What a frozen herb brand can teach beverage makers about standing out
By Jake Ahles, Morel Creative
Too often, beverage brands play it safe. Scroll through social feeds or flip through trade publications and you will see the same creative patterns on repeat: a glistening bottle, a slow pour, a moody cocktail in soft window light. It’s beautiful, but predictable.
And predictability rarely builds momentum.
That’s why one of the most inspiring campaigns I have seen recently didn’t come from a distillery or brewery — it came from a frozen herb brand.
The Safe Trap
In the craft beverage world, “good creative” often means “safe creative.” Founders and marketers play by invisible rules meant to fit the category:
• Use lifestyle photography, not humor.
• Talk about the process, not the people.
• Highlight the ingredients, not the impact.
But safe creative doesn’t drive sales. It preserves comfort.
When everyone’s following the same playbook, the brands that win are the ones bold enough to break patterns – not by being loud, but by being real.
That’s what Dorot Gardens did. And it is exactly what beverage makers can learn from.
The Dorot Story: From Freezer Aisle to Brand Momentum
Dorot Gardens makes pre-portioned frozen herbs and vegetables. A category that’s functional, not sexy. A product people love when they try it but often forget exists.
When our team collaborated on their new campaign, the goal wasn’t to invent a new story — it was to reignite an old one with clarity and energy.
The concept was simple: “Make a Note to Grab Dorot.”
Instead of over-romanticizing fresh herbs or focusing on ingredients, we leaned into honesty and self-awareness. The campaign admitted exactly what it was — a reminder. A wink to the shopper who forgets until they’re already in the store.
The tone was fresh, fun, and confident. The visuals were bright and intentional. Every shot, every tagline, every frame was designed to make you smile and remember.
The result wasn’t just a clever ad — it became an organizing idea that unified the brand’s story across packaging, digital, retail, and trade.
Why It Worked (and Why Beverage Brands Should Take Note))
Dorot’s success came down to three core principles that apply just as much to spirits, beer, and RTDs as they do to frozen garlic cubes.
1. Energy is Contagious:
When a brand expresses joy and confidence, it changes how people engage with it.
Too many beverage campaigns feel restrained — technically beautiful, but emotionally flat. Dorot took the opposite route: every frame buzzed with energy.
That vibrancy doesn’t just appeal to consumers; it gives your sales team and distributor reps something to rally around. It makes people proud to represent the brand.
Because internal energy translates to external momentum.
2. Clarity Wins Over Cleverness:
Dorot’s story was clear enough for anyone — a retail buyer, a merchandiser, a busy parent — to get instantly.
No over-explaining. No long ingredient lists. Just: Here’s what we do. Here’s why it matters.
In the beverage world, clarity can be the difference between staying regional and scaling nationally. If your buyer deck or sales call requires explanation after explanation, the story’s not clear enough yet.
A great brand story can be told in one breath — by anyone, anywhere.
3. Consistency Builds Belief:
Every element of Dorot’s campaign worked together: social clips, POS, packaging, and internal sales tools all spoke the same visual and verbal language.
That consistency built trust – not just with consumers, but with retailers and investors too.
In the craft beverage world, fragmentation kills belief. When your Instagram looks one way, your sell sheet another, and your distributors are saying something completely different, buyers lose confidence.
The strongest brands build creative systems, not just campaigns.
Lessons for Craft Beverage Makers
So, what can beverage brands actually do with this?
Here’s how to translate Dorot’s principles into your own storytelling system:
1. Audit Your Content for
Clarity: Gather your sales materials, brand deck, web copy, and social posts. If someone new to your brand can’t tell what you do, who it’s for, and why it matters within 10 seconds — simplify.
2. Build a Repeatable Story System: Create assets that work across sales, trade, and consumer touchpoints. Your content should help distributors pitch you as confidently as your founders do.
3. Embrace Personality: Humor, wit, and authenticity don’t make you less premium. They make you more human. Dorot leaned into personality — and that made their utility product memorable.
4. Stop Hiding Behind “Craft”: Craft isn’t a differentiator anymore. Clarity is. The more your brand story focuses on how you help the buyer or bartender win, the more doors you will open.
What Happens When You Stop Playing It Safe
After Dorot’s campaign launched, something interesting happened. The creative didn’t just perform well externally — it energized the brand internally.
Sales teams started using the new content in presentations and follow-ups. Retail partners requested assets for digital displays. Even long-time employees said they finally felt the brand had a clear, confident voice.
That’s the ripple effect of aligned storytelling: it creates pride, momentum, and market presence.
And that’s exactly what every craft beverage brand needs right now — in a category that’s more competitive than ever.
From Frozen Herbs to Craft Spirits: The Shared Truth
At the end of the day, what Dorot proved is the same truth that drives every successful brand:
Clarity and consistency are not creative constraints. They’re competitive advantages.
Whether you’re selling gin, hard kombucha, or frozen herbs, the brands that grow are the ones that know who they are, what they stand for, and how to say it — repeatedly.
Because when you stop playing it safe and start showing up with clarity and confidence, you stop asking for space. You start earning it!
Jake Ahles is the founder of Morel Creative, a visual strategy studio helping purpose-driven beverage brands build storytelling systems that scale. Feel free to contact Jake: jake@wearemorel.com
