rock, but I’ll give you £5 if you can tell me who Diego Osorio, Jeanie Buss or John Varvatos are.

Though the days of shooting tequila are diminishing, its lingering associations with big nights out still prevent it from being an obvious choice for consumers simply looking for a low-key week night drink, especially in a market increasingly driven by lower-strength

refreshment. Brand owners will have to work hard to bring tequila to the level of gin, something that has become an auto-pilot order for many British consumers.

And — not wanting to feed into the stereotype of weather-obsessed Brits — but do we really have the climate to sustain sales? Though many fine, artisan tequilas, should be and rightly are appreciated yearround for their nuanced flavour and smooth taste, the vast majority of Brits still view it as a sunshine drink, especially when it comes to cocktails. Once the flurry of exuberant escapism drinking has died down and the winter coats come out, what then?

And finally — perhaps crucially for any brands now eyeing the market — do Brits truly understand what makes a good tequila? And do they have any knowledge of the different variants available? Sure, Patron has done a great job in educating global markets as to what a tequila truly can be taste-wise, but are consumers discerning enough to weed out quality new liquids from those that simply look good?

A QUIET REVOLUTION

That said, some quiet changes are afoot. Brand owners and some strong work by creative drinks design agencies, have rather subtly been working to change perceptions of the category, shifting packaging design most notably from candy skulls and horns, to a much calmer, more aspirational, and more unisex palette of sunsets and constellations. Think El Rayo and Mijenta, among others. That tequila is being embraced by a younger, increasingly female crowd, is a significant win for the category.

Conjointly, its image as a hedonistic hangover instigator could have alienated it from the younger, hipper crowd it needs to attract, a crowd that has

readily embraced wellness and moderation. But the problem may be that its appeal is aesthetic only. Are the consumers lured by its Instagramfriendly aesthetic really going to be consuming it regularly? And that may be the issue; regular, repeat consumption. Brand owners will have to work hard — and together — to champion a serve that feels authentic to the category and its Mexican roots, while still serving the dominant UK consumer’s need for light refreshment. Margaritas may be trending, but with extremely limited availability in venues such as pubs, they won’t keep the category in its current boom for long.

Serves such as the Paloma (tequila, lime, grapefruit, soda) have been championed in the UK by various brands and yet it hasn’t really stuck. With soda trending as the thirst for lighter serves ramps up, could now be the time to try again?

Image source: El Rayo Tequila Instagram

Innovations In merican Whiskey

A LOOK AT WHAT’S GOING ON IN AMERICAN WHISKEY INNOVATION

When it comes to new launches in American whiskey, the rule book has been well and truly torn-up, double charred, aged in tequila casks, non-chill filtered and sprinkled with a tonne of botanicals, just for good luck. As the category looks to attract new, curious consumers, drawn-in by a sense of intrigue, we take a look at some of the most interesting new launches.

The mega trend of exploration seems to be ramping up when it comes to American whiskey. As producers embrace the needs of a consumer group who don’t know exactly what they want and who on the whole don’t possess an in-depth knowledge of whiskey, they are becoming ever more free to experiment. While established brands are reinventing themselves with limited edition launches to target this emerging audience, new brands whose identity is entirely centred on experimentation, are also emerging.

Out of this new-found freedom, a few core trends are taking shape. And it will come as no surprise that when we’re talking about experimentation and greater accessibility, flavour is key. Yes, no category is safe it seems from flavoured variants.

Though massively effective when it comes to garnering both attention and new fans, flavours sometimes run the risk of seeming faddy. So what’s the halfway point when it comes to experimentation with flavour, without damaging the integrity of the liquid? As we’ve seen in rum, botanicals offer a compromise.

Though brands are increasingly demanding less inherent knowledge from consumers when it comes to accessing their products, many are trialling ever more complex and avant-garde methods of distillation. How they effectively communicate this to consumers however, remains a challenge.

Here’s our guide to some of the most interesting trends in American whiskey to look out for:

BOTANICAL BOURBON

Texas’ New Artisan distillery produces both gin and bourbon, so the inspiration for its Botanical Bourbon seems clear. The brand was also co-founded by Don Short, a former executive at Coca-Cola Co and award-winning chef Robert Del Grande. Its brand Roxor is described as the world’s first botanical bourbon and is made with a mash of 74% corn, 21% rye and 5% malt and is infused with 20 botanicals. Though the brand doesn’t specify which, the finished bourbon is described as having notes of maple, forest fruits, chocolate and cola. Will this move help in attracting gin drinkers over to bourbon?

FLAVOURS

Bourbon Bourbon. Yes, you read that right, a Kentucky bourbon infused with real Bourbon biscuits exists in the world. Infused with real bourbon biscuits, it’s also blended with dark chocolate and vanilla and can be sipped neat, or used to add a chocolatey twist to the classics. So popular has the launch been, that retailer Master Of Malt reports it frequently sells out on its site.

Turning to something altogether more savoury, New Hampshire’s Tamworth Distilling has recently released Deerslayer whiskey using its core aged wheat whiskey as a base, before flavouring it with venison. What? How?

Well, first of all, locally sourced deer meat is ground, mixed with spices and flavourings including salt, green peppercorn, juniper and cranberries, then fermented and smoked. It is then added to the whiskey, which is then distilled again. Well, it certainly makes a change from the endless peanut butter flavours we’ve been seeing of late. Expect producers to push the boundaries even further, as much in search of notoriety and headlines, as new flavour profiles.

