Alani-Nu: Brand Positioning Case Study

Drink brands are big business: Red Bull, Liquid Death, Starbucks, Prime, etc.

But why? One major reason is all of these brands leverage emotional marketing. They don’t just speak to quenching your thirst, they speak to the feelings of happiness, fun, and excitement that we all crave.

Pair that emotional marketing with a clear target audience and you have yourself a billion dollar brand on your hands. That’s exactly what Alani-nu has done for the past 5 years and it’s paying off… BIG.

Let’s get into it…

💼 The Brand: Alani-Nu

• Founded in 2018 by entrepreneur and fitness influencer Katy Hearn, Alani Nu has taken the health and wellness industry by storm. Recently it was valuated at $3B and partnered with Kim Kardashian to release a Kimade lemonade energy drink.

💛 The Heart (Purpose and Values)

• Alani-Nu keeps its mission down to earth. In their words, they exist to help you succeed… “whether you want to hit your last rep, hold your next handstand, or balance your hormones.”
• Notice that wording? The phrases “…hold your next handstand” and “…balance your hormones” are intentional.
• Alani-Nu isn’t speaking to meat heads or middle aged men. They’re creating an emotional connection with their Millenial & Gen Z female target audience.

👤 The Head (Positioning and Strategy)

• Alani-Nu has positioned itself as a nutrition brand focused on empowering and supporting women's health and fitness goals with high-quality supplements and products.
• With Alani-Nu, you’re not just drinking an energy drink — you’re consuming a supplement designed specifically for young, active women.
• This positioning puts Alani-Nu in a completely different category than bro-friendly brands like Monster, Bang, Red Bull, and Prime.

DOWNLOAD NOW: Free 5-Minute Marketing Plan [Get Your Copy]

✋ The Hands (Lifecycle Marketing Tactics)

Here’s just a few of the ways that Alani-Nu has captured the hearts and minds of its target market…

• Brand Visuals that Appeal to Women - Take a quick glance at Alani-Nu’s website, social media profile, or packaging. The colors, photography, and designs make it obvious who their product is made for.

• “Down to Earth” Influencer Ads - With partnerships featuring celebs like Kim K, Alani-Nu manages to balance their profile by still heavily investing in “every day” UGC and influencer ads.

• Seasonal Content Specific to Target Audience - Alani-Nu leans into the emotions of the Halloween season with another example of speaking their target audience’s language 

Find Your Emotional Edge Like Alani-Nu

🚨 New section alert 🚨 

[Our mission is to make people feel seen, known, and understood through marketing. And the brands we break down do just that. Now we're adding a little insight into the the most powerful connector of all — the emotions — and how these brands build movements using their unique emotional edge.]

Alani-Nu does a lot of things right with their marketing. But one thing they do exceptionally well is focusing on their target audience. If you don’t know your target audience intimately, then finding the emotional edge that connects with them is infinitely harder.

Alani-Nu has had a leg up on other female wellness brands, primarily because their founder is a female fitness influencer. It takes deep knowledge and nuance to speak to your audience’s aspirational needs, so it always helps to have an unfair advantage in this area.

Take a few moments and think about what “unfair advantage” your brand or business might have with your target audience. Is it insider knowledge? Connections? Experience? Whatever it is, leverage it to inspire your audience and you’ll be one step closer to having an emotional edge on the competition.