Latest news with #BenBranson
Forbes
20-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
3 Lessons On How To Create A Category Defining Brand
Aerial view on green pine forest There are more than 70,0000 tree species and some of them taste delicious. This bold, contrasting statement is exactly the kind of provocative observation that category-defining brands use to make you stop and think. For business leaders, a whole realm of market possibilities, previously ignored, might suddenly come into focus as the category emerges. Defining a category often involves bringing together two or more established elements in a new context. Think Airbnb, which merged residential space with the lodging industry. Or Netflix with its blend of video rental and digital streaming. Even more recently advances in AI where models like ChatGPT clearly define a new domain for operational and agentic AI, weaving together deep research, language, and reasoning. Category-defining brands can catapult a business to exponential growth, but there are key elements they must possess for growth to occur. A comprehensive analysis by Kantar BrandZ and Oxford University's Saïd Business School measured 872 brands between 2006-2022 across multiple categories, and found that consumer-perceived difference is the most important brand attribute for outperforming share price. Thus, how can both established and new businesses build products that outshine the market through their distinctiveness? Ben Branson, founder of non-alcoholic spirit brand Seedlip, acquired by Diageo, and now founder of Sylva, recently shared his insights on creating an entirely new category of non-alcoholic drinks crafted from trees. Identifying Market Gaps Gathering public data and conducting research into your intended market is only the start. To truly identify gaps, Ben Branson advises diving deeper: engaging in direct conversations, conducting interviews, and seeking out the professionals embedded in adjacent markets. These qualitative markers give clues as to why a gap exists and whether it's truly untapped. Ben methodically called the top bars and hospitality businesses in the UK, asking what they needed behind the bar for non-alcoholic drinks. He found out that most non-alcoholic options were sweet sodas and juices, which provided plenty of sugary flavors, but no ritual or complexity. Ben's relentless inquiry surfaced a fundamental insight: there was demand for grown-up, complex, non-alcoholic options. Acting on this, Ben built Seedlip, the first distilled non-alcoholic spirit, ushering a new market category. Today, Ben is applying the same obsessive curiosity to his latest venture focused on harnessing the flavors of wood. Nothing Is Original Everything Is A Remix For new ideas to catch on, it helps if there's something recognizable for consumers to hold onto. Successful product adoption often hinges on consumers seeing a next logical step from what they already know, it's a familiar framework remixed into something novel. Consider how Steve Jobs transformed the market with the iPod, not just by making existing MP3 players better, but by reimagining their potential. He famously stated, '1,000 songs in your pocket,' which represented a significant expansion from the capabilities of earlier MP3 players. Later, the iPhone combined the functionalities of a phone, an iPod, and the internet into one groundbreaking device. Similarly, companies like Tesla, Uber, and Lyft have succeeded by educating their audiences about the possibilities of new technologies, helping people understand the connection between existing technologies and the innovations that follow. Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduces a new online music service along with the new IPOD players and ... More IMusic software. (Photo by Kim Kulish/Corbis via Getty Images) Create A Unique Story and Experience Creating a new product or category requires a compelling narrative to engage a curious audience. It is essential to have a clear and persuasive message, Branson adds that is equally important to specify what your product and brand is not. By clearly distinguishing the offering from existing alternatives, the brand is positioned around a unique value proposition that creates its own demand, rather than merely competing within the existing market. Yet, to carve out and defend a new category, businesses need more than a good idea, you'll need to shape how people think about it. Branson focused relentlessly on every detail: from the design of each product's label to its presentation at events and in stores, and the careful crafting of brand messaging. Together, these elements created a rich, cohesive brand experience that deeply engaged consumers. In order to craft a narrative consider to: Bringing A Category-Defining Solution To The Market No genuine innovation arrives without critics. Shaping new consumption habits, whether it's building digital signature confidence with DocuSign or rallying behind skateboarding as a professional sport, it often means challenging the status quo. The path isn't always clear, but commitment to the new category and ongoing consumer education build the credibility and momentum necessary for adoption. Category creation recognizes what already exists in fragmented form and brings those elements together in ways that feel inevitable in hindsight. The brands that achieve this transformation share three fundamental practices: they listen more deeply than their competitors, they connect familiar concepts in unfamiliar ways, and they persist through the inevitable resistance that accompanies genuine innovation. This approach creates a clear path to meaningful differentiation, exponential growth, and the opportunity to build a pioneer brand in a space that was previously overlooked.