HYBRIDS

Speaking of experimental, step forward Horse With No Name. Described as a ‘bourbon with habanero spirit’, this hybrid liquid straddles the line between whiskey and tequila. It contains bourbon produced by Texas’s Firestone & Robertson Distilling Co. and a habanero distillate made with red savina peppers from Germany. The question on everyone’s lips is whether it will help attract tequila drinkers to bourbon, or bourbon drinkers to tequila? Upon its launch Pernod Ricard says it hopes it will become a talking point at the bar, so as long as consumers are intrigued enough to give it go, it seems its mission will be accomplished. But will consumers struggle to know what it’s for, when it comes to how and when to drink it?

ALTERNATE CASKS

Of course, one of the most readily available methods open to distillers to experiment with, is the use of barrels. Rules regarding the production of bourbon and the use of new charred oak barrels, means there’ll never be much experimentation

there, but for wider American whiskies, that’s not a problem. Distillers are now looking to an ever-diverse array of wood in which to age and from Japanese mizunara casks to sherry, some more unusual choices are creeping in. Thomas S. Moore in particular has focused on cask experimentation. Part of the Sazerac Company, its Extended Cask Finishes range includes a cognac and a port cask finish, but most intriguingly of all, is the chardonnay cask. Though alternative casks have on and off been a trend for decades, expect it to ramp up with a vengeance, in ever more attention-grabbing ways.

BOTTLE AGING

Another trend that tends to flare-up and then disappear is the notion that you can bypass traditional wood aging, in part or completely. Over the years, various alternative techniques have emerged, some which use motion and wood chips to expose the liquid more intensely to wood, others… well, we’ll skip those. If they were effective, they’d have stuck around.

One brand looking into fast-track finishing outside of wood, is Oak & Eden. Its in-bottle finishing technique uses a spiral of carved wood placed inside every bottle. Called a ‘spire’ the brand describes it as a ‘first of its kind’, pioneering, patented and a few other impressive things. The theory is that the curvy stick and we’re quoting here, “inspires” the whiskey, “breathing new life, flavour and aromas that couldn’t be achieved in a single barrel alone”.

Wood plus whiskey = tasty, right? For a generation brought-up on visuals, it’s a clever and self-evident ploy to describe the process of whiskey-making. Well, kind of.

SO WHAT NOW?

But in this era of curiosity, experimentation and exploration, visuals are powerful. Whether it’s on the back-bar, a supermarket shelf, or in an Instagram post, strong visuals matter in conveying not only quality, but intrigue. Yet as brands are increasingly targeting a less knowledgeable consumer group, they are bound to straddling a visual identity that offers some traditional cues related to whiskey and yet that also say something new.

In a market where premium and super premium products have been on the rise, fun alternatives at least offer accessibility. However, brands — and the market as a whole — need to be careful to tread the line between fun and gimmicky to avoid devaluing the category’s reputation. Remember Jim Beam Red Stag, the mass of honey flavoured liquids, and the plethora of flavours that followed?

Fun, heightened flavour experiences and accessibility are important, but this is still a market driven by quality. Brands moving into experimental liquids must convey that they are still premium. Their challenge remains easily communicating their production methods and ingredients such as the use of natural, not artificial flavours and how to consume them, if they are going to pull in a consumer group that may not be knowledgeable about whiskey, but are still discerning when it comes to the products they choose.

THE EDIT

OUR PICK OF THE 5

MOST INTERESTING BRANDS THIS QUARTER

It is nearly impossible to keep abreast of every launch and every product in the market across categories, but we try our best. Here are the 5 stand out brands that we are watching with interest.

Decem Light Spirits

Billy Wright, a finalist of the BBC TV series Masterchef, has recently launched a range of low-alcohol ‘spirits’. The Decem collection features three expressions: London Dry, Spiced Blend and Aperitif. In keeping with the brand’s name, which translates to ‘ten’ in Latin, each bottling clocks in at 10% ABV and is made with 10 ingredients.

Mirror Margarita

Mirror Margarita is Hacha’s new award-winning cocktail in a bottle. A crystal clear twist on the classic which when served looks like a glass of water, but is in fact a stunning Margarita with the perfect balance of sweet and sour notes.

Betty Buzz Tonics

Exciting to see a celebrity move into the soft drinks market as opposed to the spirits space. This pioneer of celebritydom is no other than Blake Lively, who announced the launch of Betty Buzz, her new line of non-alcoholic, sparkling mixers made from clean ingredients.

Heaps Normal Non-Alcoholic Beer

A new 0% beer brand coming out of Oz. Created by Head Brewer, Ben Holdstock, Heaps Normal redesigned the brewing process on the journey to create a genuinely tasty non-alcoholic beer that competes with the best craft beers out there.

Wilfred’s Non-Alcoholic Spritz

Tired of mundane, sweet and unhealthy non-alcoholic drinks options, Wilfred’s reinvent the Spritz for a new generation of drinkers. Using London botanicals to create low-calorie aperitifs, this is a blend of fresh rosemary and bitter orange.

Image source: mirrormargarita.com

Image source: Betty Buzz Instagram

Image source: heapsnormal.com

Image source: wilfredsdrinks.com

ALL MIXED UP

WHAT ARE MIXERS REALLY FOR?

It may seem like a trick question, but with ever more complex flavours, new liquid types and an increasing number of brands suggesting their products be drunk on their own, we ask, do mixers have an identity crisis?

