The adult soft drinks sector is a burgeoning market. As Packaging News reported earlier this year, volume sales of adult drinks increased by 14.8% in the 12 months to September 2012. It comes as no surprise then that an increasing number of drinks companies want a piece of a market that is now worth £157m per year.
Bottlegreen is no stranger to this expanding sector. Established in 1989, the company that started out with an elderflower cordial is now a household name and sells its products in countries from Australia, Japan and Canada to Denmark, Korea, Hong Kong and Cyprus.
The soft drinks brand has actively expanded its range into more than 20 varieties of cordial as well as into sparkling waters. And in June this year, the company made its foray into the lucrative tonic waters market with the launch of two flavours, elderflower and a pink pomegranate-flavoured variety.
Dan Kimmins is the creative director at Ziggurat Brands, which has been working with the company for a number of years on projects such as brand extensions like the tonic waters as well as Bottlegreen's annual limited editions. "The products in this range are distinctively unique flavours which are only set to be around for a limited period. They play on trends and seasons and are a good addition to the core range," he explains.
Bottlegreen first approached Ziggurat Brands about the tonic waters project in mid-2012, something the Ziggurat team fully-embraced. "We were excited to be involved. In fact, we're always really excited when the Bottlegreen team comes into our studio. We love working on their projects like these that are creatively fulfilling while also commercially successful," says Kimmins.
According to Kimmins, both Bottlegreen and Ziggurat had a clear goal. A design that needed to achieve a "great deal". It needed to retain the naturally stylish look of the Bottlegreen brand and also be recognised by consumers but importantly, at the same time, differentiating the tonic from the Bottlegreen Sparkling brand that is currently served in similar sized bottles.? And finally, the all important goal of getting noticed in crowded environments.
"Up and down the country, consumers recognise Bottlegreen's brand. The team had spotted a new opportunity in the flavoured tonic water market to reach a younger demographic and extend its range," explains Kimmins. "The challenge we faced was to keep this naturally stylish brand whilst also achieving stand-out in the crowded bar fridge. The tiny size and conical shape of the bottle meant we had little room on the label to play with, and what is more it was not a paper label, it was a clear label on a clear liquid bottle."
According to Kimmins, the design process was a quick affair, taking only three to four weeks for the design, mock up and printing. In order to test the designs, Ziggurat took the mock ups to local bars and pubs, displaying the bottles in both fridges and on shelves to compare the designs to its competitors. The company photographed these to see which design worked best in the dimly lit bar environment.
It was this process that, Kimmins says, demonstrated the importance of different colours such as pales and whites to achieve stand out with the new design said to look good in the hand. "The fine gold, white, blusher colour was well planned out. The tiny size plus the fine colours gives it a more precious feeling, both exciting and unusual," he adds.
The greatest challenge for Ziggurat, however, was working with the bottles employed by Bottlegreen. The production hurdle for its previous work had been putting the shrinksleeves onto conical bottles. But Kimmins says previous experience means the firm has a good idea of what works and what doesn't, and also where to leave spaces to compensate for the distortion that occurs with the process. "These tonic water bottles were actually significantly easier. They were straightforward PE labels with gold print. This meant we were free to focus on experimenting with different finishes to achieve stand-out on such a small surface area," he explains.
It is perhaps unsurprising then that the team at Ziggurat used this new palette to further tap into the adults drinks sector and, in turn, give the new range as much visibility as possible.
Kimmins says: "Our key insight was to recognise the growing trend for cocktails, and to tap into it with our design. There is a strong heritage around the cocktail bar all the way from the roaring twenties through to the cocktail bar chains that are flourishing on today's high streets.
"So, at first glance this tonic water suggests a bottle shape that is very familiar to Bottlegreen's cordial customers. It is elegant. It is restrained. While the flower stem anchoring the 'O' and the 'G' in the Bottlegreen logo has been replaced with a cocktail stirrer holding a gold foil brand marque, this is still not a mixer that is loud, or brash. Rather it is hinting at the retro glamour of sophisticated cocktail bars and clinking glasses."
And, importantly, the brand was impressed with the final outcome. Simon Speers, managing director at Bottlegreen adds: "The team at Ziggurat have a fantastic grasp of how consumers look at brands – and how this can be designed to drive commercial sales and support brand positioning. Their work on Bottlegreen is testament to this."
