COMING SOON!

Looking to ignite a jolt of growth by reeling in new users, Hint Water will unveil at Expo a major rebrand that reinforces its core message that drinking water shouldn't be boring, while upping both the flavor and packaging experimentation. On packaging front, it will inaugurate a 19.2-oz "stovepipe" can for testing in NY as impulse item for liquid that's supremely suited to chugging - more so than those 8% ABV IPAs with which the format is commonly associated. Among key changes, label background of core PET bottle will move to light blue to cue refreshment and confer greater shelf standout at retail. Fruit renderings now are actually photographed to better convey richness of flavor. And brand is adopting a new conversational voice that's more irreverent and playful, to foster a bit of theater on shelf, along lines of, "like a grape and you'll want to drink it in bunches" for Grape flavor. Idea is for brand to bring a smile to shoppers while not taking itself too seriously. "After all, it's a flavored water," said Alli Cullman, svp & head of marketing. New look will bleed out into market in coming weeks ahead of major new campaign due in May. The graphics redo was performed by Mythology in NY with enough aplomb for agency to earn job of creating the spring campaign. Hint is keeping wraps on that for now, but it will similarly seek to bring more people into brand in irreverent way.Context was set for us last week by Cullman, stepping in for an ailing CEO Mike Pengue, who took reins in fall 2024 and has since remade his mgmt team. So this reps early major initiative on his watch. As noted by Cullman, who earlier worked at Vita Coco, another longtime Verlinvest holding, Hint now is a 21-yr-old brand that's managed to sell 1.5 bil bottles over its history while weathering launch of 20K other bevs. She rates it as beloved by its core users, but not well enough known by consumers who've been "clobbered with newness and more, more, more" amid category's endless noise. Even this far into its history, Hint only has 5% household penetration. So it needs to work harder to get out message that it makes hydration simple, accessible and genuinely enjoyable through flavor. Nielsen scans reported by Goldman Sachs have Hint declining 11% in 52-wk sales to $142 mil for 52 wks ended Jan 10, tho co also musters sizable ecomm biz.Cullman believes Hint is well-positioned to ride several tailwinds lately. One is shoppers' generally building awareness that they're not adequately hydrated. Another is the impact of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs in moving taste preferences more to flavor softness rather than intensity. In synch with that is shift to noncarbs, as seen in energy and alcohol, as users seek more sessionable and chuggable alternatives.On package front, recall that for years Hint's founders wouldn't brook consideration of adding cans to packaging mix on grounds that format's sustainability advantage was illusory, even as PET bottles were being banned from key accts like SF airport or corporate cafeterias in NY. By time founders moved out of day-to-day, the pandemic-induced supply chain squeeze had rendered cans hard to get, further delaying move.Now, tho, cans are a modest part of mix via summer variety pack last year that offered 12-oz sleek cans for foodservice. That's set stage for test of something more dramatic: 19.2-oz unit targeting key up & down street market in NY, where brand has long been serviced by Big Geyser as DSD partner. As Cullman noted, so far, no other flavored still water is in that can, even tho that liquid is one people very much will chug. The stovepipe launch will coincide with major marketing investment in NY this summer as an important image market for brand, Alli said.Expect also more flavor experimentation, years after brand dropped some more complex dual flavors in order to keep focus on straightforward entries like Peach, Pineapple and Coconut. It has since added "smashups" like Peppermint Bark and Peach Raspberry and time is right to "expect more unexpected flavors," Cullman promised, including some that will be sampled at Expo booth. Among planned additions, summer pack will return this year themed to nation's 250th anniversary via rocket pop flavor style.

EXPO WEST: Hint Water Rebrand Will Bang Home Enjoyable-Hydration Message; Ready to Test 19.2-Oz Stovepipe Can in NY

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