Kopparberg – Hard Seltzer range

Derrick Lin

Global

Agency: 20something
Art director: Samuel Guillotel
Location: United Kingdom
Project Type: Produced
Client: Kopparberg
Product Launch Location: United Kingdom
Packaging Contents: Hard Seltzer
Packaging Substrate / Materials: Aluminium
Printing Process: Can printing

Swedish drinks maker Kopparberg is continuing to expand its portfolio in 2020 by introducing a new range of Hard Seltzer drinks to the UK market, with packaging and brand design led by London creative shop 20something.

The new product sees Kopparberg diversify further from its core cider range, having launched a Premium Pink Gin in 2019 to an extremely positive public reception.

Hard Seltzer, a category more familiar to the North American market, is an alcohol-infused sparkling water, blended with natural flavours; as a result, each 330ml can contains only 93 calories, is gluten-free and suitable for vegans. At launch, the Kopparberg Hard Seltzer range will include Mixed Berries, Black Cherry and Passion Fruit variations. Similar to the US, where the market value is expected to hit $2.5bn in 2021, Kopparberg Hard Seltzers will be marketed to Gen Z and the health-conscious.

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Rob Salvesen, Head of Marketing at Cider of Sweden Ltd. said: “As Kopparberg continues to diversify its portfolio by leveraging its position in the market as experts in premium fruit refreshment, the brand needs to evolve with consumer trends and tastes. Kopparberg is here to redefine the Hard Seltzer by putting flavour front and centre and we wanted the packaging to reflect this. Hard Seltzers are already the youth generation’s drink of choice in the states and we wanted to make sure Kopparberg lends its big-brand credentials and flavour expertise to the category as Hard Seltzers land on our shores. Wherever we are this summer, Kopparberg Hard Seltzer is here to offer up something different, and, true to our brand values, there is no subtlety and absolutely no compromise on taste.”

The new packaging and design world have been developed to reflect the refreshing lightness of seltzers, whilst not losing the intensity of fruit flavour that people expect from Kopparberg.

Samuel Guillotel, Head of Design at 20something said: “As the broader Kopparberg portfolio diversifies and new audiences open up, the role of design must also push on. The biggest challenge has been to develop a brand world for Kopparberg Hard Seltzer that is as disruptive as the product itself but doesn’t feel out of place in the broader Kopparberg product family. Beyond that, there’s a spirit and an energy to this drink that feels as game-changing as Kopparberg fruit cider landing in Shoreditch bars and summer festivals in 2003. Our job has been to capture that excitement for a new generation, whilst being respectful to where it all began”.

Iridescent graphic bubbles are inspired by the sparkling water at the product’s core. Bold, colourful type represents the full fruit flavour audiences won’t be used to from a seltzer. Far from seeing product proof points apologetically tucked away by the designers, or heavy-handedly added as an after-thought, background patterns and textures embrace the most important USPs of this new drink.

Kopparberg Hard Seltzer is set to launch in May 2020, with work running in DOOH and social channels from the outset.

What’s Unique?
Kopparberg’s distinctive black and gold stamp is in there, but there is an energy and playfulness to this product design that reflects a new generation’s attitudes to alcohol. The general design treatment intentionally leans towards the kind of brand worlds Gen Z are inhabiting. Hyper-real textures collided with graphic effects, step-repeated type and quick cuts in the AV edits all give this design world a reassuring familiarity to an audience that wants something new when it comes to drinking socially.