How Malibu’s surprise PopWorks piña colada collaboration came to life

From an irresistible soft serve Piña Oatlada with Oatly, to an exclusive limited-edition streetwear collection with Aries: unexpected collaborations have become a signature part of Malibu’s success in breaking through to new audiences. Success that sees the world’s number one white rum-based coconut spirit sell more than four million cases each year.

This tradition of defying expectations continues with Malibu and PepsiCo’s limited edition piña colada PopWorks snack – a chance to sample Malibu’s signature flavour in an entirely new format. We spoke to Gui Pasculli, Head of Culture and partnership at Malibu, to learn more about how this concept was brought to life, how consumers have reacted, and why the element of surprise is so important to Malibu. 

Malibu excels at doing unexpected collaborations and PopWorks is no exception. How was the collab conceived?

Once a month we have creative sessions with our agency partner Wieden+Kennedy, and in one the idea of combining two different summer treats was proposed. When people go on vacation, the first drink they want to have is a Malibu piña colada, and the first snack is some crisps to accompany it. So why not put the two things together?  That was the starting idea, and it had never been done before.

We reached out to PepsiCo. It turned out that they had a brand inside their group that was very open to trying new things and exploring new flavours. We were put in contact with PopWorks and, coincidentally, they had already been working on a piña colada flavour. We couldn’t believe it! 

From there we started working together to match the flavour to the Malibu profile. Eventually we nailed it, and the rest is history.

We’re an underdog brand so we look for creative ideas that can go the extra mile.

Once you knew it would be possible to execute the idea, what overall goals for the collaboration did you set?

First and foremost to spark conversation. We’re a brand associated with summer, and cutting through the busy summer noise can always be a challenge. We’re an underdog brand and don’t have an unlimited marketing budget either, so we have to find creative ideas like this one that can go the extra mile.

The second objective is giving new consumers a fresh reason to try Malibu. Perhaps they have a preconception of Malibu as a drink. That preconception can be broken when they try Malibu in another shape and form, going beyond the normal possibilities of the spirit category.

This collaboration is a great way to reach new audiences and recruit new consumers. As a bonus, we are also able to combine the marketing budgets of both Malibu and PopWorks.

How important was nailing the Malibu flavour of the snacks?

Taste is our biggest driver of consumption. People love Malibu because of its taste profile: it was created to ensure bartenders can easily make a tastier piña colada, and flavour remains very important to our consumers today.

So even when working in a different format, we still need to be very careful about perfecting the flavour. We gave a very tough job to PepsiCo as they had to develop the truly perfect flavour for the crisp!

At Malibu we don’t take ourselves too seriously. A genuine reaction is a good reaction.

The collaboration has a special twist thanks to a hidden camera convenience store takeover in London. How did it go?

We asked shoppers to show ID when buying a packet of Popworks x Malibu, and filmed their spontaneous reactions. The idea came from PepsiCo’s PR agency, we were intrigued with capturing real-world reactions from people if they were unexpectedly asked to prove their age just to buy a non-alcoholic treat. 

At Malibu we don’t take ourselves too seriously, so it matched our playful attitude, and we were open to a more unpredictable reaction from the consumer. Older generations were generally delighted to be asked to prove their age, while younger people were not as enthusiastic.

There’s a degree of risk of course as you never know how it might go when the general public are invited to do something unexpected, but we felt like any genuine reaction is a good reaction. It paid off as people really started to talk about the new product, inspiring others to try new snacks they never knew existed. Then influencers jumped on board to try the flavour for the first time, and it all took off from there. It was a great way to launch the crisp to consumers. 

Is it fair to say Malibu isn’t afraid to take risks with marketing initiatives?

Definitely. We like to be unexpected. There are so many brands out there and so many collaborations that consumers can get tired – just seeing two logos put together isn’t enough. We seek to be more conscious about making sure what we do really resonates for both the consumer and us. Surprise is a great element for that. 

We always strive to deliver something genuinely interesting, so our collaborations often include that element of surprise. The beach is an environment Malibu is strongly associated with for example, yet our collab with niche luxury streetwear brand Aries was not connected to beach environments at all. It had a darker tone, focusing on the streets and using the tension and contrast between that tone and the fun tone of Malibu to great success. 

We took another leap of faith with Oatly, doing the first alcoholic soft-serve with a taste of piña colada – the Piña Oatlada! It proved to be a great activation both in the UK and wider Europe. We’re trying to keep this ethos and momentum going: how can we keep innovating to bring something unexpected to the consumer?

All the initiatives we do create good-time vibes and help you clock off.

Apart from this element of surprise, do all of Malibu’s collaborations have something in common? 

They must connect to our values – Malibu is a simple brand that thrives when being authentic and helping consumers to have fun. All the initiatives we do, collaborations or otherwise, help to create these good-times vibes and help you clock off. 

Though it is still ongoing, what early results can you see from the PopWorks x Malibu collab? 

The collaboration was designed to endure until the end of summer, so we are now collecting data and results from both consumers and the trade. But so far what we can see in the preliminary numbers is very exciting: 136 million media impressions, 84 pieces of press coverage, 4.5 million social impressions and 2.5m from earned media to date. 

People love both the flavour and innovation. We’ve had strong interest from across the industry – PR agencies reaching out, others asking where they can get the crisps. It’s still early days, but the signs are very promising, and we’ll have a clearer picture by the end of the year. 

Do you have any final reflections on the collaboration? 

Some advice for anyone planning a collaboration is to be open and prepared to course-correct along the journey. Be flexible to bring your team with you, as it is never a straight line. If you’re not accommodating for change then this business probably isn’t for you! Collaboration is a changeable beast, so you need to have a flexible mentality. 

I’m grateful to have a team by my side that shares the same fierce passion and drive – Luana Ilrilo and Charolotte Béchaz to name just a few. People who collaborate boldly, step outside their comfort zone and make things happen. This achievement is thanks to them, as well as our colleagues at PepsiCo whose support has been invaluable.