Stronger image for Sailor Jerry rum packaging

William Grant & Sons has unveiled a packaging refresh for its premium spiced rum Sailor Jerry. Changes to the design of the bottle and label have been developed to reinforce the brand’s premium credentials, authentic heritage and personality to provide clearer standout on shelf both in retail and on the back bar.

Having courted a measure of controversy when the recipe of Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum itself was adjusted for the last major relaunch of the brand in early 2010, William Grant & Sons (then under its former agency name, First Drinks) has on this occasion restricted changes to the packaging design alone, presenting an evolution of the previous look with clearer cues to Norman ‘Sailor Jerry’ Collins, a legendary figure in the field of old-school tattooing.

Design for the new presentation was handled by QCM - Quaker City Mercantile, Philadelphia. The bottle neck is now embossed with the Sailor Jerry anchor brand and dates. The front label has been split into two sections to allow more prominence of the hula girl iconography and script, while highlighting the proof strength and the rum’s “bold and smooth” style.

A new bottle shape has also been introduced, to ensure the Sailor Jerry brand is clear and recognisable among its competitors.

Inspired by the famous tattoo artist, six new Sailor Jerry pinup girls have been added to the inside front label of the bottle. Fans of the brand already collect the existing range of labels, and the new pack includes a new, removable label so that admirers can easily continue their collections with the new artwork.

Senior brand manager for Sailor Jerry, Riana Gallagher, says: “Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum was developed to continue the legacy of Norman ‘Sailor Jerry’ Collins and was inspired by his era, when goods were made by hand and people had a stronger sense of pride in their work. The new packaging has been introduced to align the brand’s look and old-school feel with the premium, authentic nature of the spirit.”

According to William Grant & Sons UK Market Report 2014, in the UK off-trade spiced rum now accounts for a quarter of all rum and is the fastest growing sub-category by value, while in the on-trade, value sales of spiced rum have almost doubled in the last two years, adding £50m to the category. Sailor Jerry is the number two spiced rum in the UK on- and off-trade.

The new Sailor Jerry bottle will be available in the UK from September 2014 and joins a global roll-out of the new packaging. In the UK, the recommended retail price remains at £22.00.

16 September 2014 - David Longfield