The Curius way: how (and why) we’re disrupting the beverage industry.

Many different things drive consumers to buy in every industry. From packaging and presentation (online and otherwise) to product features and documentation, the driving force behind each purchasing decision is unique to each market.

Curius Co-founder Juan Carlos Maroto Jara sheds some light on how the company is disrupting the beverages industry and which aspects of the Curius approach are driving its campaigns forward.

You sit down at the bar. What catches your eye first, and why?

That's a good question; my eyes go beyond sexy packaging and what the bartender tries to push or upsell.

When ordering a tasty libation, my motivation is always to find something new with true roots; the history of the drink I order should be solid and aligned with the liquid and the packaging first.

Then, and only then, all the elements surrounding the brand if they are aligned will catch my eye, take my money, and quench my thirst.

You're disrupting design in an industry that isn't commonly recognized. Why drinks?

The world of beverages is undoubtedly fascinating, and let's face it: there is very little innovation beyond packaging premiumization and different types of barrels to age the spirits.

If you want to impact the way consumers think and buy, you must look at how they interact with other products in different industries. Take toothpaste, for example. When you buy toothpaste, you compare products in a supermarket environment with competing solid attributes.

In the case of beverages, though, there are many more(and varied) emotional attributes involved in the environment that require brands to adapt to stand out.

This is why it is one of my favorite industries because it involves the challenge of a rational mix against the emotional one, which I love.

Branding is key to driving sales in just about every industry. What is different about what you're doing in the beverage industry?

Branding has to be rock solid -a seamless thing with an unbreakable value proposition in the short / medium and long run without sacrificing the brand's values and philosophy.

Curius' focus on that core brand messaging is precisely what we are doing differently and is also why we strive to create brands with an impact on the 360o value proposition.

All elements of the brands we design are aligned from the packaging, its platform, and purpose, and all of its satellite elements such as gift packs, merchandising, social media role, sponsorships, etc. Every single piece of the brands we craft is genuinely engaged with the product to generate a solid proposal with the consumer.

That's the Curius difference.

You have a background in fashion, beauty, and design. How are you applying that to what you are doing with the design for Curius?

My background is vertical in the drinks industry and high end goods, thanks to my master's in management of luxury goods by IE (Instituto de Empresa Business School).

I've been lucky to work in different categories in different positions in trendsetter markets, too, shaping my vision more in a way that is down to earth than most other marketing specialist normally have. That said, I've been surrounded and am grateful to have worked with esteemed colleagues of luxury; learning from other best practices has allowed me to reimagine those assets in our industry to produce the best output possible.

Tell me about a recent project you've worked on that you really loved and whyThe last without a doubt at Curius, why?

As a branding expert and marketeer who enjoys to push the barriers, I regularly need to reset my focus. With Curius, I can change the rules that have kept this industry bound in similarity for decades.

Thinking is design as functionality and working on concepts that are easily decided but with a unique proposal at the same time allows us to really embrace what we're doing as industry changing. We're converting logistic handicaps into competitive advantages, approaching our brands with a free mindset that enables us to push barriers and build iconic brands from scratch.

The best part is that we get to do all of these things at a really dynamic pace while the dry goods markets are volatile after the C-19 crisis...putting all those pieces together is truly fascinating!