New alcohol brand, DRTY’s stand-out design enabled it to thrive in the UK and also drove unplanned international growth in seven markets, including China, France and Greece.
Hard Seltzer had exploded onto the scene in the US and British brand DRTY wanted to seize the opportunity to pioneer this new style of alcoholic drink in the UK, ahead of an anticipated competitive rush.
With the brand positioned as a punchy challenger with attitude, Pearlfisher created a distinctive identity, packaging design and tone of voice, which asserts the brand’s ‘Live Clean Drink DRTY’ ethos and appeals to Millennials and Generation Zers. The brand was in great shape for its October 2019 launch.
And then the pandemic hit. DRTY’s brand design became even more crucial to its success. Losing on trade business for a full year, while a sea of big-hitting competitors entered the hard seltzer market, DRTY’s rebellious design and tone of voice enabled it to achieve cut-through with prospective retail buyers.
Differentiated from the ‘naturalness’ and ‘botanicals’ focus of competitors, while still giving a nod to the product’s low-calorie, low-sugar credentials, the striking design helped DRTY secure listings with Ocado and Whole Foods in the UK and in seven overseas markets, without the product even being tasted. Despite the challenges, within 18 months DRTY achieved its 4% market share objective and in off trade exceeded its retail sales value targets by 40%.