In the cast list of finished drink serves, mixers have always been a supporting player. There to enhance, not steal attention from a headline spirit, their role has been to generally sit in the background. Though the rise of premium mixers over the past five or so years has brought them greater consumer attention, still, their role has been marketed as a high-quality addition to a high quality spirit. Until now.

It seems the definition of what a mixer is, what it is for and how it is to be consumed, is becoming blurred, as brands begin to market products for consumption in their own right. Furthermore, the boundaries of what types of drinks are being marketed as mixers, is also ever expanding. As drinks habits change, mixers are having to adapt and occupy a space somewhere between being a soft drink and even alcohol alternative in their own right. In short, mixers are increasingly trying to be all things, to all people, for a greater number of occasions.

WHAT IS DRIVING THESE SHIFTS?

Until recently, premium claims led when it came to marketing mixers, with a greater focus on the quality and provenance of ingredients. However, as more and more consumers look to moderate both alcohol and calorie intake, a mixer’s place as a better-for-you option that doesn’t compromise on taste is being exploited by a number of brands, through new flavours that aim to be a finished drink in their own right.

Health claims are now opening-up new opportunities in the mixer category pitting new liquids as a better-for-you alternative to standard sugary soft drinks. Brands are also beginning to add functional claims. Spirit specific mixers are emerging. And at the confluence of all of these trends, brands are pitching themselves as a solution to all needs; as both a mixer, soft drink and even alcohol alternative. So, what are they?

NEW LIQUIDS FOR MIXING

One of the most notable examples of this need to straddle the line between mixer, soft drink and alcohol alternative is the rise of kombucha. Previously packaged and sold as a health drink, a number of new brands are pushing the liquid as both a better-for-you mixer, or something to be drunk in place of alcohol. Real Kombucha for example markets itself as “moving well away from the usual sticky, sweet, served-with-a-straw options” and is available in Dry Dragon (made with Dragon Well green tea) and Royal Flush, made with Darjeeling First Flush tea).

Billed as a complex and healthier drink to sip solo, the brand also markets its products as a key mixer for non-alcoholic cocktail serves including a take on a Mojito, Bellini and Martini. Other fermented products such as switchels and meads are also being touted as ideal non-alc aperitifs and in some cases, for mixing.

NEW USES FOR FAMILIAR LIQUIDS

Meanwhile, brands have been busy extending the uses and occasions that established liquids are suitable for. The most prominent of these may be soda. In the past year, soda has overtaken tonic as the mixer of choice for health-conscious consumers, touted as an ideal companion for everything from whisky, to gin and vodka.

Alcohol brands from Vita Vodka to Suncamino Floral Rum are increasingly listing their perfect serve as being with soda. And new flavoured sodas such as London Essence Company’s Roasted Pineapple Crafted Soda are being created to pair specifically with spirits such as rum, providing consumers with an alternative where conventional sodas have hitherto been the go-to option. Meanwhile, brands such as Sekforde Prickly Pear, Fig and Cardamom soda are intended to pair with liquids including tequila and mezcal. The London Essence Company Jasmine Peach Soda is even recommended as a suitable mixer for prosecco.

According to Bacardi’s 2021 Cocktail Trend report, 53% of RTDs sold in North America are vodka soda and flavours. And 31% of bartenders surveyed for the report, highlighted flavoured sodas as a key trend and among the top ten ingredients piquing bartenders interests. The vodka soda serve has been identified as a top consumer request for 2022.

When it comes to tonic — which possesses a famously divisive flavour profile due to ts pronounced bitterness — brands have also begun adapting products to fit a number of new needs or serves. Notably, sipping neat. Again, from the London Essence Company, the Grapefruit and Rosemary Tonic is designed to be drunk alone, as is the Blossom Tonic from Artisan.

FUTURE PROOFING THE CATEGORY

So do mixers have an image problem? And with such a demand for versatility, can mixers truly be all things to all people and all spirits? With the megatrends in the industry — drinking less, drinking better, looking after health and switching to alcohol alternatives — shaping both them and the products they’ve traditionally been mixed with, it makes sense for mixers to consciously ride and adapt to the trends shaping consumption.

As brands such as Fever-Tree rightly pointed out during the rise of the premium mixer, for too long, mixers have been an afterthought, an un-evolving, static and underwhelming offer. Now, innovation and NPD is rapidly expanding the category.

But at which point does this drive for versatility become a problem? Do mixers run the risk of confusing consumers with a vast — and ever expanding — array of products? As the line between soft drinks and mixers blur, will consumers know when to use them? And, are brands gearing up to challenge or compliment non-alc spirits?

It seems that having ridden the wave of success surrounding gin, many mixer brands are now prepping for its fall, pushing tonics et al as the ideal accompaniment to the spirits all tipped to follow it; step forward vodka, rum and tequila. However, like gin, the splintering of the category into an endless array of choice for consumers, may be the thing that ultimately weakens sales for everybody.

WATER’S GOING ON?

SOMETHING’S IN THE WATER; BUT WHY?

Though all-natural claims and ‘clean’ eating and drinking are trending, it seems the cleanest, most natural of all liquids needs a little helping hand. Hydration is no longer enough. Water now has to be functional too. And what’s more, the lines between water and alcohol are being increasingly blurred.

We know that we need it, but do we want it? From fruit-flavoured, to sparkling, cordials, to added vitamins, water on its own never seems to be enough. Every few years a new water trend emerges, to encourage us to drink more packaged water. And in the age of wellness, that trend is focused of course, on optimal health. This time it’s the turn of functional brands to convince us that we need more from water than simply hydration alone.