Euronews
27-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Euronews
Shaken not slurred: The rise of non-alcoholic cocktails as young people say no to booze
Don't say 'mocktail' in front of Dan Shell. Despite being a UK brand ambassador for Lyre's, one of the biggest mocktail (oops) companies in the world, the award-winning bartender still winces at the word: "It's juicy, kiddy, nasty." Instead, Shell prefers to call them "non-alcoholics". 'The whole thing with non-alcoholic cocktails is, they're an adult, grown up, non-alcoholic beverage, and that's something that didn't exist before,' he tells Euronews Culture. Indeed, the new wave of alcohol-free cocktails have had a glow-up, exuding flair, flavour and clear-headed-class. From sweet n' smoky malts to a tart tongued Italian spritz, companies are conjuring the spirits of traditional liquor for a refreshingly familiar drinking experience, sans hangover. "Lyre's has stand-ins for all the different categories, which basically means I can make all the old drinks that I've been making for the last 20 or 30 years with alcohol or with no alcohol, and they taste just as amazing," says Shell. Seedlip, the pioneers of "distilled-non-alcoholic spirits", was founded in 2014 by Ben Branson and is widely considered to have kickstarted the market for luxury alcohol substitutes. More and more start-ups are now exploring the market in increasingly innovative ways, like the UK-based Three Spirit, which utilises the cognitive-enhancing effects of specific plants. "We wanted to create a third way of drinking for people who still enjoy the social aspects and rituals that come with alcohol," says co-founder Tatiana Mercer. "We're here to show people that alcohol-free doesn't mean pleasure-free, and we want to power those social occasions with plants." 'I t's cool not to drink' The rapid rise of non-alcoholic drinks coincides with a decline in alcohol consumption across Europe, and growing interest in sober initiatives like Dry January, which has an estimated 15.5 million people taking part this year in the UK alone. Younger people in particular, now more conscious of alcohol's negative effects on physical and mental wellbeing, are bucking the boozy behaviours of past generations. A new survey published in The Times found that nearly half of 18-34-year-olds have completely given up drinking alcohol, while a 2024 YouGov study shared that 44 per cent of British people aged 18-24 are now choosing low or non-alcoholic alternatives instead. "Today, it's socially acceptable—even cool—not to drink, with a few key reasons driving the choice to opt out," says Mercer. "Historically, drinking alcohol was an uncontested rite of passage to adulthood, buoyed as an essential component to interpersonal connections and pleasure. As individuals focus more on what's right for them, cultural systems around alcohol are being challenged and losing hold," she continues. "It's really mirrored the vegan rise," says Shell. "We're much more aware of what we're putting in our bodies, whether that's food or drugs or alcohol - caffeine, even." Recent socio-economic events, including the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent cost of living crisis, have further re-defined our relationships with alcohol, prompting reflections about its costs - both financial and personal. 'One thing that people tend to forget about alcohol is it's a mood enhancer, but it doesn't matter what mood you're in,' says Shell. 'If you're bored and maybe depressed and a little lonely, drinking is going to make you more bored and more depressed and more lonely.' The pervasiveness of drinking culture, especially in countries like the UK, can make it difficult to quit or cut back without feeling socially alienated. To combat this, people turn to online communities and support groups, like the UK-based 'Sober Girl Society', founded by 31-year-old Millie Gooch in 2018. 'I always felt so alone in that, how am I the only person that wakes up the next day of drinking and feels this insane hangover anxiety? I would talk to my friend and they'd be like, you're fine,' says Gooch. 