Catto’s targets younger audience with redesign of whisky bottle

The company said the packaging of the bottle had been untouched for over a decade claiming: ‘With the brand’s core consumers ageing, a younger generation needed to engage with the brand and its rich and interesting history needed to be brought back to life’.

Re-launched into key markets

JDO was given a brief to develop ‘an evocative and motivating brand proposition’ to be launched into new markets and re-launched into key markets across the rest of the world. 

The team was told to add ‘premiumness’ and modernity and to create emotional engagement through celebrating the brand’s rich history. 

In engaging with a new audience, it was also important that existing consumers were not left behind.

The  redesign for its 70cl, 75cl, 1L and 1.14L deluxe blended Scotch whisky bottles produced by Ardagh Group, takes the label shape from Royston Labels as its focus point, as inspiration for a boat’s bow which sits within a ‘wave’ created as a ripple effect in the glass.

Lynne Buckley, brand manager, Catto’s, said it wanted to refresh the design to match the quality of the blend.

Debossed feature on the front of the bottle

“JDO’s and Ardagh’s work for Catto’s has enabled us to tell the brand’s rich story. The brand proposition and primary and secondary packaging designs were created by JDO​,” she added.

A major aspect of the stylish new design was the debossed feature on the front of the bottle that depicts a ripple effect of waves formed by a boat cutting through the water.  

This representation enhances the story of the ocean liners that would have taken Catto’s to all corners of the world. 

Ardagh’s product design team also achieved a one-contact tapered design with a prominent rounded neck profile, a significant improvement on the two touch contact design of the former bottle.

Optimum filling line efficiencies were achieved by standardising the design of the 70cl and 75cl versions with the same label sizes, and creating identical overall diameters and base diameters for the litre and 1.4 litre bottles.