THE ENTREPRENEUR-SPIRATION SERIES: UGLY DRINKS
This month we went out to meet the boys…. and things got Ugly! (Ugly Drinks that is!)
Meet co-founders Joe Benn and Hugh Thomas of Ugly Drinks.
These two are turning the soft drinks market on its head by showing the goliaths of the industry that start ups are the way it’s done these days & that you CAN make a tasty soft drink with zero sugar, zero sweetener, and without anything artificial.
Ugly Drinks are exactly that - just sparkling water infused with natural ingredients - and that’s it. No sugar, no sweetener and nothing artificial. Nothing else at all. Refreshing isn’t it!
That is why it’s time to #glugUGLY people and discover this fearless brand story taking on the big guys in the soft drinks world.
A beautiful beginning
It was back in August 2013 that Joe & Hugh spotted a gap in the market for a new type of soft drink. Both were working for startup powerhouse Vita Coco and through their sales and marketing backgrounds began to notice consumers were actively seeking alternatives to drinks with sugar across all drinks categories; be that soft drinks, juices, smoothies, soda or energy drinks.
When you think about it - what are the drinks without sugar or sweetener? Well, the only option really is water.
“We saw that waters tend to be based on provenance “this mountain in France”, or “this spring in the UK”, or are marketed on their functionality such as electrolytes or minerals. At the other end of the spectrum the alternative is high sugar Soft Drinks or Diet Soft Drinks full of sweeteners. Even the flavoured waters that act as a middle ground, are full of sugar & sweeteners. 80% of the fridge is sugary drinks & 20% is bottled water.”
“Basically, there is no evolution in Soft Drinks.”
Things start to get Ugly
And this is how the Ugly Drinks brand story came to be. The UK’s first unsweet soft drink.
Ugly isn’t dressed up to look pretty, it’s unsweet and has nothing to hide. It’s just sparkling water infused with natural fruit flavours. As the brand strap line says, because you’re sweet enough already!
Available in a zesty Lemon & Lime and a tropical Grapefruit & Pineapple flavour, they are deliciously refreshing, especially when served ice cold. Ugly has no calories whatsoever, yet still gives you the tasty, fizzy soft drinks hit, entertaining your tastebuds and refreshing you for that 3pm afternoon lull. It continues in the theme of the fun soft drink treat in a can, yet the treat is that you don’t have to compromise on your health, or your diet. Amazing!
The proposition has taken time to refine and craft as Hugh explains. They spent 18 months developing the product concept and taking learnings from tests and trials and over time, their thinking moved from a still flavoured water in a plastic bottle to what Ugly Drinks has become today.
“We started by thinking about how we could create a flavoured water, like those in coffee shops in a jug with a slice of lemon. Product development takes a lot of time, and it took us 18 months to get to a place where we felt that we’d got everything we were happy with”.
Ugly Drinks cans started hitting the shelves in Jan 2016, and the guys haven’t looked back since.
“We decided to launch in January people are reconsider their habits, trying to give up sugar and change their diets.”
“We need to keep educating people about it because as it’s a soft drink in a can people still think it has sugar in it, but when you tell them it hasn’t - then its revolutionary to them. They are like “Wow, this is a can drink I can enjoy”. I can cut sugar & sweetener out of my drinks through this change”.
Ugly, but only on the outside
Joe & Hugh’s vision for the Ugly brand story has been as a challenger right from the start. Hugh explains that the duo always wanted to be disruptive, stand out and make a mark on the drinks industry, and in particular the soft drinks category. The idea of a soft drink without sugar or sweetener meant they wanted to shout about what they are rather than what they are not on shelf, and has led the two to really dial up the Ugly brand personality.
“Our aim was to make people feel something”, explains Hugh
“I read the book Purple Cow by Seth Godin which really emphasises the idea of standing out in cluttered markets. There is also a film maker called Casey Niestat who said “its better to make something that 50 people hate and 50 people love, than make something that 100 people just like.” These ideas really influenced the thinking around the Ugly brand name & how the packaging it looks.”
With this idea in mind Joe & Hugh appointed a branding agency to help them create the Ugly brand world.
“With healthy products quite often they can look quite “healthy”, and dare I say it, a bit good for you. We thought that if the government goes ahead and imposes a sugar tax then it could really feel like people are being told what to do, being told to be healthy.”
“Basically it boils down to the question - why can’t it be fun to choose something healthy? Why does it have to be boring?”
“The name - Ugly drinks - is a bit of a statement on the drinks industry. A lot of drinks over promise in the name and under deliver in the liquid and so we decided to not promise anything! It’s just sparkling water but with no sugar, no sweetener and no artificial ingredients - so we are beautiful on the inside but not on the out. Hence the Ugly brand name."
