By Deborah Jackson, editor National Liquor News
Two years since launching off the back of a crowdfunding campaign on Pozible, Australian-made coffee liqueur brand Mr Black has signed a deal with UK premium drinks agency, Love Drinks.
The Mr Black Spirits Company has also refreshed its packaging and tweaked its name from cold ‘drip’ coffee liqueur to cold ‘press’ coffee liqueur.
Tom Baker, director of Mr Black said the new pack couldn’t have come at a better time than just as the distribution deal in the UK was signed.
“The UK is having its coffee renaissance and it’s Australians who are leading the charge. We can’t wait to get over, join in the fun and start caffeinating London,” said Baker.
Kirsty Loveday, managing director and founder of Love Drinks said: “Like Tom, we have been waiting to bring Mr Black to the UK for some time and are excited to see what the reaction will be. In the initial tastings we’ve held, feedback has been incredible and even our sales team have been pushing for an earlier launch as they can see the potential Mr Black has within the drinks industry and beyond.”
The new pack was designed in collaboration with Manchester-based graphic design company, United Creatives, led by Chris Edmunds, with the aim to tell more of the story about the production of Mr Black.
Edmunds said: “Creating the new Mr Black was certainly a challenge. We introduced a new label shape derived from a sartorial sash – the sort of thing you wear with a tux. Then we built the world of Mr Black from the inside out: some masculine typography and lots of elements and infographics, including a bespoke monogram. The new pack is still unmistakably Mr Black, yet more considered and striking on-shelf.”