Small batch botanical rum to lead crossover and departure from gin
Brand strategists and designers Aylott + Van Tromp are vying to shake up the rum industry with a new small batch botanical offering, Hitchhiker.
Nathan Aylott and James Van Tromp believe rum has largely been left behind in the premiumisation trend that other spirits have capitalised on in the past decade. The two business partners see product innovation and targeted marketing can generate a rise in popularity and accessibility in 2023 for the spirit, after Hitchhiker was awarded two Masters and a Gold at the Rum & Cachaça Masters 2023.
“Creating rum made complete sense to us,” said Van Tromp. “From a team who’s used to designing architectural spaces, the idea of creating a rum brand was somewhat enchanting – a product you can hold in your hand, touch, taste and smell — tactile, visceral — and selling direct to consumer. It embodies everything we love in a modern brand, plus we get to drink it!”
Hitchhiker leans heavily on the botanical-driven boom in the gin market, and steers away from traditional coke or ginger mixers.
“We didn’t want to just follow the market; we wanted to jump in headfirst, and do so carefree of any preconceptions of what we might create,” said Aylott. “Throughout our careers we have been involved in the re-positioning or the shaping of brands, so when it came to creating Hitchhiker, we used the exact same approach: a deep dive into the industry and similar products – whether that be their evolution, their strong and weak points, their audience and most importantly, why they became successful.”
At its core, Hitchhiker’s three limited edition blends use British coastal botanicals as a nod to the brand origin, and a celebration of Great British horticulture.
Crafted in Bristol, the three limited edition Hitchhiker blends — Sicilian Pine, Breton Sea Salt and Azorean Orange Blossom — are a blend of the finest aged five year old rums sourced from Guyana and Trinidad & Tobago, each represented by a creature (aka, the hitchhiker) which is synonymous with the landscape from which its signature ingredient hails.
“We see it as a metaphor,” said Van Tromp, “the sheer impact that one small creature can have.”
A celebration of these adventurous voyages is encapsulated in Hitchhiker’s distinctive branding. Hitchhiker features clean, simple graphics with small flourishes of the ‘hitchhiker’ in hidden locations on the bottle and solid oaks laser-etched stopper. The shape of the bottle was chosen to allow for an easy carry between the fingers, which feeds back into the laidback nature of a hitchhiker, while embossing and foil finishes on the label subtly reveals specific messages about each hitchhiker through the sense of touch. Both of these details provide a tactile point of difference and help elevate Hitchhiker within the sector.
The packaging purposefully utilises natural and eco-conscious materials — including eco-paper, glass, cork and timber – with each edition identified not just by its individual hitchhiker (the Swallowtail Butterfly, Black-Winged Stilt and Sicilian Wall Lizard), but also by the distinct colour identity of each label. The vibrancy of the Azorean Orange Blossom bottle is particularly unique within the market. Each bottle is printed individually, with sequential number detailing on the labels detailing bottle and batch number.
Aylott + Van Tromp believe strongly in the impact that one small batch botanical rum can have within the industry. According to Grand View Research the current global rum market is worth $11.3 billion and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 5.2% from 2022 to 2028 to reach $16.08 billion by 2028. “Consumers are continuing to look for new and innovative flavours,” said Van Tromp, “and we felt that by creating a premium boutique rum offering, we can assist in the evolution of the rum category and bring the product to a wider audience and new demographic.”
