The key to a flourishing spirits brand is responding to culture, said Imme Emgassen, co-founder of non-alcoholic aperitif brand Botivo, which is stocked in Waitrose and Ocado.
Speaking at BCB London this morning (June 30), Emgassen was joined by Michael Vachon, advisor at Drinks Sherpa, and Fabrizio Leoni, co-founder of whisky bottler The Heart Cut, for a panel discussion on what makes a successful spirits brand.
According to Emgassen, the most important aspect of creating a new brand is identifying a cultural tension and leaning into it.
“Brands don’t exist in a cultural vacuum,” she said. “One of the mistakes people make is that they look at what’s happening in the culture in the moment, and they don’t look at where the culture is headed.”
Using the example of digital banking app Monzo, Emgassen noted the brand emerged at a time when consumers were embracing the digital age and traditional banking felt outdated. The contrast created a gap for innovation.
A similar approach helped shape Botivo. In its early stages, Emgassen said the brand responded to the cost-of-living crisis with a hedonistic ethos.
“When everyone else was promising moderation, we promised pleasure,” she said, predicting a cultural swing toward fun.
Emgassen also advised brands to challenge convention within their own categories. “Find out what everyone else is doing and then do the opposite,” she explained, noting that this forces creative thinking and helps a brand stand out.
Vachon, who spent 12 years as a distributor at Maverick Drinks, likewise emphasised the importance of knowing the need you aim to fill.
“All of the brands that did the best came in with a strong playbook and had a real intention as to why the UK market was for them,” he said. “I think intention is the most important thing in the market: why do customers need us?”
Trade Relationships
Once on the market, the next key to success is building strong trade relationships, according to Leoni from The Heart Cut. This is crucial across both on- and off-trade channels.
“If you don’t have loads of money to spend on marketing campaigns, word of mouth is going to be the most cost-effective, especially in those early times,” he said.
In the on-trade, that means developing authentic relationships with bartenders and venues. Off-trade success meanwhile, often comes from connecting with passionate retailers.
“For us, The Whisky Exchange and Master of Malt have been great since we started, but also finding those independent retailers where people are super passionate is so important.
“Often, they’re people that have worked in the drinks industry and transitioned to owning their own store. Spending time with those people is great because we hear how people interact with the brand and we get an understanding of what drives them to purchase.”
The other essential part of brand building, according to Leoni, is keeping education simple. For The Heart Cut, this means focusing on accessible whisky tasting notes and avoiding pretentious jargon.
Creating something too complex often isolates the consumer and makes it difficult to sell for both bartenders and retailers alike – the last thing a producer wants after releasing a new creation.