'And then when I started 'Sober Girl Society', I realised it's actually one of the least unique experiences on the planet.' Her community, which has over 200k followers on Instagram and millions of views on TikTok, mostly attracts 'party girls who were binge drinking, taking it too far and really struggling with their mental health as a result,' Gooch explains. She also notes an influx of younger members - some of whom have never even tried alcohol and been put off by their parents' drinking habits. Out with the Old Fashioned For sober communities like Millie's, non-alcoholic replicas of spirits, beers and wines have allowed them to enjoy the buzzy rituals of socialising without its ill-effects. "I got quite used to literally just having Diet Coke, and then all of a sudden all these incredible drinks started emerging," says Gooch, who also thinks they can be beneficial in easing people off the real stuff. "It's so hard to break the habit and with alcohol-free drinks, you can almost keep that habit but just change what's in your glass." For most people, the non-alcoholic options allow for moderation, inclusion and a better sense of self-control on night's out. View this post on Instagram A post shared by 𝐎𝐰𝐞𝐧 🏴 | 𝐂𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬 (@my_cocktail_bible) "It's a very simple flow in and out of alcohol and non-alc. That's why I think our range [Lyre's] works so well, because you can be sat drinking a daiquiri with rum and then have a non-alcoholic daiquiri, and it looks the same," says Shell. "Even though this non-alcoholic thing has risen exponentially, I think people are still kind of nervous about being like, I'm not drinking," he continues. The only reservations Gooch has is about the ways in which these drinks could continue to encourage toxic drinking culture. "If you're going to have a non-alcoholic beer instead of, say, a coffee, we might be entrenching that kind of drinking mentality into spaces and times where it might not be there before." 'T hings are only going to get better' The no to low-alcohol market was worth £221 (€258) million in 2021 and has continued to rise since then, according to a report by the University of Sheffield. As these high quality products become more commonplace in traditionally alcohol-focused settings, we're likely to see lower pricing and a destigmatisation of those that don't drink, inspiring more innovation from the industry. "You already see the new breed of bartenders coming in and they're all about experimenting with non-alcoholic and trying to make new drinks," says Shell. "I think we've seen the tip of the iceberg and nothing more. I think things are only going to get better." The revelation that, as a drug, alcohol isn't all that great, has led a growing number of people to seek out alternative forms of escapism. This leaves a huge gap in the market for something in between alcohol and abstinence: a beverage that makes you relaxed or excitable, without the loss of emotional control and hanxiety. Shell calls these "functional non-alcoholic spirits," which include drinks like Three Spirit that infuse plant-based ingredients to induce calming or nootropic (substances that improve memory and focus) effects. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sentia Spirits (@sentiaspirits) On the frontlines of "safer alcoholic alternatives" research is Professor David Nutt, a British neuropsychopharmacologist (try saying that after a few non-alcs) who developed Sentia Spirits, a herbal drink that works by targeting the GABA receptors in our brain, mimicking alcohol's mellowing abilities. In America, brands like Cali Sober have isolated THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) the chemical compound in cannabis that makes people feel zany and zoned out. The idea that we could get drunk or high without any negative side effects is the ultimate dream - but is it realistic? Until more research is conducted, Shell remains hopeful - but cautious. "We know when we have a glass of wine what effect it's going to have on us," says Shell. "Stuff like these functional spirits and Sentia, it's still a bit of a grey area." One thing's for sure: You're never going to feel worse after having a mocktai- we mean non-alcoholic cocktail. The mumbly ambience of a bar. One of those tiny little napkins. The clink and crackle of ice cubes. That first sip of flavour, foamy against your lips. "It feels like we're giving ourselves something special. A nice little treat," says Shell. "Placebos can be just as amazing." 🍹Dry January recipes🍹 The Coconut Tree's 'Fallen Porn Star' Pre-chill a glass with ice, then shake the following ingredients: Pineapple-Coconut syrup: 20mL Passion fruit puree: 20mL Pineapple Juice: 40mL Caleño Dark and Spicy (or any other alcohol-free spirit): 40mL Aquafaba (Or 1 egg white): 15mL Garnish with half a passion fruit. Lyre's Gin Gin Mule Add the following ingredients to a highball glass, fill with ice, stir: Lyre's Dry London Spirit: 60mL Premium ginger ale: 90mL Lime juice: 15mL White sugar syrup (1:1)/li>: 7.5mL Garnish with 8 mint leaves and lime wedge. Three Spirit's Fierce Spritz Three Spirit Livener: 50mL Pink grapefruit juice: 25mL Kombucha or lemonade: 100mL Garnish with a grapefruit slice. Lyre's Rose Negroni Lyre's Italian Spritz: 45mL Lyre's Dry London Spirit: 15mL Lyre's Apéritif Rosso: 30mL 4 fresh raspberries Garnish with lemon wheel and rosemary sprig.
