Isn’t it lovely when someone’s so passionate about their job that you can practically smell their excitement?
That’s Shane Stewart. The brand marketer who knows that the best businesses don’t take themselves too seriously, but they do take people seriously.
Until last year, he was Brand Director at XOXO Soda, the prebiotic soda that does good as well as tasting good. It’s the kind of drink that you might once have stumbled upon in a Dalston grocer, until Shane took it big time, lining the shelves of Sainsbury’s and Whole Foods.
Before that, Shane was Brand Manager at MOJU – those small but mighty ginger shots – where he helped grow the brand from £5m to £25m revenue.
His latest project is SS Brands (if you need some senior brand direction, hit him up).
Here, we talk about finding your perfect customer, why clever can be the enemy of effective, and how to turn a Tube strike from a day ruined into a day made.
Grab a drink (or a shot), and enjoy.
You played a big part in shaping two drinks brands: XOXO soda and MOJU. Let’s start with MOJU. What was your approach to marketing? Did that change while you were there?
In the early days, we were focused on appealing to a younger, cooler audience through bold visuals, sports events, that kind of energy. It’s easy to define your target audience before you’ve sold anything, but once you have real data, you start to understand who’s really engaging. It doesn’t mean you need to pivot completely, but it gives you insight you might otherwise miss.
In our case, we saw that people in their 40s and 50s were buying our shots, not because of the marketing, but because the product genuinely benefited them.
So early on, we had to shift and really push the education piece – why a ginger shot matters – especially as a new category. We had to justify why someone would spend £2.20 on that versus something like orange juice, where you get more liquid for your money and everyone knows what it is.
We had to learn how to appeal to different consumer groups – Gen Z, millennials, boomers – and recognise how they influence each other. Younger audiences might introduce it to older family members for health reasons, while still wanting it to feel cool and relevant themselves. It creates this kind of buying loop.
One of the key segments we identified for MOJU was what we called the “never olds”, people who might skew older in age but are young at heart. That was a big insight. People in their 60s, for example, are really motivated by something that’s easy, effective and fits into their day without feeling clinical.
So it became about reflecting that in our marketing too – rather than ignoring those customers, bringing them into the brand in a way that feels engaging and fun.
What were the biggest challenges in brand building at two companies experiencing rapid growth?
It’s about consistency while still being adaptable. You want to stay true to your roots, but also stay on your toes and appeal to the masses, so it’s a bit of a catch-22.
That’s why it’s important to build a clear brand world early on, something you can always come back to. It helps you explore and understand both your current and future customers.
How did you make sure that both brands stayed globally consistent but locally relevant?
During my time at XOXO, we expanded really quickly across Europe, and each market had different needs, behaviours, even language nuances.
One of our slogans in the UK was “show yourself some love,” which worked well for us here. But in Germany, it translates much more literally and is a bit inappropriate... So something that felt core to our brand in one market just didn’t work in another.
It’s not always about finding a perfect local equivalent, because sometimes there isn’t one. Often it’s more effective to focus purely on the product’s function and benefits. Markets like the UK or the US might respond well to playful, expressive marketing, but others (like Germany) are much more direct. They just want to know what the product does and why it’s useful.
At the same time, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel for each market. It comes back to having a strong brand world from the start. If that’s in place, you can adapt what you need for different regions or audiences, testing and learning as you go, without starting from scratch every time.
Take MOJU as an example. Our “wake, shake, boom” tagline worked because it was simple, memorable and told the whole story – what to do and how it makes you feel – in three words. That clarity is powerful, especially when you’ve only got a split second to grab attention, like you do with a billboard.
It’s not just about differences between countries, either. There are nuances within markets too. Even within the UK, different regions, shopping habits and cultural references come into play. What works in London doesn’t always land the same way elsewhere. So don’t rely on one message to resonate everywhere, make sure you have a few that you can play with.
Were there any unexpected pockets of the UK where you had more customers at MOJU?
Definitely! Places like Manchester almost have their own microclimate, and we started to see stronger uptake in areas like this.
The more we researched this, it began to make sense. In places where people are getting less sunlight and potentially lower levels of vitamin D, that has an impact on things like immunity. Those conditions naturally align more with the benefits of a product like a ginger shot.
It’s not that people are consciously thinking, “It’s raining, I need a ginger shot.” It’s more of a subtle, behavioural pattern driven by environment and routine.
That kind of insight was really valuable. It helped us understand not just where demand was coming from, but why it was happening.
Tell me about your most successful brand moment at either XOXO or MOJU?
It’s a funny one, because success can come from two very different places.
On one side, you’ve got the really strategic, well-thought-out campaigns. At MOJU, for example, “wake, shake, boom” was a big one. We did above the line (ATL), sampling, activations – the whole business was involved. It took a long time to plan and execute, but when it landed, it really worked. Those kinds of campaigns can be incredibly powerful, but they’re also a big investment in time and resource.
On the other end of the scale, you’ve got more reactive moments.
At XOXO, where budgets were smaller and the team was leaner, it was more about spotting opportunities and moving quickly.
One example was during the Tube strikes in London. Suddenly, the city was flooded with Lime bikes and everyone was cycling instead of taking the train. So we went straight to where the people were by putting cans in bike baskets and sampling directly there.
