Malibu Packaging redesign

• : Luzz
• Next: Marassi

The world’s number-one selling Caribbean Rum with natural Coconut Flavor, Malibu brings the taste of the islands to people around the world. Consumers everywhere associate the brand with an idyllic landscape of palms, sand and surf. Malibu’s iconic white bottle is one of the most recognized spirits packages in the world. But, like any great brand, Malibu continually seeks new ways to extend its appeal. In 2006, Malibu began a series of strategic innovations, starting with a refreshment of the packaging for its existing range and the launch of a new flavor.

How do you improve on the best? This was the critical question facing Malibu-Kahlúa International, the Pernod Ricard-owned company that shapes the brand’s global strategy. The company’s goal was to refresh the brand, while maintaining the equity in its distinctive packaging. This meant refining the existing brand image and enhancing the visual connections among the different flavors within the Malibu line.

The design team at The Brand Union began by identifying Malibu’s current equities and exploring how they could be applied even further. They conducted research in Malibu’s top markets and reviewed the ways that consumers perceive and interact with the brand.

The team recognized the value of the distinctive white bottle. Bartenders especially appreciate how easy it is to identify in hectic back-bar environments. The designers decided to maximize this benefit by using the white color more uniformly across the line, highlighting it with color bands denoting flavor, and accentuating the Caribbean iconography to denote premium stature.

Creative Work

Using these refined design elements, The Brand Union crafted a new packaging system that is at once elegant and enticing. Their work centered around five key factors.

• Iconic White Family – All Malibu Flavors now utilize the original iconic white package.
• Flavor Differentiation – Different colors bands appear on the necks of the bottles to designate each Malibu flavor, while tying into the larger Malibu family. They include: Midnight Purple for Malibu Passion Fruit; Island Orange for Malibu Pineapple; Sunshine Yellow for Malibu Banana, and Coral Red for Malibu Mango. Each flavor color is also reinforced in the Malibu sunset in the logo and in the flavor-name lettering.
• Authentic Caribbean Cues – A new "Spirit of The Caribbean" stamp has been added to reinforce the brand's heritage and authenticity. In addition to this, the Barbados-based "Twelve Islands Shipping Company" logo has been given significant real estate on the top half of the bottle. Also, the Malibu typeface and the illustration of the palm trees in the logo were refined to increase premium and authenticity cues.
• Back-of-bottle: Content was significantly overhauled to feature Caribbean cocktail recipes for Malibu flavors suggested by bartenders, as well as a short ""Malibu story"" celebrating the brand's origin, and a consumer website url.
• Outer-shipper Case Packaging: The case was re-designed with the same white, Caribbean icons and color components as the bottles, including: a case with a white overall look, a passport stamp designating Caribbean origin, and flavor-color-coded lettering.

Malibu’s new packaging has dramatically extended the visual appeal of the brand. The launch included a range of point-of-sale materials including outer shippers, case cards, shelf talkers, and product brochures, all highlighting the “new look” with the same great product inside. An extensive trade media plan has helped to create additional excitement around the repackaging. Most importantly, consumers are finding it even easier to find and enjoy the distinctive tastes that Malibu delivers – from the islands to their own glasses.