‘Really important to us’: Drink disruptor StrangeLove to stay weird and wonderful despite mega acquisition

Adult soft drink brand StrangeLove might’ve carved a lucrative niche out by disrupting the typical lineup of Aussie fizzy drinks that dominate pubs and shelves, but the co-founders don’t mind one bit joining the ranks of them.

The brand was acquired by Asahi Beverages this week in a coup for Byron Bay mates Stafford Fox and James Bruce, who started StrangeLove nine years ago with a vision to take on the carbonated drink market in Australia.

StrangeLove’s edge was clear from the start — positioning a non-alcoholic drink for the adult demographic by using local ingredients to create eclectic flavours drinkers typically only see on the cocktail list, like yuzu and ginger.

But doesn’t Asahi — which counts Schweppes, Solo, and Cottee’s among the family — represent what StrangeLove sought to subvert? Quite the opposite, Fox tells SmartCompany.

“Asahi Beverages is the best for a good reason — their variety is without parallel,” he said.

“The development and reach of our brand will accelerate with Asahi Beverages, where we can learn and share with other great Australian and global brands.

“To be honest we’re excited to be alongside these really iconic names and to know we have the support of the best beverages company in Oceania.”

StrangeLove was born after James Bruce and Stafford Fox quit their 9-5 jobs and moved to culture capital Byron Bay for a gap year in 2009. The pair figured they’d blow off corporate steam and work on a subversive project.

But the blooming brand, which launched at a time when organic ventures were bursting onto the scene, struck gold in 2013 when the guys sold one of their products to celebrity chef Kylie Kwong at a Byron market.

Kwong absolutely loved the drink, and soon she signed a deal with the awe-struck founders to stock StrangeLove in the organic Sydney restaurant she started with chef Bill Granger, the since-closed Billy Kwong.

When gin experienced an explosion in popularity in 2016, StrangeLove went the other way and sold “shovels in the goldrush”, releasing a line of premium mixers to compliment the 335 gin brands that hit the market at lightning speed.

StrangeLove has built a legion of hardcore fans ever since — the drink brand has more than 20,000 followers on Instagram — and has signed deals that see the shelves of Woolworths and Dan Murphy’s stocked with the distinctive drink.

An acquisition as mega as Asahi is a dream for many startups and entrepreneurs building brands in a dense market, Fox continues, particularly if the acquisition is inked on the condition that the heart and soul remain.

“We’ve seen when they acquired companies like Allpress, Mountain Goat, 4 Pines, Pirate Life, Balter — the product is as good, if not better, than it was pre-acquisition, and those businesses continued to grow and disrupt as part of Asahi,” he said.

“Also, the StrangeLove management team will remain in place to ensure we maintain the unique identity and business ethos that’s driven its success in the past.

“This was really important to us.”

And the unique identity is threaded through every aspect of StrangeLove’s branding, with its website recounting how the first ginger beer the company created was “so hot it was almost undrinkable”.

“We soon realised that there were a lot of really messed up people out there who like to suffer when consuming a beverage,” the website continues.

“We soon developed a cult following though which was ironic because there were lots of actual cults in Byron Bay, some of whom we had previously suspected of following us.”

As the lucrative non-alcoholic market takes off in Australia, Asahi Beverages is keeping pace with the trend.

Aside from a $16 billion Carlton & United Breweries acquisition (that’s Victoria Bitter, Carlton Draught and Crown Lager), Asahi also nabbed coffee business Allpress last year.

“Asahi Beverages is committed to expanding our leading multi-beverage alcohol and non-alcohol portfolio in Oceania as we continue to invest significantly in jobs, new products and manufacturing,” Asahi chief executive Robert Iervasi said.

Fox says the future is golden for the StrangeLove family as the brand plans to keep it weird and wonderful for years to come.

“We can’t wait to see what the next few years brings!”