Project
DECEM
Creating lighter spirits for modern times
Services
Strategy
Branding
Product Design
Packaging
Photography
Illustration
Digital Design
Digital Development
Performance Marketing
Otherway have partnered with MasterChef finalist, Billy Wright, to create a refreshingly new, category defining, 'light' spirit.
DECEM was born to give modern drinkers a natural alcohol spirit and subsequent lighter alternative to the usual. To embrace the philosophy of less is better and empower everyone to enjoy the benefits of alcohol without drinking too much.
One theme to come out of post-Covid world is a preference for lighter alcoholic drinks. Instead of a traditional heavy drink, consumers are turning to beverages with lower alcohol contents. This is largely driven by health-conscious drinkers who, in addition to wanting to avoid having one too many, don’t want to over consume liquid calories.
Otherway set about creating the business across every touchpoint to deliver on a new brand vision.
We discovered the perfect balance between alcohol and taste was around 10%, with the liquid capable of retaining complex flavours yet allowing for easy drinking. Off the back of this insight we defined the business on 10% ABV. Easy to understand, light enough to make a real difference, while still packed a punch on taste. The brand was built around this -from the naming of DECEM (Definition: Ten – Latin) English des-em, to the 10 natural ingredients, that were blended or distilled into every bottle.
DECEM is proud to be manufactured in England, keeping supply chains local: from the development lab in Hackney, to the bottle plant in Yorkshire, via the distillery in the Suffolk countryside.
In a category that trades off tradition, whether that be through true heritage or pastiche - we wanted to steer away from this world to create a bottle that would stand out across a DTC social world and on-trade back of bar environments. A clearly defined san and serif font balance was chosen to give an English aesthetic while creating a more contemporary take on a spirits brand, in order to help DECEM appeal directly to drinkers.
The bottle splits into two clear sides. For the front of the bottle we brought in a bold brand application combined with a celebration list of the ten natural ingredients, whilst the back brings a new approach to the table. An intricate foiling pattern made up of a series of ten radial points - making a bottle you’d be proud to ’bring a bottle’ to the party.
We were keen from the outset to bring a fresh eye on the social aspect of showing alcoholic brands in use. Moving away from the over stylised photography - we used original film to bring a more candid and colourful lens on the DECEM world. Shot on Kodak Porta 400 35mm, prized for its saturated greens, blues and reds and the slightly surreal, intense feel - giving us ‘of the moment' social shots to bring some humanity and depth to the brand world.
DECEM has been three years in the making, working tirelessly to find the most interesting combinations of fruits, herbs and botanicals to blend genuinely different liquids that hold complex flavours yet are easy to drink with the simplest mixers. LONDON DRY, made with distilled botanicals, SPICED BLEND made with Caribbean rum, and APERITIF made with heritage botanicals. We’re proud to launch the first three spirits in the DECEM range and give drinkers lighter alternatives to be enjoyed all day or all night.
Work
