Antique Pelinkovac – Brand Repositioning & Communication Strategy
Rooted in Croatian heritage and crafted from a distinctive herbal recipe, Antique Pelinkovac is one of Badel 1862’s most iconic spirits. With a rich history but untapped market potential, the brand was ready for a new chapter. We defined its strategic positioning around originality and developed an integrated communication platform that brought this idea to life across digital, social media and HoReCa channels. The result was significant growth in sales and market share, securing Antique’s place among the leading brands in the premium bitters category.
Servicesrebranding, repositioning, strategy, logo, story, imagery, tagline, communication, BTL, social media, website, brand video, corporate collateral
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Antique Pelinkovac – Brand Repositioning & Communication Strategy
How a unique herbal liqueur became the flagship of the industry
The Client & The Challenge
A Croatian original ready for a new chapter.
Badel 1862 created Antique Pelinkovac in 2007 as a limited edition celebrating the company’s 145th anniversary. Positive feedback secured its place in the permanent portfolio, but modest sales left the brand struggling to reach its potential. Despite its rich heritage, distinctive herbal recipe and premium quality, Antique lacked a clear positioning and consistent communication strategy.
Our challenge was to differentiate Antique in a competitive premium bitters market and increase brand awareness, sales and market share. With traditional alcohol advertising restricted and the hospitality sector disrupted by the pandemic, we needed a focused strategy that would make every touchpoint count.
The Creative Approach
Making originality the secret ingredient of a modern classic.
Through audience and competitor research, we identified originality as the brand’s defining value. Antique was more than a heritage recipe; it was an invitation to create memorable experiences. This insight shaped the brand positioning and inspired the tagline Timelessly Original.
A key part of this repositioning was a strategic simplification of the brand name. We dropped the product category descriptor Pelinkovac, allowing Antique to stand on its own as a distinctive brand rather than be defined by the category it belonged to. This created greater room for differentiation and strengthened its premium credentials. The repositioning also extended to pricing, moving Antique into a higher price segment within the category and reinforcing its perception as a premium offering.
Rather than reinventing Antique’s visual identity, we strengthened the world it had already established, bringing greater consistency and character to its brand expression. We retained the existing label and packaging, replacing only the Badel logo on the bottle cap with the Antique logo to underline its independent identity.
With traditional advertising channels restricted, we built an integrated communication approach across the brand website, social media, influencer collaborations and editorial partnerships. We also developed branded materials for the HoReCa channel, alongside corporate videos, premium brochures, sales presentations and brand guidelines, ensuring consistency across consumer and business communications.
The Result
A timeless original with renewed commercial momentum.
Through a coordinated programme of strategic positioning and creative activation, we gave Antique a clear identity and a compelling reason to stand apart. The brand achieved significant growth in sales and market share, establishing a strong position in the category's higher price segment, supported by consistent storytelling and targeted communication across available channels.
The project demonstrates how a strong brand platform, paired with focused execution, can unlock the potential of an established product. By turning heritage into a contemporary expression of originality, we helped transform Antique from a once-threatened portfolio product into one of Badel’s flagship brands.