A flurry in water innovation of late, has us looking at the varied ambitions of brand owners. Targeting new moments, new needs and new consumers in search of a more simple alternative to everything from fruit juices, to hard seltzers, these products are looking beyond water’s usual consumer group and instead offering a wellness-focused trade-off to other established drinks categories. Notably, all offer functional benefits, from added vitamins, to biotics, to boost health.

Some of the new launches we’re seeing are designed to help people drink more water. Spruce, launched in 2021 is described as an ‘all-natural’ and ‘plastic-free’ addition to help consumers drink more water. The fruit powder is designed to work like a cordial, but be much more environmentally friendly; in fact it is described as the first plastic free water enhancer of its kind. Each contains Vitamin D, B1, B3, B5, B6, B12 and Zinc, which helps support key functions such as immunity, cognitive and mental health and skin and bone health.

Other products are attempting to lure consumers with natural ‘functional’ benefits due to the water’s terroir. Splendor Water, launched in the US, is sourced from La Mana, Ecuador and has naturally occurring minerals, electrolytes, colloidal gold and silver.

ALCOHOL-ALIGNED

Showing a notable play to be a healthier alternative to cocktails, Aprch Sparkling Wellness Water is infused with Vitamins A, B3, B5, B12, C and L-Theanine. Why a cocktail alternative? Well, the canned water is available in Pina Colada, Black Cherry and Tangerine, flavours, but is free from artificial colouring, flavouring, sugar and calories.

Another product aligning itself with booze trends is Funny Water. Somewhat of an oddity, the flavoured water looks to be taking on the hard seltzer category. The product is alcoholic, at 3.75% ABV, but above and beyond a hard seltzer, it contains antioxidants and electrolytes. It is also still. According to the brand founders, the company saw an opportunity to offer a non-carbonated and low ABV alternative, to bubbly, sugary RTDs. Its available in Watermelon, Citrus and Cucumber Mint.

Also blurring the lines with booze is new launch, Buzzed, which claims to be the first energy tonic water, made with 100% naturally retrieved caffeine. Sweetened with blossom honey and stevia, the brand says it is purposefully swerving the sugary taste commonly associated with energy drinks, for a more simple, more natural water-based alternative.

Meanwhile, Psychedelic Water claims to be a mood booster and a world first. It uses kava, damiana and green tea to create a ‘mild psychoactive blend’. Lightly carbonated and “Crafted for fluid thinkers”, it is said to tingle your tongue, but not leave you with any jitters or hangover.

A LIFESTYLE CHOICE

In water, it’s the products luring drinkers au-fait with the latest booze trends, that are making a splash. Hybrid products that seem to offer both the simple and necessary hydration of water, alongside both functional and sensorial benefits, will continue to emerge, drawing health-conscious drinkers, into new occasions outside of normal functional water consumption moments.

Just as at home behind a bar, as at the gym, pushing water into these new moments through increased functionality is a shrewd play. Will consumers see them as natural enough for their water needs? Will they be a novelty rather than an ingrained, regular purchase?

The success of brands such as Dash Water, which have helped pitch water as that most aspirational of things — a lifestyle choice — suggests they have a chance. In the meantime, expect ever bolder functionality claims to emerge.

OUT OF AFRICA

WHY DRINKS FROM THE CONTINENT ARE FINALLY HAVING THEIR MOMENT

Though drinks makers have been sourcing ingredients from Africa for some considerable time and African nations such as Nigeria are some of the biggest and most lucrative for international producers, few brands have championed the continent itself. Until now.

There are regions of the world that have been as overlooked when it comes to their drinks culture, produce, serves and terroir, as Africa. Though Asia has been celebrated as a home to authentic and traditional white spirits and more recently whiskey (from Japan, to newcomer India) and cocktails and liquids from continents such as South America have found a home on even the most mainstream of drinks lists, Africa has never really had much of a profile beyond South African wine.

All that's beginning to change however. Not only are a flurry of new drinks produced in, or using ingredients from Africa, coming to market, but they’re using the continent as their main selling point too. Think Equiano rum with its pan Caribbean-African identity.

And while some brands are championing Africa’s produce, others are championing its people. And on the back of the Black Lives Matter movement, there has been a desire to champion drinks from black and minority backgrounds.

BLACK-OWNED BRANDS

Spearhead — owners of Vusa Vodka and Bayab Gin — claim to be the only global black-owned African spirits brand. Launched by friends, Chris Frederick and Damola Timeyin (who have worked across London’s bars and restaurants), the duo wanted to address an absence of black-owned drinks brands, as well as highlighting the quality and craft of the African continent from a unique perspective: that of the African diaspora. The company launched two products into the UK in March 2021.

Bayab Gin takes inspiration from the Baobab tree and is described as a twist on the classic dry gin style. It uses baobab fruit from Zambia and Madagascar alongside other African botanicals, including juniper berries, coriander, rosemary, cinnamon, coarse salt, lemon and orange peel. Furthering its African terroir, it is blended with water, sourced from the Kwazulu-Natal Midlands. Vusa is described as a smooth, creamy, sweet vodka made with sugarcane from the subtropical climate of South Africa, but contains botanicals sourced from across Africa. It is filtered using the shells of the Baobab fruit and uses water from the Lions River for a crisp finish.

Image source: Nick Howe on Behance

UNIQUE BOTANICALS

Some botanicals are more unique than others however. You may have heard of Vietnam’s squirrel poo coffee, but have you heard of South Africa’s elephant dung gin? You could accuse it of being an attention-grabbing gimmick, but allegedly the same theory applies here regarding the animal’s unique ability to seek out and consume only the best produce and botanicals.

