I suppose it’s obvious really, but until today it’s always puzzled me why no alcohol beer fails to look right, and doesn’t usually last very long in the market. No matter how hard designers try to make it look like the ‘real thing’, there’s always that 0% declaration threatening to spoil the party, like your Mum telling you to turn the music down at 11pm.
In this market all beer is no alcohol and most is fruit-flavoured, but that doesn’t stop the visual language being loud and proud. Next to a wide range of slightly incongruous fruity Holstens, two local brands stood out for their bold displays of vibrant self-confidence. Both take a leaf out of the Coke Zero book in choosing black as the brand colour, but after that they take a different tack in terms of pace and sophistication. Production values are top notch, and perhaps the biggest surprise came on the back of pack for Bario – it’s brewed by ‘International Refreshments Co.’, aka Pepsico.
Takeout: Stop apologising and focus on the emotional benefits of your brand as a full ‘player’ in the category. I think soya milk has got this message too and often looks better than ‘real’ milk.