It’s not unusual for a gin brand to get a new look. But that an established brand creates a design-protected bottle is anything but ordinary. In today’s special newsletter, I am pleased to be able to tell you the news as a primeur.
Florian and Gian Grundböck are the brothers behind the “Deux Frères” brand. Their gin has been on the market for seven years. And during the interview for “GIN – Das Buch” Florian told:
“You have to think of it like this: We developed the product, found a bottle and did the design. Afterwards, we went to the three hottest bars in Zurich. The gin completely convinced the bartenders in terms of taste during the tasting, and the icing on the cake was certainly the color change, because there was nothing like that at the time. We walked out of every bar and had first orders. So from one day to the next, we were listed in the top bars in Zurich. We felt great.”
Florian Grundböck
Florian and Gian Grundböck during a visit to your office
The pandemic trodden
In the meantime, two years have passed. The pandemic has turned a lot of things upside down. Both have a perfectionist gene and are always striving further. They kept examining their current bottle with a critical eye, and over time the aluminum cap no longer seemed like the perfect solution. A second point is that they have been copied over and over again. While that’s a nice accolade for their work, it’s just not ideal. So they set out on new paths and had a bottle developed according to their ideas. It was important to them that the brand essence and communication style remain intact, yet they were able to take the next step, which was to go international. To this end, they invested in the world’s largest spirits market – China. Soon the first new brown bottles will be placed in home bars in the Land of Smiles. But let’s come back to the current time…
True to the founders’ spirit – drink up, reuse☝🏻.
It’s called a new design. How did you come up with the new shape?
We were on the lookout in our everyday lives for shapes that we both liked. Piece by piece or photo by photo, we coordinated. In the end, we had a little mood board for the agency where we had included shapes and elements. We also set the agency the goal that we get a lot of pictures with flowers in the bottle on Instagram after the bottle kill (means bottle empty). So it should also be stylish enough that people would want to use it as a vase.
Gian Grundböck
Moodboard for the agency
Developing a new design during a time when raw materials are rather scarce was not just easy. Glass is a scarce commodity worldwide, as all those who fill their product in glass bottles can tell you. Waiting times twice as long are normal here. And the glass manufacturer does not even produce its own design until 50,000 bottles are purchased.
Looking at your new bottle – is design everything to you?
Florian: Yes. We clearly put the design in the foreground, and only in the second step did we focus on functionality. If we had decided on functionality, our gin would have come in a standard round bottle with a screw cap. We were aware that this approach would present us with new challenges. The new bottle has a short neck, which made it difficult for us to find the perfect shrink capsule. Of course, we found the perfect one and we now know our way around this market.
The agency’s work on the design took several months, and the first design arrived at the two brothers’ office in the form of a 3-D print.
3 D pressure of the bottle
Own bottle design – off to new markets
With the new design of their bottle, “Deux Frères” take another important step towards international brand establishment. The archway elements originate from the Middle Ages and stand in meaning for two important themes: the origin of the Grundböcks in Zurich and as a door opener to the gateway to the taste of blue gin. Twice the same is not the same – and that’s why it says so beautifully on the label – Bis idem non est idem.
Do you see the archways?
With all the design change should not forget one important detail. The gin! This remains namely unchanged in quality and taste.
And in their online store, the bottles can now be purchased in the new design.
What else is to be said about Gian and Florian?
Together with three other siblings, they grew up on a disused farm near Zurich. There, the two explorers and tinkerers had plenty of space to live out their ideas. So they started their joint business at home. Florian Grundböck, a trained chemical laboratory technician, studied food and beverage technology after completing his training. In the process, he discovered that distilling really suited him. Even the first gin recipe would have been drinkable, except that it was a bit citrus-heavy. The brothers continued to tinker and consulted an expert in Tyrol, their father’s homeland. With the master distiller, the final and perfect recipe was developed. In 2015, they were among those who awakened the domestic gin in Switzerland from its Sleeping Beauty slumber. In addition to the classic column distillation, the two also increasingly work with vacuum distillation, which is unusual for the industry. This allows them a very gentle distillation process, which is evident in the quality and aroma diversity of their gins. Today, in addition to gin, their portfolio includes the vermouth brand VRMTH. They also develop an annual Distillers Cut exclusively for a select clientele. And in “GIN – The Book” you will find a portrait of the two!