The mammals are said to be particular about the food they consume, but absorb less than half of what they eat. Meaning a lot of it remains in their dung.

Indlovu Gin is infused with “botanicals foraged by elephants” and sourced from their poop. The brand was founded by two South African biologists, who wanted to start a business that contributes both to conservation and the local community. 15% of profits are donated to the Africa Foundation, to support wildlife conservation.

SOCIAL CAUSES

Elephant poop is an extreme example. And there are brands like South Africa’s excellent Caperitif vermouth, that have been championing the region’s unique botanicals (think fynbos, kalmoes and naartjie) in a more, shall we say, traditional way for decades. The recipe was created back in the 1930's when it was a key cocktail ingredient referenced in tomes such as the Savoy Cocktail Book. It was lost in the 1940's when production

ceased, until its recent revival by a mixologist and wine maker.

But the region’s storied history in cocktail culture fails to register on the zeitgeist as much as the region’s socio political presence on the world stage. As the spotlight since the BLM movement has swung towards better representation for a wider range of people, a number of new brands are stepping up to meet the moment.

Florida’s Patel Spirits has launched its P1 Vodka, with the USP that it is produced by the son of an African refugee, specifically from Uganda. However, the product itself references the family’s ethnic Indian and pan-Asian heritage. Working with a branding design agency, it has incorporated Indian designs and motifs into the bottle design, while the name itself references the Indian tradition of giving money in sums that end with a one. A large Indian population settled in Uganda under British rule in the 1890's, before a vast number were expelled in the 1970's.

According to founder Mitch Patel: “We felt it was of the utmost importance to create a vodka brand that bears a premium taste profile while also giving the Indian community a sense of ownership in the brand.

“We felt it was of the utmost importance to create a vodka brand that bears a premium taste profile while also giving the Indian community a sense of ownership in the brand.”

MITCH PATEL - FOUNDER, P1 SPIRITS

REPRESENTATION MATTERS

What the arrival of brands like P1 show is that representation matters and that origin stories — no matter how thoroughly or thinly borne out by the final product — need to feel both authentic and personal. Consumers are looking to see every facet of society represented in the range of products available and for minority consumers long deprived of the opportunity, they are looking to see themselves and to invest in and support their communities.

For the drinks industry at large, championing products from, or with strong cultural roots in Africa in particular also serves a consumer desire for greater choice, discovery and new tastes and sensations. For long booming categories such as gin, an African brand with uniquely African botanicals offers a genuine point of difference that can be heard above the continued flood of new products.

When it comes to anything besides wine and the odd beer brand, for decades there has been a sizeable gap in even the most sophisticated drinker’s global repertoire. And in this age of awareness and greater reflection, the time feels right to question why that is, as well as what a brand new, but uniquely African product should look, taste and feel like. Uniquely African botanicals are an inarguable and obvious first step. As is the revival, or at least the greater awareness of, traditional recipes and liquids.

But new brands need to be careful to be sensitive to both social and environmental issues. Any brands marketing themselves on their African roots or African credentials need to make sure they have genuine roots, a story to tell and something deep to offer to avoid feeling hollow at best, or exploitative at worst. Consumers will quickly reject any with shallow connections looking to join in on something because it is ‘trending’, or worse, call out those with no genuine roots at all.

Image source: caskcartel.com

WHAT IS AN ANYWAY?! N F T

NFTS ARE HERE, BUT WHAT VALUE –IF ANY – DO THEY HAVE FOR BRANDS?

NFTs – one of a kind digital assets – are being created in their droves and routinely selling for hundreds of thousands. Now everyone from Pepsi to Coca-Cola, Dictator Rum to Budweiser want in on the action. But what the hell are they anyway? And what value do they have for brands?

When NFT was named as the Collins Dictionary’s word of the year for 2021, 99.9% of the world’s population went ‘eh’? Intended as a barometer of culture — a snapshot of the zeitgeist — previous examples have included ‘podcast’ (2007) and ‘twitter’ (2009). Though in 2016 it was ‘democracy sausage’, so let’s agree it has a varied degree of success.

Yet the year has seen a flurry of high-profile NFT activity. In March, the founder of Twitter sold an autographed tweet for $3 million. And Grimes sold $6 million worth of digital art as NFTs. Youtuber Logan Paul made over $5 million selling NFTs in February. And in March, digital artist Beeple sold an NFT at renowned auctioneers Christie’s for $69 million. The work ‘Everydays — The First 5000 Days’ was the first purely digital art ever offered by a major auction house.

On a smaller scale, everything from a looping video clip, a digital flower, image of a sock and even digital drawings of kittens and puppies have routinely sold for multiples of thousands. Now even the genetic code of Covid-19 has been turned into a variety of songs that are available to own as NFTs. But it is the use of NFTS in the sale of digital art that has been generating most headlines recently; there’s now even a Museum of Crypto Art in which to display it.

WHAT IS AN NFT?

But what exactly is an NFT? There’s nothing that quite makes you feel like a grandma trying to work an iPhone, than highly conceptional new technology. Put as simply as possible, NFTs or non-fungible tokens, allow buyers to purchase

ownership of a unique digital good, a one-off. This good is sort of like digital intellectual property and can be an image, video, illustration, animation etc. In fact, anything digital. It exists as a unique digital token living on a blockchain (a digital ledger of transactions), specifically the Ethereum blockchain, meaning ownership can be proven. Following?

