In the face of stiff competition, Tidal Rum smashed its year one and two sales objectives by 25%, delivering cumulative revenue of £359,000 compared to a target of £287,000.
Like gin before it, premium rum is becoming a gold-rush category. Fledgling business, Shorts Boy Distillery wanted to achieve standout in this cluttered market to meet its ambitions to sell 12,000 bottles of its premium-priced, seaweed-infused rum within two years.
Engaging Lewis Moberly, the strategic design process yielded a name, brand identity, packaging design and unconventional brand story. These took the rum category’s most powerful trope – a drink of the sea – and made it so fresh and visually striking that new product, Tidal Rum, rapidly outsold established competitors.
Creating disruption and ‘talkability’, the design enabled the start-up’s rum to standout in the market and secure major distribution contacts across the UK. In total, 18,000 bottles of £35+ rum were sold in the UK in the whole of 2018. Tidal Rum launched in summer 2019 and with its disruptive design, sold 15,000 bottles across its first two years.
Having outstripped rivals, the brand also significantly outperformed on its inward investment objectives, exceeding its £150,000 goal. Within two years, it secured over £230,000 from 315 investors on funding platform Seedrs and investment continues to come in.
