What it had to solve
Launch a premium mixer into a category where tonic was an afterthought, aimed at bars and premium retail first.
The idea
Make distillation the design story: botanical illustrations woven over and under a white square, and an LE monogram repeated as a quality mark on every product.
How it works
WiseHead, a Britvic-backed incubator, launched in November 2016 with four drinks into Harvey Nichols and Fortnum & Mason; in February 2024 BrandOpus refreshed the system — brandmark in a white square, bespoke botanical illustrations, LE monogram wrapping the bottle neck.
What it did
No sales figures published in the sources; the brand made it from incubator project to Carlsberg Britvic's portfolio in January 2025, with the system running across the range.
Background
London Essence is a young brand with an old name. It was launched in November 2016 by WiseHead Productions, a Britvic-backed premium drinks start-up set up that June and devised by Ounal Bailey — its second launch after Thomas & Evans No.1. The name 'reimagines' an 1896 company that made distilled essences, a story later told as essences developed for London perfume houses; the modern drinks borrow the distillation idea, with botanicals chosen by flavour experts and gently distilled to bring out a spirit's flavour rather than mask it.
The timing was a bet on the gin boom: Britvic's launch release cited premium mixers growing 14 per cent in 2015 and mixers as the fastest-growing soft-drinks segment in the out-of-home market. The first range was deliberately small — Classic London Tonic Water, Grapefruit & Rosemary Tonic, Bitter Orange & Elderflower Tonic and Delicate Ginger Ale — aimed at premium on-trade outlets first, with selected retailers including Harvey Nichols and Fortnum & Mason.
The current look dates from February 2024, when BrandOpus refreshed the system: the brandmark sits inside a white square, bespoke botanical illustrations weave under and over its frame, and an 'LE' monogram repeated as a pattern appears on every product as a quality mark, wrapping around the neck of the slender glass bottles (The Dieline, 12 February 2024). By January 2025 the brand belonged to Carlsberg Britvic.
Why it lands
The name did the positioning: an 1896 essence house gave a start-up instant heritage in a category where provenance sells.
Distillation became the visual language, so the identity explains the product rather than decorating it.
Distribution matched the story — bars and premium department stores first — letting price and placement signal quality before advertising could.
What you can take
Heritage is a design material, not just a story: an 1896 name earns permission, but a repeatable system — frame, monogram, botanicals — is what carries it across a range.
Since then
The 2024 BrandOpus system now runs across the range, colour-coordinated by product, with the monogram as the consistent quality mark. Carlsberg Britvic has owned the brand since January 2025. The sources publish no sales or share figures, so the brand's commercial record rests on its survival from incubator project to portfolio brand.
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