Through research for the design of a new glass bottle never before seen on the Danish market, it became apparent that the market in soft drinks for the discerning bargoer was severely neglected.
A bottle like no other
When Royal Unibrew, a major European brewery group, asked Designit to help with the redesign of the bottles for the well-known brands Nikoline and Faxe Kondi, as well as for red, tonic, bitter lemon and passion fruit soft drinks, they probably didn’t count on getting an entirely new brand in the mix.
The new bottle, a completely new lightweight glass bottle weighing half that of regular bottles, would only be recycled 10 - 15 times before it was melted down into new bottles, compared to the 40 – 50 circuits the average bottle makes. This means that it would maintain a shiny exterior for its full lifecycle, instead of becoming scratched and dull. The new bottle had to meet some pretty rigorous standards in order to become a part of the recycling system, so it has been through a somewhat restricted creative development process.
“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 characterised by mutual openness with regard to strategy as well as terminology,” 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 proved to be in a rather special situation. These kinds of drinks are usually reserved for children’s birthday parties, or used for mixers in bars and clubs. In the latter scenario the bottles are almost always hidden at the back of the bar, totally out of sight, and have zero brand value. They’re added to your cocktail, or branded vodka drink, and that’s it. The time had come to mix things up in this forgotten market, and introduce a brand that would make your mixer a part of the drink experience.
Jakob teamed up with Designit’s Senior Communication Strategist, Troels Nørlem, and after some serious thinking between the two of them, it was suggested to Royal Unibrew that Designit would develop an entirely new brand to accompany the new bottle, thereby separating the fruit drinks from the more traditional Faxe Kondi and Nikoline brands, and turning the sleepy market of mixers upside down. The result is Add Some.
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 – without shouting about it. It’s no longer just a mixer, it’s a drink in itself, and can hold its own in any bar.
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.
