Kari Embree

March 11, 2015

2 Min Read
Mike's Hard Lemonade wants to be on first name basis

Celebrating its 15th anniversary, Chicago-based Mike’s Hard Lemonade is celebrating by rolling out new flavors and innovative beverages.

First introduced in Boston back in 1999, over 190-million cases have been sold from coast to coast in the United States.

The latest additions to Mike's line-up include:

  • Mike’s Hard Peach Lemonade: A spring seasonal flavor that delivers the taste of right-off-the-tree fresh peaches, blended with the tartness of Mike’s signature hard lemonade.

  • Mike’s Frozen: Introduced last summer, these pouches have been bolstered with the addition of its newest flavor, Hard Mango Lemonade. Mike’s Frozen provides consumers with a totally different way to enjoy the coldest Mike’s ever by delivering a smooth ice crystal-like consistency in a portable pouch.

  • Reformulated Mike’s Lite Hard Lemonade: Now sweetened with a hint of honey for a natural taste, Mike’s Lite Hard Lemonade is available in lemonade and black cherry lemonade, it delivers the full flavor that Mike’s loyalists have come to expect with 30 percent fewer calories than original Mike’s Hard Lemonade and the addition of a higher strength of alcohol by volume—5 percent.

  • Mike’s Hard Smashed Apple Ale: Handcrafted with the juice of Washington apples for a crisp and natural taste.

The adult beverage company is also introducing new, eye-catching packaging, centering its iconic lemon-shaped logo solely on "mike's," illustrating the personal “first name basis” association its loyal consumers have with the brand. The Mike’s product offering has also updated its look and shelf presence with a new premium long-neck glass bottle.

The Mike’s team gives Packaging Digest an exclusive on details about the packaging:

What prompted this introduction and why this particular timing? What were the key goals and requirements from a marketing view? From a packaging view? What were the key goals of the graphics design?

Over the past 15 years, we have seen a progression as the original Mike’s Hard Lemonade expanded into14 different flavors and new product categories like apple ale. Each of our flavors has been distinctively created to match our consumer’s passion for uniquely different, fun and refreshing tastes. Quality and innovation are key components of our DNA. We conducted extensive research prior to repackaging, as our consumers’ input and interest have always been an integral part in our development of new products.

To this point, we wanted our refreshed logo to center on the iconic lemon-shape with an emphasis on “mike’s” – to exemplify the personal, “first name basis” connection our loyal consumers have with the brand and to create a strong and flexible architecture that unifies all of mike’s offering, while allowing consumers to easily differentiate flavors and formats.

A new, stand-out long-neck glass bottle also serves to modernize the look and give mike’s stronger shelf presence and shopability. It also maintains mike’s voice by incorporating “quips” onto the necks of the bottles, where people can better engage with them as they are holding and drinking the various flavors. 

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