El Rayo Tequila and Solo Cold Brew: DTC Brands who are thriving during lockdown

Many DTC brands who have been clever about their marketing are thriving during lockdown. Why? To put it simply, they've got their brand proposition bang on and are marketing themselves brilliantly. Right at a time when the nation are browsing their phones at a much higher than average rate, performance marketing funnelled through Facebook and Instagram should be the primary focus. If you get your proposition and creative engaging enough, with the right audience targeted, the benefits are there for all to see. 

The most powerful DTC (or D2C) brands combine modern-day aesthetics, high-quality product design and experience and differentiated positioning within their category. These are the common elements of great D2C brands. 

Brands such as Solo Cold Brew Coffee and El Rayo Tequila are thriving during COVID-19 lockdown. 

Solo Cold Brew Coffee

This Cold Brew DTC brand that you can buy via subscription basis has invested a lot of time and money into performance marketing funnelled through Instagram, which is clearly the best app to reach their target demographic. Through a witty tone of voice, a subscription model and simple value proposition of doing one thing and one thing well (Cold Brew in a box,) Solo appear to be growing very nicely currently. 

El Rayo Tequila Peckham-based duo Tom Bishop and Jack Vereker launched their new tequila El Rayo in May after consuming a bottle of Siete Leguas Añejo and realising there was no brand that they could engage with and set out to occupy the middle ground of the market. The UK is the fifth largest importer of tequila and yet they believe the drink is either positioned as a quick way to get drunk or else so aloof as to feel unobtainable. El Rayo’s positioning is to be an alternative to gin, based on a belief that with gin market saturation will come drinkers looking for new experiences. We feel they’ve got everything right with this brand. They’ve spotted a strong gap in the market,  nailed the tone of voice and have really pushed the boundaries of what the look and feel of a mid market drinks bottle can do. Beautiful illustrations,  which hit every touchpoint from digital marketing to website to packaging. It’s a great job and through their obvious investment into performance marketing, are looking to make some good numbers this quarter for sure.