We attached a flyer to each can with our “show yourself some love” message, covering the can opening slightly so it was clear it had been placed there intentionally. It tied into the moment – people were stressed about the strikes, but also out moving, cycling and doing something good for themselves. It turned into a small but meaningful brand interaction.
It quickly went viral on LinkedIn, and other brands started doing similar things very quickly. It showed that you don’t always need a huge campaign to have an impact. Sometimes it’s about timing and being close to culture.
For anyone who’s about to experiment with ATL advertising, do you have any key watch-outs?
You don’t have to go big straight away. A lot of people assume ATL means spending hundreds of thousands of pounds, but you can test your creative in smaller areas first. That gives you a feel for how it’s landing before you scale.
Success comes down to understanding your audience and the context in which they’ll see your campaign. The message has to connect quickly. A common mistake is trying to be too witty or too clever, which often backfires. What works better is something simple, visually striking and easy to remember.
Fight the urge to constantly reinvent. Look at brands like Pip & Nut and Lucky Saint. They’re not changing their ATL every year just for the sake of it, they double down on ideas that have already proven effective, like Lucky Saint’s dry January campaign.
Being talked about isn’t enough. On LinkedIn, campaigns often get attention because they’re confusing or odd, and people say, “well, it got people talking.” But if it’s not actually communicating why the product matters or reaching its intended audience, then it’s not really doing its job.
As the founder of SS Brands, how do you help companies find their unique voice?
It’s about helping brands not just with ideas, but with building teams that think that way too.
For early-stage brands, it’s often the founders doing everything, and those first hires are really important. They set the tone for how the brand thinks and operates. On the other end, you’ve got bigger teams where the challenge is more about refreshing the thinking and unlocking new ideas. That’s where I can come in, helping teams get into a more creative, responsive mindset without feeling like they have to force it all the time.
A big part of it is learning to look at things differently. Spotting moments, trends or behaviours and asking, “is there something we can do here?”. Like the Lime bike example, but it has to be right for the brand!
Relevance is key. A lot of brands jump on trends just because they’re happening, but if it doesn’t make sense, it falls flat (or worse, becomes annoying). So it’s about balancing creativity with consistency, finding ideas that feel fresh and different, but still rooted in what the brand stands for.
When you’re working with small/new brands, do you think that the brand voice should sound like the founder’s voice?
I think the founder’s perspective is absolutely important. It’s usually why the business exists in the first place, whether it’s solving a problem or following a purpose. That story is what makes a brand resonate and gives people a reason to connect with it.
But that doesn’t mean the brand voice should just mimic the founder. There needs to be a distinction. The brand has to be its own entity.
Sometimes founders unintentionally say something that doesn’t land or backfires. If the brand voice is indistinguishable from the founder, that risk becomes bigger. By keeping a small separation, you protect the brand while still letting the founder’s purpose and vision shine through.
Is there anything that you wish you’d known about consulting before you took the plunge?
Get ready to be sick of your own voice! You’re constantly pitching yourself, every conversation with a brand is essentially an interview. Even if nothing comes of it, you have to bring 100% energy every single time because you’re selling yourself.
Also, you need to be ruthlessly organised. I was famously disorganised at MOJU, but consulting forced me to get structured. You have to manage multiple clients, timelines and deliverables, and if you don’t stay on top of it, your workload quickly becomes unmanageable.
Consulting means being your own salesperson, your own project manager and your own creative lead all at once. It’s challenging, but it pushes you to grow in ways you don’t expect.
You also started a run club, Step by Steppers, for people dealing with grief. Has running been a sort of creative outlet for you?
I lost my dad nearly three years ago, and because I’m so busy, when I finally switch off, it hits me all at once. It can feel even heavier because I’ve been running on full tilt at work, and suddenly I’m faced with it.
For me, being creative has always been a way to zone out and focus, especially during difficult times. But it doesn’t have to look like traditional “art” to be effective. It’s about finding something new to try, something that lets you fully engage in the moment.
I remember drawing a Christmas tree with my brother when I was very little. He was more sporty, I was more into art, but for that moment, we were both completely absorbed. I asked him later if he’d thought about anything else while drawing, and he said no. That’s exactly what I mean: you get fully focused, and for that time, everything else fades away.
That’s what makes creative outlets so powerful for grief or stress: it’s not about being “good” at it. It’s about finding something you can lose yourself in, even briefly, and let your mind rest.
Last but not least, are there any trends in branding that you think we’re going to see more of in 2026?
I think we’re going to see a big shift away from ultra-simple, uniform branding. Over the past decade, even big fashion houses like Burberry have moved toward minimalism. Simple fonts, pared-back colors, clean logos. Everywhere you go, spaces and products have started to look the same.
Take coffee culture: whether you’re in Paris, London or New York, you’ll find a spate of coffee shops that look identical. Natural coloured interiors, marble counters, ceramic mugs that look hand painted but definitely aren’t.
And while that worked for a while, people are craving authenticity and differentiation. More bespoke fonts, hand-drawn logos, heritage cues – things that feel unique and can’t be easily replicated. You want an experience that reflects the local culture, not a copy of everywhere else.
So in 2026, I’m hoping to see brands leaning into uniqueness, celebrating craft and personality, standing out by being unmistakably themselves.