Remi Andre

Readers of the most wonderful Spokane Food Blog will already know I’m not a huge fan of Kirkland Signature beer. Hey, it’s my opinion! More interesting than the brew, though, is the label, which follows a common trend of trying to evoke a less than generic feeling for a decidedly generic product. Nothing wrong with that of course, but the way Kirkland (and many other companies) has gone, is to copy a non-generic product’s label. In this case, Redhook.

Now, it’s not a carbon copy, and the pictures I picked don’t fully show how similar the colors actually are. But when I first saw Kirkland’s new beer, I instantly thought of Redhook, and while I would have picked up a case at any rate — for heaven’s sake, it’s COSTCO beer! — I can’t help but wonder what level of an initial positive impression the Redhook association might have given me. The solid colored bottom with the name of the beer, the textured warm colors of the top 2/3… There is a visual identification there.

The Kirkland beer is not brewed by Redhook — one sip in, and that becomes abundantly clear — but it’s pretty clear that COSTCO wants to sell the experience of a Washington microbrew. (Funnily enough the Kirkland beer is brewed in California.) And really, from a visual perspective they do a good job at that, and probably lure many people in to that ever-important first purchase.

How many second-time buyers they’ll get is a completely different question.