Yellow Tail changes its branding for the first time in 20 years, as Gen Z rejects cheap wine

Yellow Tail, the budget-friendly Australian wine brand known to college students everywhere, has barely touched its branding since its debut in 2001. Now, though, the company is tweaking its look—including its iconic kangaroo logo—in an attempt stand out on shelves as younger generations turn away from the wine aisle and toward trendy canned cocktails.

The new branding, which includes a more vibrant “Roo” mascot and crisper product labels, will hit shelves in the U.S. this coming June. The understated update seems like a bid to remind consumers of what once made Yellow Tail’s accessible, easy-to-parse branding so innovative—but it’s less likely to make a splash in a now-over-saturated market.

Wine in decline

The wine industry is currently in a state of decline, both in the U.S. and globally. 

According to the IWSR, a global alcohol industry analytics firm, 2023 was the first year in nearly three decades that overall spirits sales declined rather than increase. Globally, the volume of wine sold that year was down 4%, a trend the IWSR predicts will continue until at least 2028. And in the U.S. in 2024, wine sales to retailers declined by 8%, based on data from Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA).

The decreasing interest in wine in the U.S. is attributable to a number of factors, including a rising cultural interest in moderating alcohol consumption, a growing number of alcohol-free options on the market, and a younger consumer base that’s steering away from wine. Ever since the pandemic helped popularize to-go cocktails, ready-to-drink canned cocktails have become the trendy drink of choice for Gen Zers and Millennials over a $5 bottle of vino. 

Yellow Tail’s parent brand, Casella Wines, is Australia’s top wine brand by global sales, but it has faced headwinds in the last couple of years. From 2021 to 2022, the brand’s total sales dropped from $500.53 million to $461.16 million, while net profit slumped 56% to $25.38 million. This past year, the brand recovered somewhat with a revenue of $476.42 million and a net profit of $26.53 million. 

Yellow Tail’s offerings, which retail for around $10 or less, fit snugly within one of the sectors that has seen the most decline: cheap wines. Per a 2024 IWSR report, both standard and below-average priced wines are considered to be in a state of long-term decline. Meanwhile, more premium-priced wines (between $15 and $49.99) are expected to gain in sales volume by 2027. Still, Yellow Tail’s team sees its accessibility as a marketing asset.

“Yellow Tail has always been about making wine approachable, easy to choose, and easy to enjoy, which gives it broad appeal across different types of consumers,” says Libby Nutt, Yellow Tail’s general manager of marketing and export sales. “While overall alcohol consumption is declining globally (including wine), we see Yellow Tail as well-positioned to meet the needs of today’s drinkers.”

A kangaroo for the modern drinker

When Yellow Tail debuted in 2001, its playful, non-intimidating branding stood out in a sector full of more serious-looking wine. In fact, it’s frequently referenced in marketing courses as an example of the “Blue Ocean strategy,” a term for finding a unique gap in an existing market. The brand’s approach to wine for the everyman also included simple, easy-to-decipher labels highlighting only the need-to-know information, like the grape variety and brand name itself. 

But as the market has become more saturated (see brands like Cupcake Vineyards, for example), it’s become more difficult to make an impact on shelves. 

“Yellow Tail’s pack design is iconic, remaining largely unchanged since its launch,” Nutt says. “However, after more than 20 years, it was time for a strategic update, one that enhanced the design without losing its distinctiveness. The wine market is increasingly competitive, making shelf standout and strong branding more important than ever. This refresh builds on our existing brand assets, making them even more recognizable.” 

The changes are subtle, but not unnoticeable. The “Yellow Tail” brand name has been moved above the logo, making it easier for consumers to immediately recognize each bottle’s variety. The color contrast on the labels has also been pumped up to draw the eye. In keeping with Yellow Tail’s tradition of accessibility, short flavor descriptions have been added to each blend. And, perhaps most notably, the Roo mascot has been given a bit of a facelift. His back has been rounded, his outlines more defined, and his shapes simplified—giving him a look more akin to an animated cartoon character than his former roughly sketched self.

“In this refresh, we’ve made [Roo] bolder and more dynamic, better reflecting the brand’s free-spirited, easy-going nature,” Nutt says.

Given that the new branding has yet to launch in the U.S., it’s unclear how consumers will respond to the look. And, based on the relative restraint of the rebrand, it seems more like Yellow Tail is using this move to get back on consumer’s radars rather than to actually reposition itself to a new audience. Still, for the wine industry at large, it’s going to take a lot more than a slightly new look to convince customers to ditch their spiked seltzer or non-alcoholic beer in favor of a classic bottle of red.

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