Lark CEO Sash Sharma has laid out the details of the brand restage, which he has described as “one of the most significant steps in brand evolution that we will take in the history of the company”.
More than simply a shift to 700ml bottles and a new logo, this restage sets out the long-term vision for Lark, for its vision to build long-term brand value, international sales momentum and domestic leadership.
In laying out the details of the restage during last week’s financial results webinar, Sharma said the ambition is to “make Lark a leader in new world whisky”.
He told the webinar: “We first talked about our Lark brand restage at our investor in October 2023, for delivery at the end of FY25. This has been a significant amount of rewarding and company defining work for the entire team, including our creative partners, the highly credentialed team at Love Design.
“We know that great brands don’t materially change year-on-year, the foundations must be done right and done once, meaning this will be one of the most significant steps in brand evolution that we will take in the history of the company.
“I can tell you the feedback from our partners, customers and consumers has been overwhelmingly positive, which gives us incredible confidence in the bold choices we have made and the bright future ahead.
“The restage has given us an incredible opportunity to create a world-class brand. It allows us to tap into a global audience; it provides us an opportunity to deliver a clear positioning and navigation, which is compelling, while building a rich and discoverable brand world, which invites consumers to peel back the layers of storytelling. From our Founders’ story to our whisky making ethos to the incredible people, product and place which are intertwined with who we are and what we do.”
LUXURY WHISKY
One of the key components of the restage is for Lark to own new world luxury whisky in everything that the brand does both domestically and internationally.
Sharma said: “Our architecture and channel differentiation provides us the ability to access a bigger pool of consumers. Importantly a shift to a 700ml format removes a key barrier to purchase. We are delivering standout and cut-through on shelf, while value engineering our packs. Our restaged box and bottle have been value engineered under the restage to provide a more cost-effective solution than at present.
“We have developed scalable brand assets and tools across key touch points to arm distributors to go to market while driving consistency, which means more funds are spent in execution versus doubling up on creation.”
He added: “The restage is backed by resoundingly positive, independent consumer research and testing, which has been further validated by wonderful feedback from customers and partners. Importantly the restage provides the opportunity to commercialise our whisky bank, while recognising we have significant capacity to respond to strong demand signals.”
Underpinning all aspects of the restage, from the shift to 700ml to the drive to build international sales, is the liquid, and Sharma said when it comes to Lark’s whisky, it has been “a relentless drive in the pursuit of excellence”.
He told the webinar: “From longer ferments, encouraging innovation and questioning conventional wisdom, capitalising on the whisky super-climate, which creates ideal maturation conditions, access to some of the best casks in the world through our ongoing relationship with Seppeltsfield, creation of our bespoke cask seasoning program and the vintage solera system being developed.
“Chris and the whisky making team continue to build some of the most exciting whiskies on the planet, with our new restage having, what Chris describes as the best whisky he has created in 20 years. I suspect there might be a bit of bias there, but it’s a pretty big call nonetheless.”
NEW DESIGN
In talking through the design elements of the restage, Sharma said that the new bottle is a clear nod to the previous flask-shaped Lark bottle.
He said: “You will see the evolution of the Lark word mark on both bottle and box, which embodies craft and upward flight in the direction of its text. The Lark bird icon has evolved to sit upon Cradle Mountain and have the native blue gum bud detail added to its wing – the native flower of Tasmania.
“The sides of the bottle represent the wings of the Lark bird and are a beautifully unique detail which refract the light, providing shelf standout. The bottom of the bottle is sprayed with bio-led luminescent blue creating a distinct and ownable element. Both the top and the bottom of the bottle invite with the words ‘the island is calling’.
“The labels allow navigating with our whisky recipe numbering system, variant name and tasting notes, and the colour marries with the colour of the outer box, helping with variant recall and standout. The Tasmania-Australia roundel sits proudly on the bottle and box, helping ensure those engaging with can pinpoint its origin. Through our research this is one of the most important features as the understanding of Tasmania is limited outside of Australia.
“The outer box is absolutely stunning. It has vibrant colours, unmissable shelf standout and a distinctively new world feel. It isn’t trying to be something that it isn’t, and it is bold and proud and very, very hard to walk past. The illustrated Lark wraps around the box, and has incredible detailing made up of the native flora of Tasmania.
“The inner door folds our brand manifesto and story and the words ‘whisky from another world’ are evocative and inviting.
“Our permanent launch portfolio is striking, with three domestic market SKUs and one GTR exclusive, however, there are more in the works as we build out our portfolio. Development is already in place for NPD and Halo products, and I have just seen the future Dark Lark and rest assured it is going to be amazing and the best yet.”
Classic Cask
As the restage comes to life Sharma said the key communication line for launch is that Lark is “whisky from another world”.
He added: “In the Australian market Classic Cask continues to provide the bridge between what is on shelf today and the transition to our restage brand. This is important for consumers and customers to recognise. Classic Cask is our number one SKU, and as it has done for three decades it plays an important role in defining our future.”
The Lark team has also created a number of ‘go to market tools and assets’ to help distributors and customers, Sharma said: “While there are nuances in every market, the path to purchase and the consumer thought-process and journey is similar. It is for this reason that we have worked on aligning tools with the path to purchase, ensuring the tools and assets help to deliver results.”
Looking ahead Sharma said Lark has already presented the restage to the company’s distributors and customers and the reaction has been very positive.
He said: “We have successfully undertaken our initial production runs and been able to deliver a cost-effective design with the ability to automate into the future. Our ladder will start with an RRP of $180 per 700ml, and we have differentiated a GTR offering to excite and engage travellers.
“In terms of timings, long lead-time shipments to Asian markets will take place in [FY26] half-one. Domestic and GTR shipments will take place from the second-half of FY26. All of this will culminate in a coordinated global consumer launch in April, with upweighted marketing investment to support Lark’s brand awareness. The original range will remain in Australia, anchored by Classic Cask.”
In encompassing everything about this restage for Lark, Sharma said: “We are ushering in an exciting new chapter for the business as a whole.”