Forget finding love on a dating app, alcoholic craft soda brand LuvJus is taking TikTok by storm with its matchmaking skills. Between November 2023 and January 2024, the company racked up 8.5 million TikTok views thanks to its viral dating series, Looking for Luv.
As part of the show, the brand asks Londoners whether they’re single and then helps one volunteer find a date on the street. The aim is for the date-seeker to exchange a can of LuvJus for someone’s number. The initial video from November 2023 has more than 5.3 million views and 525,000 likes. Three months in, about three couples who met on Looking for Luv are still together.
LuvJus was co-founded by former housemates Owen Petty and George Chattey in 2019. Speaking to CORQ, Petty said: “It sounds so cheesy but no matter what, we all want love, we all want to be loved [and] we all want to love someone. I think something so universal has made [the TikTok series] something that’s been able to have legs [and] go viral.”
Key takeaways
- LuvJus is an alcoholic craft soda brand which was co-founded by Owen Petty and George Chattey in 2019.
- The brand went viral on TikTok in November 2023 with the launch of its Looking for Luv dating series.
- Between November 2023 and January 2024, its TikToks racked up 8.5 million views.
- As an alcohol brand, LuvJus cannot directly market its beverages on TikTok and hasn’t seen direct sales off the back of its viral content.
- It donates 5% of its profits to LGBTQ+ charities including Opening Doors and Stonewall Housing.
The duo came up with the idea for a lower-calorie, healthier hard seltzer-style beverage after attending Tel Aviv Pride in 2016 and struggling to find a tasty alternative to wine and beer, in light of Petty’s yeast allergy. As an LGBTQ+ brand, LuvJus donates 5% of its profits to LGBTQ+ charities including Opening Doors and Stonewall Housing. Its core values are having fun, inclusivity, community and love, as embodied in its social media content.
Looking for Luv and TikTok marketing
Part of Looking for Luv’s success is that it isn’t solely about promoting the brand. As Chattey told CORQ: “That’s how you build a thoroughly engaged audience, because you’re creating more than just an audience that’s interested in your product, they’re interested in your brand and what you stand for.”
LuvJus asks for permission when filming people in public and keeps in contact with the people they have filmed, and that person gets a final say on the video before it is uploaded. The co-founders have also deleted a viral video because someone in the video asked for it to be taken down.
Its TikTok has more than 16,000 followers and nearly one million likes on its videos. While the newfound fame has been brilliant for brand awareness, this hasn’t directly translated into sales. Due to TikTok’s advertising policy about alcohol, LuvJus can’t link to its website or promote its beverages on the platform.
Petty also noted people rarely pre-order alcohol and often make purchases when they’re going to or hosting an event. However, the pair have found their in-store sales are on the up.
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TikTok trials and tribulations
The brand’s first TikTok was posted in 2021 and the initial videos were focused on marketing its products, including demonstrating where it is stocked.
A pivotal moment for the business was when Chattey came up with the idea of filming at Chelsea F.C. games at Stamford Bridge stadium. In 2021, LuvJus won a Chelsea F.C. competition and the prize was free advertising on the football team’s social channels until the season ended.
On the videos interviewing the public at Stamford Bridge, Petty said: “It was that interesting thing of putting me out of my comfort zone and putting a personality at the forefront. I think that was where the big change happened.” The awkwardness of speaking to strangers, having fun and discussing love were successful aspects of their content.
Some tips from the experts? TikTok can be finicky – a glitch or having the wrong thumbnail can lead to low views. Petty’s advice is to have a checklist and review it each time you post to avoid any risks.
Having a formula is key to getting consistent views. With Looking for Luv, Chattey said it works because “you can copy and paste [the formula], which is why it’s so good, rather than [relying on] off-the-cuff moments that can’t be replicated”.
LuvJus’ 2024 plans
Before going viral, LuvJus had worked with companies such as Meta, Coach and Urban Outfitters. However, Petty explained they encountered a problem where they would go to people and be told: “We love your brand, we love your drinks, but who knows you?”
That’s all changing now. “We’ve seen a real shift in people going ‘Oh yeah, I’ve seen you. You’ve got 8.5 million views in the past two months. Let’s have a meeting’,” Petty said.
Looking ahead, Chattey wants to hit 100,000 followers on TikTok in 2024. Their focus remains on the short-form video app, where their engagement is at five per cent, compared to one per cent on Instagram. They’ve found that their Millennial-heavy Instagram following (4,000) doesn’t engage with their content in the same way that Gen Z does on TikTok. For roughly every three to four TikToks they make, just one goes on Instagram.
Other plans include coming up with a strategy to make content at a festival, which Petty said is costly and a “nightmare” to get into.
They’re also potentially looking to partner with talent on content. LuvJus has supplied free drinks to creators such as writer Ben Pechey, TikToker Mason Blake and trans activist Charlie Craggs, and now wants to do “a bit more cross-pollination of audiences”, as Petty put it.
LuvJus has a solid plan in place to work towards these goals – and no doubt, more viral TikToks in its back pocket.
As Chattey said: “I think we are the top food and drink brand on TikTok and I want to continue being that. If we continue building [on] this, the sales are going to come.”
By Caroline Edwards, CORQ news and features writer. Picture credit: LuvJus
