Premium cocktail mixer brand Q Mixers is debuting a vibrant new look for the second time in its 17-year history as it seeks to build a stronger connection with consumers both before and after purchase.
The updated packaging, which began rolling out this month, is aimed at establishing the brand as “bold and unapologetic” yet “approachable and elevated,” according to CMO Nicholas Wootten.
“Our products are notorious for their bold flavors and natural ingredients but our packaging was really sterile without any ownable traits and, in a lot of ways, it looked like a private label brand,” Wootten told BevNET. “It was critical that we update our brand ID and packaging to better represent [Q’s] flavors and ingredients.”
Q’s new packaging features bright, bold colors, abstract illustrations and flavor description callouts. Its first rebrand, unveiled in 2021, used product photography to drive consumer education but ultimately failed to stand out in an extremely saturated market.
Founded in 2006 by former CEO Jordan Silbert, Brooklyn-based Q currently produces a 14-SKU line of carbonated and non-carbonated premium cocktail mixers. The brand made its first foray into the non-carbonated set last year with the launch of its Bloody Mary and Margarita Mixes. Its products are available in 27,800 locations total across the U.S. such as restaurants, bars, and grocery and liquor stores, with retail accounting for 70% of the brand’s sales and on-premise making up the other 30%.
Though it may drive the majority of Q’s revenue, brick-and-mortar retail doesn’t come without challenges. According to Wootten, retailers in general still struggle with how to drive discovery for mixers as a whole, whether paired with spirits or served as mocktails.
“Our goal is to educate at the point of purchase, whether that involves partnering with spirits brands to offer basic mixology or using mocktail recipe cards or shelf talkers,” he said, adding that the brand will use different marketing strategies for large consumption holidays like the Super Bowl and dry movements like Sober October.
As the non-alc boom rages on, Q Mixers has increased its conversations about mocktails both internally and externally. However, from a consumption standpoint, non-alcoholic occasions still represent less than 5% of the brand’s overall consumption, said Wootten.
But the non-alc movement has made its presence felt on-premise, at least for Q, as bars and restaurants feel heightened pressure to dedicate a portion of their menu towards mocktails year-round.
“We’ve been fortunate enough to work closely with a lot of [our] customers to develop those recipes,” said Wootten. “In general, the category has seen a lot of shifts, both on-premise and off-premise [to a lesser extent]. Consumers know what they want in their drinks and sometimes what they want is to not have spirits.”
Chicago-based research firm Circana reported retail dollar sales of Q’s liquid mixer line across MULO-C up 1.4% to $13.46 million in the 52-week period ending October 8, while its tonics and club sodas fell -4.4% to $14.59 million. In the same period, overall liquid cocktail mixer sales rose 3% to $387 million.
Numerous brand launches within the past few years have aided category growth, including AVEC, Top Note Tonic and actress Blake Lively’s Betty Buzz. Previously, Q CEO Bob Arnold – who took the helm last June – told BevNET that retail buyers who previously told mixers were a low-priority category are coming to the company for “thought leadership” on how to grow the category.
Looking ahead, Q plans to focus a majority of its efforts on both at-home and special event occasions. Most recently, the brand served as the official premium mixer partner of Miami’s III Points Festival in October where it served a selection of custom cocktails at The Cocktail Club. In May, Q teamed up with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) to craft The Victory Lane cocktail served during the Indy 500.
Leveraging the popularity of the cocktail, the brand worked with select retailers to offer Victory Lane kits in-store.
“As we look to more events and partnerships, this has developed into a streamlined strategy […] consumers gravitate towards great drinks and from there they’re going to build education around what went into that drink,” said Wootten.