As it seeks to strengthen its ties to the world of fashion and design, Peroni Nastro Azzurro this week is unveiling a limited-edition bar cart designed and created in collaboration with designer Jonathan Adler.
The potter, designer and author, whose luxury furnishings and design company has retail locations worldwide, designed the bar carts to complement the motif and color palette of Peroni.
Made of clear acrylic with nickel accents and Peroni-blue stripes, the rolling bar carts merge function with design, with two sturdy glass shelves meant for aperitif and barware. The bar carts carry Adler’s signature aesthetic, which blends sleek, contemporary design with modern sophistication and quality.
“There’s no place I love more than Italy, and there’s nothing more Italian than Peroni,” Adler says. “The bar cart I created for them is as crisp and refreshing as a cold Peroni on a hot day on the Amalfi coast – it’s the next best thing to actually being there."
Adler will sell a limited number of the $1,450 bar carts on his website. Other carts will be made available for purchase to MillerCoors’ distributor network for use in retail displays and as part of promotions, where legal.
Partnering with Adler “is the perfect pairing for Peroni, and we’re really excited to work with him on this project,” says Katie Feldman, marketing manager for imports at Tenth and Blake. “He’s known for luxury, design and style, and Peroni is a beer whose purpose is to bring style to the world of beer.”
Bar carts are a natural fit for the brand, which overindexes with wine and spirits drinkers and made its mark in the U.S. in prestige settings such as high-end bars, rooftops and restaurants. On top of that “Peroni belongs in the same occasions as cocktails and wine,” Feldman says.
The partnership with Adler is the latest tie-up for the brand, which in 2018 partnered with Martone Cycling Co. and Lorenzo Martone on a co-branded luxury bicycle that anchored retail displays that summer. It also aims to continue to keep the wind at the brand’s sails as it heads into 2020 as the fastest-growing top-30 import.
The easy-drinking Italian lager, which is amid a multiyear growth initiative, is on a torrid run so far in 2019, up 64.7% year-to-date, according to Nielsen all-outlet and convenience data. Over the most-recent four-week period, its performance has been staggering, up 153.7%.
In the on-premise, Peroni’s growth has been equally impressive, consistently ranking the brand among the Nielsen’s top 10 growth brands in bars, taverns and restaurants in 2019, data show.
“We are so proud of this brand and how it’s performing,” Feldman says. “People are picking it up more often in grocery stores. They’re choosing Peroni on menus in restaurants and bars. And every package is up – our distinctive green bottles, our sleek white cans and on draft.
“Drinkers are excited about brands that are aspirational and cool. Brands that stand for something like style,” she says. “And they’re looking for something more special and Peroni offers that.”