One major flaw is that digital files can be copied and shared. What’s in it for a buyer? In short, bragging rights and a speculative investment. Just like art, there is only one original, which a buyer owns. Yet, copies are as good as the real thing and creators can retain copyright. The kudos is in ownership then and as NFTs are being hailed as the dominant method for future digital art trading, the possibility to resell for a higher value is what is driving the market.

SO WHY DO BRANDS CARE?

With money rapidly flowing over something that can freely be created, no wonder brands are interested and jumping on the trend. November and December in particular saw a flurry of activity, from luxury brands such as Gucci and Dolce & Gabbana, through to McDonald’s, though with varying degrees of success. Showing the lack of understanding by brands of the pitfalls as well as perks of this new technology, McDonald’s was caught out after the early transactions contained a racial slur, inscribed directly on the blockchain.

DRINKS BRANDS JOIN THE FUN

More recently, drinks brands have been getting in on the action. Pepsi’s first NFT collection, the “Pepsi Mic Drop” features designs of its drinks, such as Zero and Wild Cherry, with illustrations of microphones. Offered free of charge, in a market driven by extreme pricing, the aim is for them to be inclusive, while also making a statement about the scope and scale the brand sees NFTs taking in the future.

Speaking to Bitcoin.com News, Todd Kaplan, Pepsi’s vice president of marketing said: “Pepsi has always been a brand with a strong heritage in music and pop culture, so it’s only fitting for us to bring that legacy into the new world of NFTs with a ‘mic drop’ of epic proportions.”

Coca-Cola also recently sold its first ever NFT, raising $575,000 for charity. The Friendship Box reimagines a vintage Coca-Cola cooler with dynamic motion and illumination featuring three other NFTs inside. Comprende? The winning bidder also received a fully stocked Coca-Cola fridge.

Budweiser’s NFT Beer Can Collection features 1,936 unique digital cans (representing the year of its first can), made using archived photos, ads and design, selling at between $499 and $999 a piece. Each NFT serves as an entry key to the Budverse, unlocking exclusive benefits and rewards.

And now Dictador Rum and Lalique offer a rum bottle NFT that can be bought, stored and enjoyed through the platform, BlockBar. Once purchased the NFT gives you virtual and physical access to “unique experiences” including a private dinner with master blender, Hernan Parra.

SO WHAT’S IN IT FOR A BRAND?

Again, kudos. Embracing this cutting edge and much hyped tech early, lends these brands a cool-factor, a prestige, a halo effect of being cutting edge. And with NFTs in their infancy, of course, they’re useful for generating headlines too. Hype sells. There are also communities of like-minded consumers that are following specific NFTs; special interest groups if you like.

These digital collectables are being seen as the latest way for brands to reach engaged, motivated and enthusiastic consumers tuned into their products. However, there is little evidence that these groups are very big, or that individuals in them will become ambassadors of any form.

But joining the trend for the sake of joining it — as it seems many brands now are — has its pitfalls. Firstly, there is still much unknown about the tech; McDonald’s recent blunder being a case in point. Also, NFTs are not without their controversy. There’s mounting headlines concerning the detrimental eco impact of crypto currency mining and NFTs are not without an environmental cost.

And of course, there’s still a vast majority of consumers who either aren’t engaged, or are dismissive of NFTs. At the moment, they are reaching a very small market. It’s also worth remembering that NFT’s are not these brands area of expertise and the market for NFTs is not necessarily their market, ergo the consumer is not necessarily their consumer. Are brands then simply throwing arrows in the dark?

ARROWS IN THE DARK?

It’s interesting that brands, particularly drinks brands, are attempting to lure their existing core consumer into the world of NFTs with the promise of real-life exclusives. This will continue to be key. But what are the advantages to brands of introducing their core consumers to this complex, murky and vague new world?

In short, pulling new consumers into NFTs actually leaves brands with a job on their hands, as it becomes their responsibility to educate consumers — especially when asking them to part with their cash — on what NFTs are and what they are not. The potential for negative blowback seems large. For example, when it comes to NFTs from brands, it is unlikely consumers will be purchasing full ownership, or even exclusive use of a specific iteration of a logo or image.

So, we ask again, what are consumers and brands, actually getting? Are NFTs the ultimate capitalist heist, a shiny new way of getting consumers to part with their money for absolutely diddly squat? Only time will tell if image really is everything. But as more brands gleefully jump in on the trend in a bid to keep up and be seen as cutting-edge, expect some legal — and reputational — growing pains.

DOES CATERING FOR A MASS DEMOGRAPHIC MEAN BEING A JACK OF ALL TRADES AND MASTER OF NONE?

Functional drinks seem to have identified a niche. Yet with gaming one of the most popular pastimes in the world, with an estimated 3.2 billion gamers worldwide, could they ever really? We ask, who are gaming drinks really for?

It’s a truth universally acknowledged that gamers don’t want to move from their screens. Ever. Marathon gaming sessions require sustenance. But when winning and fully involved in the game, you better be quick.

Gaming drinks began as a twist on the energy drink, providing a caffeine hit to keep players alert and hydrated. Yet ever sophisticated blends of caffeine, vitamins, prebiotics, nootropics et al are now coming to market, claiming to boost mental endurance, focus and agility, without an energy slump. Many, like protein drinks for working out, come in powdered form, ready to be turned into a meal replacement shake. However, with big money to be made, a number of traditional and/or global soda brands are also now trying to claim a piece of the pie.

