Blue Marlin makes a beeline for Waggle Dance ale relaunch

This month UK brewer Wells & Young’s will relaunch its honey-flavoured Waggle Dance ale with a new bottle design, courtesy of Blue Marlin Brand Design.

The redesign is aimed at emphasising Waggle Dance’s quirky credentials and honey taste, while re-establishing the brand within the sector to appeal to more discerning ale-drinkers in the affluent 35- to 50-year-old age bracket.

Keen to refresh the bottle’s image while remaining true to the ale’s origins, Blue Marlin designed the spiralling hive logo to echo the movement performed by the bee during the honey-making process. David Jenkins, key designer on the rebrand at Blue Marlin, says, ‘The problem with the previous bottle was that they had forgotten the bones and guts of what distinguishes this ale from the rest – the waggle dance. Our aim was to bring it back to being “the” traditional golden ale, with a strong idea behind it, while pushing the flavour credentials and denoters of honey, such as bee and hive, with impact and intrigue.’

Paul Smith, marketing manager at Wells & Young’s, says, ‘The design leverages the core equity of Waggle Dance’s brand name. It also re-establishes our positioning as a light, quirky, refreshing ale.’