"In terms of the visuals, we just thought its got to be fun, its got to communicate and it’s got to stand out on shelf and shout about what it is. The blue has big impact. I still look at it now and think I’m really proud of it, I love it.”
What’s next on the cards?
Ugly Drinks launched on the 7th January 2016 and so far has secured listings in Selfridges, Wholefoods, Vital Ingredient and around 250+ independent retailers / shops, not a mean feat in 3 months, but the boys and their team are not stopping there and expansion is definitely top of the agenda.
“We’re ambitious - we set up the company with the vision of making healthy drinks accessible to as many people as possible - both in terms of geography & price point (the RSP is 99p).”
“This year is all about establishing ourselves; sustaining & growing the business with the right foundations. We need to nurture the listings we have and drive a strong rate of sale. Getting listed is only half the win; when you launch a small company, the sales out are what will make you a success.”
“We have started in London, but we want to be all over the country as soon as possible, launching new flavours & different formats as the business grows and as we progress."
"Because it’s an unsweet drink it may take people a bit of getting used to - people are used to drinks being very sweet, and we need to spend our time educating people to help them understand what the product is and showing them that there is an alternative to sugar and sweetener."
“We feel like consumers are ready for it though.”
Teamwork
The Ugly Drinks team are ready for it as well. Currently working as a team of 4 out of true startup territory - a shipping container office in Elephant & Castle, the team ethic is something that is central to the Ugly Drinks brand and business.
“Joe & I worked at Vita Coco from very early on in the UK, so we have both done the startup journey, and seen what it is like a really fast growing company. While we were there we were like “wouldn’t it be cool to create the same experience for others” and hopefully thats what we’ve done. We like to have as much fun as possible, nothing is ever that serious in life - we go out a lot, work hard play hard, it feels like a small family really. It’s my favourite bit.”
The team includes Market Activation Managers Orla & Bina who have been with the boys from the start of the journey. Hugh beams with pride as he speaks about them.
“They are amazing & have stuck with us all the way and throughout everything. They do everything - they are literally an extension of Joe & I. They look after sales territories, splitting north & south London, but also support with marketing too. It’s a great team, well balanced, and as fresh grads its an amazing amount for them to experience and get stuck in to.”
“Having a co-founder is also super super important. I have so much respect for people who do this on their own, its incredible. I have someone to bounce those internal questions with, Joe & I can support each other, split the work, and vibe off each others energy. Having a co-founder is vital from my point of view and for what I do. It’s hard work whatever so having someone with you there to share it helps, and its a lot more fun.”
And what about investors or other backers and support? Who else has been part of making this happen with you guys?
“We actually have 14 different investors from our network of friends and family who have supported us from day 1. This has helped pay for the production run and the initial set up. Basically we had done our homework, had a business plan, could show research and insight, and created a story that they bought into. That combined with our industry experience meant that the support for our pitch was there from the start.”
Ugly Marketing
Hugh takes the lead on the marketing side of the business, his background at Vita Coco and Heinz have given him a strong FMCG based approach and is clear on the Ugly Drinks strategy to win. So how does this startup use marketing to grow its brand? What’s the Ugly Drinks approach to marketing?
“When it comes to marketing, a lot of challenger brands tend to look very similar, and then by default become part of the mass; so the best thing to do is throw the rule book out the window, we think it’s the best way to do things."
“Winston Churchill once said “Gentleman we have run out of money, so therefore we must think”. That is really our philosophy when it comes to marketing at the moment, we are not paying an agency to create really flash looking stuff or do big poster or TV campaigns - it is almost more interesting if we do it ourselves.”
“At the moment, there are really two types of marketing we are focused on - customer marketing & creating buzz. The customer side is all about making sure that at the point of purchase we have POS, we are talking to consumers, sampling the products, explaining about it and driving the rate of sale. Creating buzz we see as creative disruption, causing talk-ability, doing grass roots marketing such as sampling and social media like Instagram, and really doing it all in a different way. We do it all ourselves and with our own unique style, looking at other categories in fashion and lifestyle for inspiration rather than competitors. That’s how we will remain a challenger.”
The Entrepreneur Journey
With a young startup on their hands, and the momentum building behind their brand and business. Support from significant suppliers, a relevant product that is about to become a whole lot more relevant due to the impending sugar tax, the entrepreneurial journey is looking like a good one for these two. But do they yet see themselves as “entrepreneurs”?
“Joe & I are very similar”, Hugh smiles, “I can only talk about me, but I know we think very similarly.”