Ariki Spirit

Agency: Redfire
Art Direction: Colin Downing, Natasha Alimova
Illustrator: Anna Crichton
Photography: Darryn Van Der Sandt
Project Type: Produced, Commercial Work
Client: Ariki Spirit
Client (Team): Ariki Spirit, Sean Rota, Tanya Honore
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Packaging Contents: Premium Spirit, Gin, Vodka, Pacific
Packaging Materials: Glass Bottle

Yes, the Vodka & Gin space is full of competition and dominated by global spirits conglomerates. So if your considering entering this segment you need to go in with your eyes wide open and have a damn good point of difference to carve your niche and get sales.

Enter Ariki. A new player based in New Zealand with a Pacific twist targeting a global audience. Ambitious – Yes! Inspirational – more so.

We loved the challenge to craft this premium spirit brand inspired from Polynesian origins. It was not your stereotypical brand that showcased sun, sea, sand and palm trees ( although we all love that- right) but one that resonated with sophistication, class, taste and flavour profiles that teased and aroused your taste buds.

The brand was crafted so you could enjoy a fine cocktail sitting on your boat moored in the Caribbean, laying on a white sandy beach in the Pacific, dining in a swanky New York restaurant or clubbing in a hip London club (private club that is!)

We developed a full brand strategy after a great tasting session with the Ariki team and then gave big focus to packaging design. Not just the bottles, but with all brand touch points that anyone touching Ariki would engage with. So yes, they have some of the best shipper packaging you’ll see and all working together in harmony to sell our brand story.

We collaborated with a renowned illustrator – Anna Crichton (because we can’t draw as good as Anna) to illustrate our Ariki that is used on pack for Gin as well as on marketing collateral. Anna’s stuff is pretty cool and she features in many publications around the world including the NY Times – so it’s got to be good right.

We wanted to achieve a clean, classy, sophisticated and luxurious brand and packaging that had stand out on shelf and in retailers.

What’s Unique?
What we did: Brand Strategy, Brand & Logo Design, Packaging Design, Illustration – (Anna Crichton), Visual Communications Strategy. Oh and yes had lots of fun tasting their great spirits!