Vodka XIX marketing director Phil Neale tells Grocery Gazette about taking a brand beyond its famous founders, as well as cocktails, comedy and category growth. 

Photo: Vodka XIX MD Phil Neale

In an era where many brands use their famous founders to buy their way into relevance, Vodka XIX is determined to do anything but.

Founded in 2021, the business has steadily grown into a four-flavour product range across both spirits and ready-to-drink formats, often selling out in major retailers. Its marketing push this year alone has seen it collaborate with celebrity motor rally Gumball 3000, debut its peach-and-Prosecco Gumballini serve, and launch a national comedy night series.

So you’d be forgiven if its social media-famous founders The Sidemen were not the first thing that came to mind when you spot a bottle on the supermarket shelves.

In fact, says Vodka XIX marketing director Phil Neale, that’s exactly how they want it.

“We’re building a drinks brand first,” he says. “The Sidemen connection will always be there, but it’s not the story we lead with anymore… It’s a blessing and a curse.”

Stepping out from The Sidemen’s shadow

To many emerging players, Neale’s comments may seem prosperous.

The Sidemen consist of seven internet personalities – with notable members including Olajide Olatunji (KSI), Simon Minter (Miniminter), Joshua Bradley (Zerkaa) – with a collective viewership of over 22.5 million subscribers.

Aside from Vodka XIX, the collective have also launched FMCGs Best cereal and restaurant chain and grocery line Sides.

Beyond their own content, the group are also included in large-scale events such as charity football game Match4Hope which drew in an international viewership of 25 million 2025, and included big names in both football and social media worlds, such as Thierry Henry.

Given this level of exposure, it would therefore make sense for Vodka XIX to lean into this natural advantage, and its marketing team to tap into its famous founders’ large numbers of followers.

And in the early days, it did.

Neale explains that the name Vodka XIX’s roman numerals is a nod to the day the group formed: 19 October 2013. It serves as a “reminder of a group of friends coming together at the start of something special”, he says.

Vodka XIX first campaigns, like many other brands, originally incorporated its famous founders. Photo: Vodka XIX, Prime and Feastables.

Meanwhile, early promo photos and campaigns also featured Sidemen members prominently, in a style similar to other celebrity-backed brands, such as KSI and Logan Paul’s Prime Hydration, reality TV star Jamie Laing’s Candy Kittens, and internet personality Mr Beast’s Feastables.

But for Vodka XIX, that approach is already starting to shift.

“I think it’s really important, moving forward, how we introduce ourselves,” says Neale. “Vodka XIX is founded by seven British entrepreneurs, which happen to be The Sidemen and that helps open a lot of doors.”

“But actually, we have a rule internally that our product has to be better than our promo. If we’re not making great drinks and great liquids that stand out on shelves, we’re not a business.”

However, Neale does acknowledge the advantages of having famous founders. “When you are looking after brands that have the head start like we do with famous founders, you can often skip some of the steps, which can be a blessing and a curse.”

However, this approach has its drawbacks he added: “You sort of jump to a national listing in Morrison’s, or Tesco, and, while you have pull on the shelf and a popularity that is already there [among fans], but actually as a brand, its actually about jumping off that shelf to people walking by who haven’t heard of The Sidemen.”

“We’re not trying to run before we can walk. We’ve got a great foothold within UK grocery, we over-index online… but we’re still looking for a grocery home for those.”

How to avoid the hype trap

Looking ahead, this pivot can be seen as strategic. Where many influencer-led brands fail is mistaking ‘virality’ for longevity. 

For example, this has most recently occurred for Prime Hydration, which saw UK turnover plunge more than 70% in 2024. After its explosive launch, the energy drink’s brand popularity faded rapidly, with images of unsold bottles in clearance bins for 31p circulating online becoming symbolic of the uncertainty of fame-based branding.

Vodka XIX is keenly aware of that trap, and is moving intentionally away from being seen as simply “The Sidemen’s vodka”.

Instead, Neale reiterates that the business frames its identity as a premium British drinks brand founded by “seven British entrepreneurs who happen to be The Sidemen,” and is investing heavily in flavour innovation, signature serves, and cultural events that reach beyond the fanbase.

Shaking up marketing- from prosecco to punchlines

Nowhere is that strategy more evident than in the brand’s latest launch: the Gumballini – a Prosecco and peach cocktail inspired by Gumball 3000, the luxury motoring rally.

It marks not just a new flavour direction, but a creative partnership signalling Vodka XIX’s entry into the live events space, specifically, comedy.

“Lots of brands chase music. We’re not against music events, but for us, comedy feels more natural. The Sidemen are entertainers. Supporting British comedy fits us culturally.”

With famous founders, you can often skim some of the steps, which can be a blessing and a curse.

While the Gumballini officially debuted at a closed event in London, the ambition is to take the show on the road, hosting brand-backed comedy events across Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle and beyond. These won’t be monetised like typical brand tours but are intended to build community and awareness through grassroots engagement, an approach that differentiates Vodka XIX from the formulaic influencer brand playbook.

Still, entertainment only goes so far.

Neale says XIX’s next chapter is grounded in retail realism. With its core product, XIX Original, already in major supermarkets, the brand is turning its attention to range development, ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails, and packaging reformulations aimed at better shelf standout.

Recent launches of flavoured vodkas – including Peach, and the new Gumball Orange – have proved especially successful in Wetherspoon’s and online. The company is also exploring RTD formats with spritzers and cocktails on the horizon.

“Spritz in a bottle is a super simple serve we think can do really well in grocery,” the team shared, hinting at further reformulations of the RTD line-up to ensure flavour and brand messaging shine equally.

Looking ahead, Neale teases that a limited-edition, less fruit-forward variant is expected in September, maintaining the sweet profile the brand is known for while offering something new.

Learning from challengers

Unsurprisingly, Vodka XIX is often compared to AU Vodka, a fellow UK-born challenger brand targeting the 18–35 market with sweet, ‘Instagrammable’ flavour profiles.

But Neale says XIX is not about beating AU, instead it’s about learning from what AU, and others like it, have done well.

“AU have done an incredible job challenging the big players. They’ve created culture. And that should be encouraging to brands like us,” he says.

“But we’re not trying to be them. We’re playing to our strengths.”

That includes careful balancing of the brand’s social reach, which is vast, given The Sidemen’s billions of YouTube views, with the need to resonate with everyday shoppers on the supermarket floor.

“We sometimes say internally, when you’ve got famous founders, you can skip steps. But skipping steps can be a curse if the product doesn’t stand on its own.”

So far, Vodka XIX seems to be walking the tightrope well, navigating the journey from its viral origins to a measured, long-term retail presence that combines star power with sturdy and foundational brand building. Admittedly, it’s a tricky feat, especially in the drinks industry, which gains so many new players each year.

Yet, with a multichannel retail focus, new flavour range innovation, and an unconventional (yet fitting) foray into comedy, Vodka XIX may be proving it shouldn’t be pushed to the side in the spirits industry, but instead it is showing how its a serious challenger ready for its own spotlight.

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