From old money sophistication to new-age cool: How craft Gin is winning over gen Z

New Delhi: Typically, an alcohol brand can be aspirational for a set of consumers through the prestige and status attached to its consumption. This is done heavily by whiskey brands, which build an imaginary of sophistication through aristocratic old-money wealth. This sophisticated whisky drinker is dressed sharply, knows the rules of elegance and enjoys exquisite experiences. But for a Gen-Z drinker in LDA, wealth isn’t a reality, and this positioning might not appeal as much. 

Brands are solving this problem by developing a cool quotient that helps them create an equivalent cache around their consumption. This is very evident in craft gin brands, many of which were born in the last decade. These brands have rescued Gin from the clutches of its boring afternoon drink image. It's now reimagined as a playful and experimental drink for the young. Building on this positioning, Gin is now riding the wave of a cocktail culture driven by young consumers who want to experience mixology marvels. Another important difference in these Gin brands lies in their effortless gender inclusivity. Whisky brands are positioned around values of traditional dominance and power, and beer evokes images of male sociability. Gin, however, easily integrates men and women in its comms, in the form of mix-gender friend groups. 

Gender inclusivity isn’t the only aspect that makes them Gen Z, however. They go way beyond this to create branded content and communication that truly resonates with new-age values. 

Let’s do a decoding of their Instagram pages to find out more. 

Lighthearted subversion

By creating a brand image centred on subversion in a lighthearted way, Gin brands move away from the sanctity and seriousness that several whiskey brands evoke. Names like Short Story, Broken Bat, Stranger and Sons, and Greater Than Gin poke attempt to poke fun at brands that act sophisticated and other-worldly. These names have a tongue-in-cheek quality, automatically associating them with a younger demographic. This is reflected in their pack designs as well, which cleverly use familiar elements in new ways. The mathematical sign on Greater Than Gin’s pack is a good example. Short Story even showcases subversion in product shots, where the frame tells a story that subverts your expectation—by placing the pack on a plate, like a food item. 

Association with emergent trends 

These brands associate themselves with trends on the edge, bringing their Gin tribe together.  Hapusa Gin’s Forager Championship, Short Story’s Adult’s Night at the Museum, Greater Than Gin’s Zine Making workshop and Doodle Contest allow these brands to showcase their playful and experimental personalities while also enabling their drinkers to develop interests that are different and not mainstream.

Being real, raw and messy 

A call to be real is now seen everywhere across the comms world. Influencers put out their “unfiltered” and “chaotic” vlogs catering to the desire to be real, raw and messy. New-age brands too have caught on to this need. Their branded content features unpolished and unconstructed content, where people sit and talk informally, often dressed casually. Bar Wars by Greater Than Gin is an excellent example. This multi-city contest aimed at finding the best bar in the country could have been visualised as a formal event set up on a stage with a host and emcee. Instead, it is set up informally, with contestants sitting on sofas, chatting with each other and showing us all the behind-the-scenes hiccups and emotions. The posters of these events also mirror these qualities: the fonts are San Serif, the colours are bright, the the visuals feature real people in real situations and titles such as “Kahani mein Twist” serve as an interesting hook. The poster is also bilingual, mirroring how people actually speak in real life.

Immense focus on local origins 

The gin brand Hapusa is highly focused on its Himalayan origin story. For mainstream alcohol brands, the focus could simply have been a line on the bottle or a TVC that romanticises the origin. Hapusa Gin moves way beyond this, incorporating its Himalayan story in all their branded content. This ranges from posts on making Pahadi Coffee, interacting with Sherpa locals, cocktail recommendations that focus on Sherpa ingredients and learning the art of foraging in the Himalayas. This enables them to create a very cohesive brand image centred around living, breathing and practising their origins. 

Interesting origin stories 

Conventional alcohol brands might just feature a story on the founders and simply state where the brand was born. Stranger and Sons Gin, born in Goa, mythologises its origin story through a two-tailed tiger and creates a unique design language to visualise Goa itself. This is visible on their website. The unique two-tailed tiger is an important feature on several packs as well as in their Instagram content series called "A Tail of Two Bars," weaving consistency in the brand.

Taking notes from the Craft Gin brands, other alcohol brands targeting young consumers must move beyond mundane and straightforward branded content. While values of gender inclusivity are now covered in basic hygiene checks, they must adopt a unique brand voice that reflects consistently in all comms to align with values of youth culture, such as subversion and authenticity.