HACIEN entered the UK spirits market at a moment when premium tequila was booming globally, but here a lot of people still thought “shots, salt, lime” (yes the bottle with the little red hat!), not flavour, craft or quality. But the ambition from the two founders Seb and Jordan was clear: introduce a tequila that felt genuinely premium, and give people a reason to try tequila again, and this time – actually love the experience.
The real job wasn’t just awareness, we needed to help people ‘unlearn’ what they thought tequila was, without lecturing them or making the brand feel like it was only for connoisseurs.
CHALLENGE
The challenge wasn’t just about getting the new brand noticed; it was getting reconsidered. The brand needed to work hard to overcome long-held assumptions about tequila while establishing credibility in a market crowded with heritage stories and bold claims.
The real challenge lay in how to invite sceptical drinkers back into the category without sounding preachy or excluding those who already cared about quality.
At its heart, this was about shifting mindset – from tequila as a momentary drink to tequila as something worth taking time over.
STRATEGY
Rather than starting with visuals or campaign ideas, the work began with meaning. The focus was on defining what HACIEN needed to stand for, and how that could be expressed in a way that felt authentic, confident and easy to understand.
This led to a deliberate decision to start with the name and language, using them as strategic tools to communicate provenance, intent and differentiation. The brand was built around a clear point of view on tequila: rooted in tradition, but not stuck in it. Storytelling was used not to educate in a heavy-handed way, but to gently reframe expectations and create curiosity, particularly among people who thought tequila “wasn’t for them”.
KEY DECISIONS
The name HACIEN was created by Laurra and designed to work on two levels: a nod to the hacienda farms central to traditional tequila production, and a play on the Mexican phrase “al cien”, meaning 100%, referencing HACIEN’s commitment to 100% agave purity.
We shaped the messaging around an inviting point of view, anchored by the campaign line “Your tequila story, rewritten”. It was written to acknowledge people’s past experiences and offer a fresh start, without bravado or category clichés.
We also helped position flavour innovation, including smoother profiles alongside Pineapple and Cristalino SKUs, as proof that tequila can be genuinely interesting, not just “strong”.
IMPACT
The launch and marketing strategy we developed gave HACIEN a clear purpose and a narrative. Internally, it aligned decisions around naming, product direction and messaging. Externally, it helped place the brand as premium but approachable, with the confidence to challenge assumptions rather than copy what the category was already doing.
Trade and hospitality audiences responded to a more considered, modern take on tequila, and consumers engaged with a story that felt open and welcoming. The bigger win was that HACIEN did not just enter the market, it helped shift how tequila was talked about and experienced.
