Brand Marketing Notes: Q&A with Laylo
Look, if there are two things we are passionate about it has to be brand marketing and a good glass (or two) of wine. So it only feels right to introduce a new series to our blog, with the best kind of guest. Welcome to Brand Marketing Notes, and give a big virtual wave to our very first guest, Laylo.
Now, if you haven’t heard of Laylo, you’re in for a treat. Founded by two Laura’s, with a passion for good wine, sustainability, and the ease of a Tuesday night tipple.
We caught up with Co-Founder, Laura Riches to find out a little more about Laylo, the highs, the lows, and of course, the brand in all of its glory…
Hi Laura, thanks for chatting with us! Tell us about your brand in a nutshell:
We’re changing the way the world drinks wine.
Did you know that wine packaging hasn’t changed in over 200 years? No wonder it doesn’t suit the way we live our lives...
At Laylo we source top quality wines - the sorts that would cost at least £12 in a fancy wine merchant - and put them into boxes you can feel proud to have on your countertop.
And in case you need a bit more detail, here’s why...
Our boxes stay fresh for 6 weeks from opening so you can enjoy ‘just one glass’
They are much kinder to the planet; they generate 90% less carbon than the equivalent volume of wine in glass bottles and are 100% recyclable
We love telling stories about the wines, wine regions, and people behind the juice. Boxed wine is the perfect blank canvas.
How and why did you get started?
Laylo started with a moment of serendipity during the 2020 summer lockdown. We’d both independently had the idea to create a luxury boxed wine brand, but it was only when Laura Rosenberger (my Co-founder at Laylo) texted me to ask for some advice that we realised the coincidence.
A week later we compared notes and it turned out we shared the same vision... top-quality wines in beautiful boxes, which could be proudly displayed on your countertop. It was a no-brainer to join forces - and Laylo was born.
Without that coincidence, it probably wouldn’t have happened!
What would you say is the biggest learning since starting your business?
Starting something from zero is so much harder than growing an established business!
How would you describe your brand and what you stand for as a business?
We’re first and foremost a wine company. We intentionally have a tiny range of less than 10 wines, to make sure we’re challenging ourselves to seek out the best, most exciting wines from independent producers.
They just happen to be kinder to the planet. Win, win.
What’s the biggest challenge your business is facing right now?
Finding new customers, without breaking the bank. Ads on social media cost a fortune, so it’s more and more difficult for young challenger brands to breakthrough.
Right, let’s delve into your brand marketing…
How did you go about launching your brand?
When we first started out we had zero marketing budget, so we needed to be really creative about how we told customers we existed. We hustled to get as much PR as possible, posted on Nextdoor (which was strangely effective in the lockdown!), we hand-delivered postcards in our local areas and we told everybody who would listen about Laylo!
That scrappiness and willingness to push ourselves out of our comfort zone is something I hope we keep as we grow.
Tell us about your initial marketing strategy and how it evolved.
Since the early days, we have had a little money to spend, but we’re still very intentional about spending it in the right places.
We challenge ourselves to keep talking about the business wherever we can, to build the brand. But now we can also look at the bottom of our marketing funnel too, understanding the data and looking for incremental gains wherever we can.
Who’s your core customer?
Foodie millennials - who love wine!
What has been your biggest marketing fail?
There isn’t one specific campaign I would point to, although generally, I would say I regret instances where we’ve chased short-term revenue despite an opportunity not being aligned with our brand. I think you know in your heart when something is purely tactical, and we try to avoid that as much as possible.
What’s been your biggest marketing achievement to date?
Being stocked in Selfridges at Christmas!
We are big fans of shopping from small, independent businesses, so A South London Makers Market was on our radar for personal as well as professional reasons. The founders, Olivia and Daisy, have an eye for beautiful, hand-crafted products.
We applied to take part in their August market in Crystal Palace, where our wines proved to be a hit! Having launched in lockdown, it was an amazing opportunity to sample the wines with real customers and to hear their feedback. We were absolutely delighted when ASLMM selected us as one of 16 brands to appear in their Selfridges popup.
Which other brand’s marketing strategies do you aspire your brand to be like and why?
Lick (paint). They’ve done an awesome job of making decorating look fun and aspirational. I love everything they do.
As a Co-founder, what do you struggle with the most within your brand marketing?
Overcoming the long-held assumption that boxed wines = poor quality.
What’s your top piece of marketing advice?
Get really good photos taken earlier than you think is necessary. It helps you pick up lots of PR!
How did you establish your brand’s visual identity?
It all started with our first box design. We worked closely with Ed Wright, who is our knockout designer, and thought about every single detail.
Since then, there’s plenty that has evolved. But I think investing time upfront understanding what we liked and didn’t like was time well spent.
If you could choose anybody in the world to be an ambassador for your brand, who would you choose and why?
Am I allowed two? Dolly Alderton and Pandora Sykes. I was a HUGE fan of The High Low (podcast) because during a period of my life when I was working really hard, hearing them natter about culture and current affairs made me feel more connected to what was going on in the world. It was like listening to best friends.
I’d love for them to come back and present one last show - ideally sharing a box of Laylo at the same time!
Thank you so much to Laura from Laylo for catching up with us and giving us a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes of their incredible brand. Laylo has very kindly offered our readers a £10 discount code off their first order! All you need to do is enter the code ‘DOERS’ at checkout.