How To Scale Your Brand Without Diluting It

So, Liquid Death just pulled out of the UK. You know, the irreverent water in a can brand that looked set to take on the big boys?

On paper, it looked like they had nailed their expansion, there were big listings in Tesco and Co-op, huge brand awareness thanks to sponsorships with the likes of Download Festival and a heavy investment in marketing.

Still didn’t work.

Why? Well just because you can scale, doesn’t mean you should.

In the UK, bottled water (or canned in this instance) isn’t a necessity - our tap water is drinkable, portable and free. Liquid Death’s message landed in the US, but here? The product didn’t solve a real problem.

It’s a classic lesson for founder-led brands looking at wholesale or international expansion:

Getting stocked is one thing

Staying stocked (and selling) is another.

So, how do you scale smart without diluting your brand? We’ve got a hack for that!

Not every market is a good market

If your product isn’t filling a gap, no amount of marketing can save it. Liquid Death’s rebellious branding was on point, but in a market where people don’t need canned water, the product just wasn’t essential.

A better play was from Fever Tree (top tier tonic if you ask me), who understood its target market before expanding internationally.

It entered the US and Spanish markets in 2007 and is now sold in over 25 countries. The difference? It offered a premium alternative in a category that needed disruption.

Before you go big, ask: Does this market actually need what we’re selling?

Your brand should feel the same everywhere

The more you scale, the more you risk losing what makes your brand special. Ted Baker learned this the hard way, they expanded into multiple product lines and global markets incredibly quickly, meaning they lost a lot of their original quirky British appeal. The result? An identity crisis, profit warnings and a loss of consumer connection.

The Inkey List expanded successfully into the U.S. by tailoring its marketing approach to local preferences, such using SMS campaigns to engage American consumers meaning that the U.S. now accounts for over 40% of their total DTC sales!

So think about it. If your brand landed in another country tomorrow, would it still feel like you? If not you need to sharpen your brand codes!

The right retail partners matter more than reach

Where you sell shapes how customers see you. For example, SharkNinja entered the UK in 2018 and has since made it its second largest market after the US with revenues nearing $1billion. Instead of going for mass-market listings right away, it built demand strategically, proving the product’s value before aggressively scaling distribution.

Don’t chase any retailer - chase the right ones. The goal shouldn’t be just getting stocked, but about staying on the shelves (or more critically, in the baskets)!

Liquid Death’s UK exit wasn’t because of bad branding. It was because of bad market fit.

If you’re looking to grow, here are some final questions to ask before making your next move:

• Are we expanding because there’s genuine demand - or just because we can?

  
  

• Will our brand still feel unmistakably us in this new space?

  
  

• Do we have the right partnerships lined up, or are we just chasing big retailers?

  
  

• Are we keeping control of our customer experience, or handing it over completely?

If you’re thinking about wholesale, international expansion or just how to scale smart, we help founder-led brands do just that! Hit reply and let’s have a chat!

Cheers,

Rach

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