JOINING THE PARTY

And who can blame them? According to DFC Intelligence, the video gaming industry has grown from a worth of US $90 billion in 2016, to $179 million in 2021, up 14.4% from 2020. According to the Entertainment Software Association, the gender split of players is fairly even, with 46% being female. And according to Statista, the pastime spans all ages, though 38% of players are aged 18-34 and 26% of players are 34-54. Under 18s account for 21% of players. In the US, its estimated that 64% of US adults and 70% of those under 18 play video games regularly. The size of the prize then, is huge.

Among the soda brands to make a play for this multi-demographic, multi-generational, worldwide cash cow include PepsiCo. In 2018 it launched Mountain Dew spin-off Mtn Dew Amp Game Fuel. Packaged like a generic energy drink, in a slim can — aside from notable gaming concessions such as its no-slip grip and resealable lid — it claimed to be an endurance drink, fortified with a vitamin and caffeine charged formula. The brand has also sponsored a number of tournaments.

Coca-Cola also has its eyes on the market. It has also backed tournaments, though in a notable departure from dedicated do-it-all bespoke gaming drinks, has partnered with food delivery apps to help gamers ‘fuel’ their games. And gaming ad campaigns such as ‘One Coke away from each other’ have attempted to further embed the brand within the community.

FORM AND FUNCTION?

However, functional gaming drinks — most commonly listed as dietary supplements — are somewhat more complex. In some ways. Leading brands such as G-Fuel, Sneak Energy, Gamer Supps GG have become almost a badge of honour for gamers, a sign that they’re a serious player.

And while the functional claims of each brand have grown ever more complex — from B vitamins, antioxidants, mental energy boosters and nootropics (including bacopa monnieri, N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine and Mucuna Pruriens), to keto-friendly formulas — other elements of the brands are not.

Flavours seem — let’s be honest — somewhat juvenile. From sours, to blue raspberry and strawberry laces, flavours call out some tuckshop favourites. Others including Strawberry Daiquiri and Pina Colada, call out the bar. And yet many brands are now making a play as sports aids for pro-athletes, brain boosters for high flying business execs and diet aids. All the while with flavour names including Clickbait, Hype Sauce and Guacamole Gamer Fart 9000. It’s a jarring contrast.

Image source: Gamer Sups Instaram

ALL THINGS TO ALL PEOPLE

Some brands, for all their gaudy pack design and outrageous naming — both of which speak to not only the imagery used in games themselves, but a pointedly younger demographic — are however overtly marketing themselves to a much wider range of uses.

Endless Nootropic by The Protein Works for example is also being marketed at consumers trying to wean themselves off sugary sodas — a sly nudge at the global soda brands now trying to join the fray? Said to have a formulation that “promotes mental performance, reduces tiredness and fatigue, increases alertness and helps maintain neurotransmission”, it is also aimed at those “up against a deadline at work, having to pull an all-nighter on the mother of all projects, or looking to out-perform your competition in any sport”. And with a recommendation to substitute the drink for your morning latte or afternoon energy drink to save on sugar and calorie intake, it seems to be taking a swing for dieters too. Who

then is it actually for?

Leading brand GG Sups also claims to be a diet drink. Low carb, keto friendly and zero calorie, its other health claims include the use of six of the body’s most crucial vitamins and minerals, electrolytes for optimal hydration and the use of organic caffeine. With ingredients to boost mental alertness, focus and memory, some brands are being used by consumers as study aids too.

SO WHAT ARE GAMING DRINKS REALLY AND WHO ARE THEY FOR?

The mixed messages of their pack designs, flavours and the potent functionality of their products maybe aren’t at odds at all. In a market defined by its appeal to all people, in all places, maybe their seeming split personality is a strength, having just enough for each demographic to identify with and therefore appeal to most.

However, it’s this split personality that makes the products hard to access for consumers outside of the gaming world, even though many are now seeking out ever more functional products to help them perform in their daily lives.

Do mainstream soda brands have the edge then in penetrating this world? Though capable of sponsoring the largest competitions and getting their name out there, it seems not. The reaction of the gaming world to the Cola advert was at best muted and at worst, derisive.

The most accepted and loved gaming drinks brands are born out of, not outside of, the culture and speak gamers’ language, in a way that brands that already exist outside of gaming simply do not. However, it is the use of this language, among other qualities, that may stunt their growth outside of the gaming world. But with 3.2 billion potential consumers, we have to ask, do they care?

Their attempts to reach outside of gaming suggests that they do.

TIME FOR TEA

WHY TEA WILL NEVER, AND SHOULD NEVER, BE THE NEXT COFFEE

Tea consumption is ingrained in the drinking cultures of many nations, especially the UK. But dwindling sales of this old reliable is causing a rethink across the industry, as younger consumers move away from black tea products. Could tea be repositioned to meet new needs? Or even, should it?

While the past two years have been undeniably transformational in terms of reshaping the social rituals that govern our lives, even before the pandemic hit, the writing was on the wall for black tea. Consumed without consideration, but rather an ingrained ritualism and habit for generations, the consumption of a cup of tea has been steadily going off the boil for years.

According to Euromonitor, in the five years to 2019, volume sales of black tea fell by 10% in the US, Russia and UK retail channels.

Announcing plans to sell its tea brand portfolio (including PG Tips and Brooke Bond) in 2020, Unilever chief executive, Alan Jope, proclaimed that traditional tea drinkers are an aging market. While younger consumers preferred coffee and herbal teas, or trending varietals such as matcha, black tea drinkers, he claimed, were “getting older and consuming less and starting to fall over”. The brands eventually sold to European private equity firm CVC Capital Partners in November 2021.

