Carlsberg Launches its First “Hard Lemon Drink”

09 Apr 2014 --- Carlsberg Group is launching its first global venture into the ‘hard drinks’ category – the category, which was launched in the USA in 1999 and is now worth $1bn per annum. Seth & Riley’s Garage will be launched initially in Russia and Canada. The new refreshing alcoholic beverage is inspired by the USA’s tradition of trusted, ‘made-at-home’ lemonades.

S&R’s Garage is aimed at young men aged 25 and over, who are seeking a different alcoholic drink to the standard ‘alcopops’ which are currently available. Its immediately obvious laidback brand persona, perfectly balanced bittersweet taste and rustic appearance clearly differentiates it from its competitors.

Valeria Krynetskaya, innovation platform director at Carlsberg Group, says: “This is not only a great new product innovation, but it’s innovative in terms of its creative positioning, which we hope will establish engaging links with our consumer.

‘’S&R’s Garage will appeal to young, laid-back and relaxed young people aged 25 and over, who enjoy life.  We are looking to those people who are confident, want to make their mark on the world in their own unique way, have a strong sense of their own identity and who are simply happy-go-lucky.  As such, S&R’s Garage’s marketing communication will not only tap into this state of mind with wit and intelligence through a series of social films, but also through the full marketing mix.  The bottles, which have been designed to look hand-made, have a ring pull and bars will be supplied with S&R’s Garage branded jars for consumers to drink from, thus creating a unique serving ritual to establish a ‘hard drinks’ category.”

Duval Guillaume was appointed as the lead global agency to develop the core brand platform, strategy, and the full campaign. The tagline for the brand is “Kind of genius. Kind of.” and the core brand idea is: ‘It all starts with an empty garage.’  

Valeria Krynetskaya explains: “The tagline plays right in to the brand attitude, its philosophy and mind-set with an absurd humour in a relaxed manner - humour that Seth & Riley’s Garage will become famous for.’’

“We identified a significant gap for a transitional drink for young adults from sweet beverages to more sophisticated tastes such as beer and wine. The majority of the current alcoholic drinks for this target group are overly sweet and use garish colours to appeal to a very young market. Our proposition is trendy and modern, in a mature and responsible way.’’

“We believe we have bridged the gap with a product that not only tastes great, but has a credible and aspiring proposition for consumers.”

The sideways step into the ‘hard drinks’ category follows Carlsberg Group’s successful global launch of Somersby in the cider category.

Details on the brand’s new campaign will be announced by Carlsberg Group in the coming weeks.