0% Alcohol, 100% Spirit
Review #10 - Ghia 🍸
It’s about time I talk about a non alcoholic apéritif on here.
But first, some context to keep in mind. I don’t drink, mainly for the following two reasons:
alcohol makes me feel physically and mentally ill
it tastes awful
Therefore, I am the target consumer for the vast majority of these alcohol alternatives, and today’s brand is no exception. Let’s get into it…
Review #10 - Ghia 🍸
What Is It
Ghia is a “non-alcoholic social tonic” made with pure, botanical extracts for a “fresh, vibrant, and satisfyingly bitter” drinking experience, sans booze.
In addition to their original and berry bottled apéritifs, they have four flavors of canned “Le Spritz” — Ghia Soda, Ghia Ginger, Lime & Salt, Sumac & Chili — as well as Ghianduja, a chocolate hazelnut spread that offers a natural take on Nutella. Since the RTD spritzes are the most prevalent in my life, I’ll be testing all four flavors. I was planning on trying the Ghianduja too (twist my arm) but it’s somewhat of a rare find IRL.
Brand / Aesthetic
If you work for a relevant, “better-for-you” or “wannabe-cool” CPG brand, feel free to scroll past the following paragraph.
Ghia’s aesthetic is laser-focused, and quite frankly, epic. It’s unique, recognizable, and an impressive balance of playful and chic. It’s visually clear that brand design is a high priority here, and after a bit of digging, I can validate this point by sharing that their design studio is also responsible for the creative direction of Rihanna’s Superbowl half time performance. Checks out.
My favorite part is probably their script logo that so deftly encapsulates the Mediterranean apéritivo culture they’re going for. Forgive the platitude, but iconic truly feels like the most appropriate adjective here.
It’s not going to surprise you that I also think their brand voice is 10/10, and it’s mainly because it sounds nearly identical to my own. Their taglines, product copy, and recipe names do an excellent job of conveying Ghia’s ethos and purpose without being too blatant.
Aspirational, fun, and just the right touch of cheekiness. (Yes, I realize that by the transitive property I just complimented myself. But am I wrong? 😉) None of this is surprising, given
’s Glossier veteran status and her no-skips taste in fashion and homewares. I guess I’m just professing a big creative (and friend) crush here on my Substack for you all to read. What a sentence. Welp, life is weird. But you know what they say, if you’re not cringing, you’re not doing it right.Marketing
Oh baby, here we go. I’ve spent a considerable amount of time scrolling through Ghia’s social accounts for a variety of reasons — some of which I’d rather not reveal — and I can safely say, they’ve got their Instagram formula down. High-res studio imagery here, Pinterest-inspired mood-board-vibes there, recipe video here, UGC photo there. Weave in some timely campaign messaging and retail mentions and boom, you’re all set. That’s not meant to be a dig whatsoever. I know the formula, I’ve lived and breathed the formula, and I credit Ghia with taking that formula all the way through the finish line. Nothing but respect.
The formula holds up decently on TikTok, with a few tweaks and additions to fit the medium and its audience. Their TikTok is where you can see the Cult-Following CPG Content Trifecta™ in full force.
Here’s the part where I’m obligated to talk about founders as “celebrities” and how their personal brands fit into their company’s brand. If I’m being honest (I’m always being honest, I just can’t remove this phrase from my lexicon), the conversation is a little tired at this point. There’s a lot of discussion online about how founders and their personal platforms can make or break the success of their businesses, and I suppose to some extent I agree. Here’s a pretty thorough thread to catch you up to speed.
I get asked “which influencers do you like to follow?” somewhat frequently, to which I’ll respond something to the effect of “‘influencers’ who claim ‘influencer’ as their secondary or tertiary title, or not at all”. That’s not a knock on full-time influencers — that shit is hard. But my favorite people to follow have an alternate output aside from their online persona (i.e. writers, community builders, etc). Public figures, for lack of a better word. Being a ‘brand person’ (who clearly needs branding help herself), founders are a huge percentage of my Favorite Follows. Of course, not every founder, though.
*Woo-Woo-Warning* As humans, we’re naturally attracted to other humans’ energies and repelled by others. That’s just how life works. So if a person’s online presence particularly resonates with me or appeals to my personal style / interests, then it’s likely the same case for their brand. And if I’m very much turned off by the founder on an energetic level, then it’s that much harder for me to get on board with their brand.
Think about it this way, the brand is already doing it’s thing, but a founder with a strong, public personality adds rocket fuel — in a good way or a bad way. In this case: I was indifferent-to-positive on Ghia, so liking Melanie’s content and, bear with me, vibe, supercharged my interest and got me to purchase the product and identify with the brand, which is, how you say in sports, a marketing touchdown.
I just broke down the psychology of influencer marketing as it applies to brand building super hard and nobody asked, but the TLDR: if I like you, I have an exponentially higher chance of liking your brand, and vice versa.
The final, and biggest, W for Ghia’s marketing that I’ll touch on is simply how their products show up in the world. Fun recipes on Instagram and TikToks from the factory are all nice and cute, but let’s be real, the majority of consumers aren’t buying a canned beverage digitally DTC. So why not make your naturally most successful conversion channel double as great marketing?
I’m not just talking about experiential marketing feats like the Big Ghia bakesale — which should definitely make an appearance in NYC — but their presence in retail locations as a whole. From getting on a number of menus at restaurants frequented by cool people to landing in Sweetgreen locations (!!), they’re becoming ubiquitous among their target demographic, securing their spot as THE alcohol alternative of choice.
Efficacy / Taste
So I like the brand and I like Melanie, but do I like the products? Again, let me remind you, a large part of my disinterest in consuming alcohol revolves around the taste, so I tend to shy away from alcohol alternatives that attempt to mimic the flavors. On the flip side, I also hate the so-sweet-it’s-bitter taste of the Stevia-laden mocktails and soda-alternatives. Now that I think about it, it’s safe to assume I don’t want any RTD canned beverage, generally speaking. That’s why the next statement is so shocking.
I reeeeally like Ghia.
Crazy, right. I’ll go so far as to say that Ghia is the best non-alcoholic drink that I’ve tried thus far, and while I won’t name any names, I can assure you that I’ve tried a lot. The flavors, which all taste fairly similar IMO, have just the right amount of earthiness without veering into astringent territory. It’s sippable, an important distinction from chuggable, which makes it a great 1:1 swap for a cocktail that you want to hang onto at an event. I’ll give you the full flavor analysis for good measure:
Ghia Soda: their classic flavor. Fresh and a touch bitter.
Ghia Ginger: nearly the same as the above, but with a teeny Moscow Mule touch.
Lime & Salt: easily my favorite, it’s the brightest and most refreshing.
Sumac & Chili: again, pretty similar to the others, but with a bit of smokiness and a kick at the end.
I highly recommend pretending to be a professional taste-tester — it adds a whole new dimension to drinking silly little drinks!
Overall Thoughts
Ghia nails it, and I’ll leave it there since I’m not even being paid for this (if you can believe it). My one qualm is that the Ghianduja spread is not easy to come across in Manhattan; the only place I could find it is Big Night, but I can’t get myself to shell out $25 for it. Alas, we’ll keep dreaming.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5
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That’s all for now! I mentioned this last time, but a new series is coming soon. Like this week, soon. As always, if there’s a product you want reviewed or just want to chat, reply to this email. :)