EVADING CURRENT TRENDS

There are several reasons for black tea’s decline. Consumption has been hitherto punctuated by moments that are simply disappearing. As wellness trends take hold among younger generations, sales of sweet treats such as cake or biscuits has fallen, both products linked to tea consumption. A move away from dairy milk, may also be having an impact.

Central to at-home hospitality, consumption out of the home has also been a traditionally weak area for tea. With the rise of coffee shops and speciality coffee — notably serves or brewing processes that generally can’t be replicated in the home — coffee sales have soared where tea has dipped. While the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021 may have shifted that balance slightly, it’s not enough to reverse deep-rooted declines.

And finally, the trend for premiumisation that has hit almost every food and drinks category, is also hitting tea. Consumers are drinking less, but better. For tea, this has meant a shift away from black teas priced for everyday consumption and a move to herbal, single-origin, trending teas such as matcha, or those with health or functional claims.

Has black tea had an image problem, or has it simply evaded the whirlwind of concurrent trends that are sweeping through premium teas and coffees? And is there a way to reverse its fall from favour and grab the attention of consumer groups that are failing to repeat the consumption habits of previous generations?

REVIVING MISFORTUNES

There seems to be several schools of thought when it comes to turning around tea’s fortunes. A number of future-facing brands are emerging that are taking the charm and familiarity Brits have with a good old cuppa’ and giving it a facelift.

Manchester-based The Brew Tea Co, with its bright yellow and simple packaging looks more at home on the kitchen counter of image conscious consumers. Tapping into the need for premiumisation, its products are focused on high-quality simplicity, using only whole rolled leaves. And showcasing growers and farms that are listed on pack and making a focal point of leaves “picked by a real person” and blended at its HQ, it chooses to showcase an ethical, human angle, something increasingly important to consumers. In essence, it’s the tea you know and love, just better for you, as well as for social enterprise.

Newby Tea’s collaboration with fashion designer Matthew Williamson, is also a notable turning point. Such collaborations are more common across spirits, where trending brands benefit from sharing the appeal of their joint customer base. For the heritage tea brand, working with the fashion designer on its packaging has helped add an element of glamour and collectability, as well as making an updated statement about the value of a brand in the cultural zeitgeist.

A FUTURE IN FUNCTIONALITY

In a drinks market becoming ever more dominated by functional claims — whether consumers know and recognise them as such yet, or not — tea’s health properties could be another way in. It’s no accident that there’s been a flurry of news stories in recent weeks pointing to the ability of black tea to help consumers lose weight and crucially, help reduce visceral fat when consumed regularly, by reducing hypertension and relaxing arteries. Though some of these articles point to a 2021 study out of California, they also reference a much older study, from 2012 published by JAMA Internal Medicine. Could touting the health benefits of regular, sustained consumption help black tea speak the language of current consumers? It seems the tea industry hopes so.

TEA HAS TERROIR?

However, some would argue that tapping into ‘coolness’ and ‘lifestyle’ trends and making tea ‘faddy’, might be a mistake. Instead, the tea industry should set about educating consumers on the nuances of terroir and plant varieties that black tea already has, but in the past hasn’t focused on, to build an appreciation of quality, in the same way as wine. For example, how many consumers could tell you what a black tea actually is, or how it is produced? How many know that green tea and black tea are the same leaves, just produced differently? In a World where consumers are interested in and are actively educating themselves on what products are, where they come from and how they are produced, tea is an anomaly.

Could this method help to get consumers more excited about the production of tea, the nuances in its flavour and appreciate it more as a higherquality or artisanal product? Maybe.

THE SIMPLE ANSWER

However, the answer as is often the case, could be the simplest one. Tea doesn’t need to change to reach new consumers and to increase its consumption rate among lapsed consumers. It simply needs to fit into their changing lifestyles better, to again become the obvious choice in a daily repertoire. Whether that’s through new slicker packaging, new serves that don’t involve dairy and perhaps involving a new ritual that adds a different mouthfeel or premium out-of-home experience, so that black tea can feel like a treat.

Key to the fortunes of coffee has been its place in the rise in out-of-home drinking. Yet consuming tea out-of-home currently remains un-aspirational. Consumers require theatre, or a sense of ritual, surrounding the experience. The use of tea bags it could be argued has taken much of the theatre away from brewing tea. Is it time for a return to older methods? Or does the secret lie in playing the other brewing techniques, or even, adding texture to milk, to enhance the experience? Iced tea is a fixture in the US, but has never achieved wide uptake in the UK. Could a cold brew revolution, add a new twist and therefore resonance?

Premium lines that speak to a higher quality brew, or a more considered approach to educating consumers about how leading brands are currently produced, could also help tell a story that consumers engage with and help raise it from forgotten staple, to a celebrated fixture.

Summer 2022

Liquid is produced quarterley by The Cabinet. Interested in finding out more about what this might mean for you and your business?

Please contact us at: The Cabinet Atlantic House

351 Oxford Street London

W1C 2JF

hello@thecabinetagency.com

+44 (0) 20 7101 3939

Sustainably printed on recycled paper

Copyright 2022 The Cabinet

All rights reserved. No written part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any other form or by any means, including photocopying, scanning or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except where noted. Views expressed by authors are not necessarily those of the publisher.

Image usage

Image copyrights are owned by image creators. Where possible we have credited the source of these images. The Cabinet does not own the intellectual property rights in any of the images from the specific articles and no copyright infringement is intended.