Through research for the design of an entirely new glass bottle, it became apparent that the market in soft drinks for the discerning bar goer was severely neglected.
A bottle like no other
When Royal Unibrew, a major Scandinavian brewery group, asked Designit to help with the redesign of the bottles of the well-known brands Nikoline, Faxe Kondi, and for red, tonic, bitter lemon and passion fruit soft drinks, they probably didn’t count on getting an entirely new brand, ADD SOME, as well.
All the brands have since seen significant growth in sales, increasing by 40%. Faxe Kondi Free, the sugar free version, has more than doubled in sales, and Nikoline Orange has increased by 76%. No campaigns have run, there have been no changes in the drink, the only thing that changed was the bottle.
A bottle like no other
The new bottle, a completely new lightweight glass bottle weighing half that of regular bottles is only reused 10-15 times before being recycled into new bottles, thereby keeping a shiny exterior instead of becoming dull and scratched. The bottle had to meet some pretty rigorous standards in order to become a part of the recycling system, so the entire creative development process proved to be pretty tough.
“You want to have the beautiful lines of a real classic, like the original Coca-Cola shape, but while that might be your aesthetic aim you struggle with specific demands for weight, dimensions, points of support (minimum two!), the maximum area which the label can cover and countless similar restrictions. It’s been an interesting process characterized by mutual openness with regard to strategy as well as idiom,” says Jakob Nørregård, team manager for Product Design at Designit.
The final bottle is curvy, unique and eye-catching, allowing Nikoline and Faxe Kondi to stand out from competitors.
The value of user-research
During the in-depth market research for the bottle, it became apparent that soft drinks are usually hidden at the back of the bar, and have zero brand value – they’re what are added to your cocktail, or branded vodka drink, and that’s it. Surely it was time to mix things up a bit in this forgotten market?
Designit suggested developing an entirely new soft drink brand to accompany the new bottle, giving Royal Unibrew a unique position in the soft drinks market.
The crystal clear bottle, with a sleek new design and original label, is sharp and aesthetic enough be displayed in prominent positions in the bar, and served by itself, or alongside alcoholic drinks, with the bottle on the bar, not thrown out immediately. The label design is radically different from all other soft drinks on the market, and stands out from the crowd.
What you drink when you go out speaks volumes about you. This new brand makes a mixer count. It makes having just a soft drink cool. It brings a new dimension to nightlife, and has allowed Royal Unibrew to be the first to truly shake up this tired market.
