CASE STUDY: Sustainability is delicious
Mr Lyan Studio partnered with Berry Bros. & Rudd on the launch of The Collective and their inaugural series, The Pioneers - a limited edition release of spirits from a range of specialised distilleries. We played a holistic role in the project, consulting on the selection of the distilleries, product development and branding, product launch, content creation, and event hosting and organisation in London, Paris, and Berlin.
Sustainability is (thankfully) a core consideration for spirits brands, producers and retailers around the world - reaching new heights in recent years - and it’s something we care deeply about. The carbon footprint of alcohol is after all, significant - the global alcoholic beverage industry produces around 1.5 gigatons of greenhouse gas emissions annually, comparable to the emissions of approximately 276 million cars. Every company that exists within the beverage space can and should play a part in reducing our impact on the planet.
Sustainability has always had an integral role in the work of Mr Lyan Studio and the wider Lyan family - from the sustainable luxury of Cub with chef Douglas McMaster, who went on to open the world’s first zero waste restaurant - Silo, to the ‘no ice, no citrus, no perishables’ policy of White Lyan, back in 2013.
The Challenge:
How could we position a new sustainability drive for a heritage brand that resonates with its existing core audience while also appealing to a new one?
We needed to balance the history and prestige of Berry Bros. & Rudd whilst creating original, modern, and dynamic content, presenting sustainability in a new light with angles and thought processes that hadn’t been highlighted before. It required integrity and transparency, (avoiding any trappings of greenwashing), presenting an honest, innovative, and authentic campaign and primarily, we wanted to tell the stories of ten unique distilleries. Here’s how we did it.
The Context:
Established in 1698, Berry Bros. & Rudd is Britain's oldest wine and spirit merchant, with a reputation for trading in fine, rare, and exceptional products, holding two Royal Warrants for H.M. The Queen and H.R.H. The Prince of Wales. As a family business with a storied history, their commitment to customers and suppliers includes looking ahead to the future, aiming to be net zero carbon and plastic-free by 2030; as Elizabeth Rudd explains, “sustainability is a natural part of our ethos and our long-term mindset a key to our resilience and longevity. The purpose of business is fast becoming defined by its impact rather than the products or services it sells.”
In keeping with this commitment, Berry Bros. & Rudd’s newest initiative, The Collective, brings together spirit producers to shine a light on their passions, products and achievements. Connected by a common thread, each series showcases ten distillers from around the world, with a new release of spirits each year. The first Collective, The Pioneers, is centred around sustainability - specifically highlighting the many paths and strategies employed by different distilleries (in Scotland, America, England, France, Ireland, Sweden and Tasmania), to reduce their environmental and social impact, while maintaining the quality and commercial viability of their production. This project speaks to the Mr Lyan Studio ethos of helping and inspiring people everywhere to drink better - and presented an exciting opportunity for our team.
The Insight:
Too often, with sustainability comes thoughts of compromise. While regularly driven by ethics or morals, climate-conscious consumers don’t always associate sustainably-minded products with great flavour. There’s an idea in the ether that if something’s good for the planet, it’s probably lacking in another department - texture, taste, or even appearance. But that doesn’t need to be the case. There are great chefs, bartenders, and producers creating delicious food and drink with minimal waste - and sometimes with none, creatively challenging conventions to reduce their impact on the planet’s natural resources. Sustainability can be - and should be - enjoyable. This formed our core campaign idea - ‘Sustainability is Delicious.’
Our problem-solving storytelling approach centred around three concepts. ‘All in Good Time’ recognises that mature spirits require time but that there is no fixed path. This also ties into the 300-year history of Berry Bros. & Rudd, the evolution of flavour, and the long game of sustainable farming and community development. ‘Can't See The Wood For The Trees’ speaks to the importance of wood to aged spirits - but it's not the only factor. By understanding and returning to nature, we can create and celebrate new flavours. ‘Future Roots’ highlights the need to establish firm foundations to explore different routes in flavour, and build strong roots for a brighter whisky future.
The Approach:
Content production for The Pioneers included six reels for use on Berry Bros. & Rudd social media platforms, conceived, conceptualised, and managed by us in partnership with Mr Webster Film. Our goal was to bring The Pioneers’ story to life, weaving different forms of visual language together to showcase the diversity of the chosen distilleries’ different approaches to sustainability while also highlighting the human aspect of spirits, and making these stories relatable and engaging to the viewer.
We filmed at The Oxford Artisan Distillery to showcase restorative grain production and travelled to Ardnamurchan and Nc’nean distilleries in Scotland, to document their planting of endangered trees and their highland cattle. With the distilleries we weren’t able to visit (sadly, a trip to Tasmania wasn’t on the cards), we organised interviews with founders, to ensure all brands were equally represented.
Focussing on makers, community, agriculture, biodiversity, energy, diversity, and flavour, we produced consumer-friendly, engaging and inclusive video content showcasing the exciting, innovative, and delicious aspects of the distilleries involved. We worked with Berry Bros. & Rudd brand assets - alongside our own - to highlight the client’s impressive legacy and history while also implementing a contemporary look and feel that makes the campaign feel modern and bright.
Alongside our digital work, Ryan Chetiyawardana, founder of Mr Lyan, worked in an ambassadorial role, hosting a launch event at Berry Bros. & Rudd’s iconic HQ in London’s St James’s Street. We worked on the selection of the ten casks, and on a release strategy, including press and influencer outreach, targeting wine and spirits journalists, natural wine consultants and business owners, and food and flavour specialists, including chefs and restauranters.
The Impact:
In working on The Pioneers project from the initial brief and ideation to the final product release, the challenge of creatively reimagining sustainability provided an opportunity for us to disprove the outdated notion that good for the planet means bad on the palate; as Ryan explains, “implementing sustainable practices to the process of spirit making can result in unique and tasty products, with the potential to discover new and exciting flavours and ample opportunity for innovation.”
Johnnie Roberts, Managing Director of Brands at Berry Bros. & Rudd said after the launch “Developing The Pioneers with Ryan and Mr Lyan Studio was a true collaboration. From cask selection through to content development. They brought creativity, added value and were great to work with”.
