Building brand awareness is also on the agenda for Distell and the company is already spending the fruits of its success on a new international advertising campaign. And who’s going to front it? An African supermodel of course. In what the brand describes as its “boldest marketing move yet”, African supermodel, humanitarian and designer Alek Wek (above) is to be the face of its new advertising campaign, scheduled for launch later this year.
Wek is to launch its TV, print and digital campaign this summer. This is the first time Amarula has engaged an international celebrity for the brand. Thompson says: “We chose Alek Wek for her ability, like Amarula, to encapsulate what it means to be an African original. She is a natural, charismatic beauty with a unique and compelling presence. She embodies the grace and poise of Africa with an ability to succeed wherever she goes.”
On the Baileys front, there’s no fruit yet, but as Foo says, it’s not unthinkable: “In terms of new flavours on the horizon, let’s just say the Baileys brand family is like any family – there could always be a new addition.”
For the flavours of Baileys that already exist, pouring over ice cream is an at-home trend in the US which follows trends for drinkable and mini desserts, according to McDonald.
In the on-trade, according to the Cheers On Premise BARometer Handbook 2010, Baileys is the number one most popular dessert drink. And “roughly 40% of Baileys consumers drink it in coffee”. Other than that, Foo sees innovation in terms of packaging as a possibility. He mentions the Stephen Webster bottle again, adding: “The design generated great stand-out and brand-visibility and reinforced the image of Baileys in this key emerging market [Russia} as a stylish brand associated with high-class design.”
Mozart’s Kruggel says consumers look for two things from the cream liqueurs category.
She says: “The global trend follows the consumer demand for a variety of flavours on one side and on the other the consumer is looking for an authentic product with as many natural ingredients and as few artificial ones as possible.”
Which brings us neatly back to Bols and its Natural Yoghurt edition. Whether it’s truly a cream liqueur or not, it has certainly added a new dimension to the category. Naturally.
