LoCa launches first product – Minus 33

Minus 33, the first in a range of new spirits under the brand name LoCa launches into bars and onto shelves this week. The parent LoCa brand and Minus 33 have both been designed by branding and design agency Good. The Minus 33 name was also developed by the agency.

Distilled in the UK by Silent Pool in Surrey, Minus 33 is a juniper-infused spirit that has almost one third fewer calories per serving than many other major brands of gin.

Minus 33 is the brainchild of 26-year old entrepreneur Sam Trett, founder of LoCa Bev. Sam spent more than a year in a lab experimenting with creating the best-tasting drink possible that could offer an alternative to traditional spirits. Through a process of constant refinement with feedback from tasting panels, Sam created a botanical spirit at 33% ABV, the most popular choice among the tasters. 

The resulting product showcases a clean, crisp design with a simple bottle shape and a label reflecting the brand’s invention story.

Each label features the signature of the founder, Sam, and explains the product concept, its flavour profile and calorie content per serving. The label also references the LoCa parent brand, as this is the first of several planned launches by the company.

The product is now available in bars across the UK as well as in independent stockists. Larger retailers, including Fortnum and Mason and Harvey Nichols, will carry the product from September. It is also available online priced at £29 - https://locabev.com

As start-up company, LoCa received support funding from the Prince’s Trust and the Scottish Government as well as private investors including the former owners of the retailer Schuh.  Two former Whyte & Mackay executives also have an interest in the business. 

Good is also an investor in LoCa, taking a 10% stake in the business in exchange for its expertise and work. Good co-founder Chris Lumsden also sits on the LoCa advisory board, and as well as the brand and packaging, Good also created all LoCa and Minus 33 support materials, and will soon produce a new website for the brand.

Good also developed the look and feel for the Loca Lab parent company, which is currently looking into new products to add to its portfolio.

Keith Forbes, founding partner at Good, says: “With LoCa, and Minus 33, we had a brilliant opportunity to work directly with an inspiring entrepreneur in Sam, and to shape the brand and products from the ground up. LoCa’s mission, reflected in its first product launch Minus 33, is genuinely different. Minus 33 is a stand out brand offering something genuinely new to the market – merging traditional flavours with modern development and distillation techniques to create something really unique.

“The brand challenge here was for us to create something in LoCa that could stand the test of time – flexible enough to be home to a range of great products over the coming years. And in Minus 33, we needed to reflect the huge amounts of innovation behind the liquid in a simple, accessible way.”

Sam Trett, founder, LoCa Bev, adds: “Good has been invaluable – not just in their design knowledge, but also via the strategic brand advice and development they have offered as partners and investors in this project.

“We worked incredibly hard to create a brilliant brand in LoCa, and a groundbreaking product in Minus 33 and to see that reflected in the brilliant designs that are now on shelf is just the icing on the cake. We have an unusual message to communicate – we are not a gin – we’re offering something better than that – but Good has met this challenge head on with a product that makes sense in all elements of design.”

17 August 2015 - Felicity Murray The Drinks Report, editor