How Alani Nu built a billion-dollar brand by understanding women's subconscious preferences

Picture this: You're standing in the energy drink aisle at Target.

On one side, there's a wall of aggressive blacks and neon greens screaming "EXTREME POWER!" On the other side? Pastel pinks, soft blues, and a can that looks more like a craft cocktail than a caffeine bomb.

Which one catches your eye?

If you're part of the female demographic that energy drink brands spent decades ignoring, you're probably reaching for that second option. And you're not alone.

Alani Nu just sold for $1.8 billion to Celsius, proving that understanding your audience's subconscious preferences pays off (literally).

The billion-dollar blind spot

For years, energy drink brands spoke one language: hyper-masculine tonality, dark colors, and aggressive fonts. Marketing that basically screamed "crush your enemies" with every sip.

Meanwhile, women were buying these products anyway, holding cans that made them feel like they'd wandered into the wrong aisle.

Alani Nu founder Katy Hearn spotted this disconnect in 2018 when she identified a massive gap between what brands thought women wanted and what actually resonated at a subconscious level. 

Alani Nu's team bypassed the "what people say" trap entirely. Instead, they focused on behavioral signals.

‍What makes women stop scrolling? What gets shared on Instagram? What feels like it belongs in their daily routine rather than hidden in a gym bag?

By tuning into these needs, Alani Nu saw how subtle packaging and branding changes could attract women who were already buying energy drinks but felt alienated by the packaging.

Packaging as silent persuasion

Alani Nu's packaging was a game-changer: bright, bold, and unapologetically feminine, with flavor names like "Cosmic Stardust" and "Breezeberry."

The cans are so visually appealing that people are even decorating their rooms with them (yes, really).

Behavioral science explains why: it’s based on the fluency heuristic, which suggests that our brains prefer things that are easy to process. Alani Nu’s clean, colorful aesthetic feels instantly familiar to women who already engage with beauty and wellness brands.

Compare that to traditional energy drinks, where the packaging signals aggression, intensity, and extreme sports. Even if a woman wants the functional benefit (energy), the visual identity creates friction. Her brain has to work harder to reconcile "this is for me" with packaging that screams "this is definitely not for you."

Alani Nu eliminated that friction entirely. Their cans feel like they belong next to your favorite skincare products.

The influencer effect

When you see Kim Kardashian holding an Alani Nu can on Instagram, your brain is creating mental shortcuts. "People I’m interested in drink this." "This fits my lifestyle." "This is aspirational but achievable."

Alani Nu's influencer strategy is about building social proof at scale. They partnered with fitness personalities who already had strong female audiences, creating a network effect in which the brand felt less like a product and more like membership in a community.

This taps into something deeper than traditional advertising: our tendency to mimic the behavior of people we admire or identify with. When your favorite fitness influencer includes Alani Nu in their morning routine, you want to replicate that morning routine in your own life.

The numbers don't lie (but people do)

Here's a stat that should make every marketer pause: Alani Nu's sales rocketed 72.4% in one year, pushing them past the billion-dollar milestone. They now hold a significant chunk of the energy drink market, all while targeting a demographic that most brands in the sector treat as an afterthought.

What's wild is that women were already buying energy drinks before Alani Nu existed. They just weren't being marketed to effectively. 

Traditional purchase-intent surveys probably would have told you that women care about ingredients, health benefits, and energy levels. All true, but incomplete. 

What those surveys miss is the emotional and subconscious layer: How does the product make you feel when you hold it? Does it fit your identity? Would you proudly display it at your desk or hide it in a fridge?

Alani Nu understood that brand decisions happen fast, mostly in the subconscious parts of our brains that respond to color, shape, social signals, and emotional resonance. 

How to apply these insights to your brand

If you're reading this and thinking "cool story, but my brand isn't an energy drink," you're missing the point.

The Alani Nu playbook works because it's rooted in how human brains actually make decisions. Design for emotional connection, not just functional benefits. Create packaging and branding that reduces cognitive friction instead of creating it.

Most importantly: test your assumptions before you scale. Alani Nu validated it through real-world behavior, influencer partnerships that drove actual engagement, and retail expansion that followed demand rather than creating it.

Want to know if your branding actually connects with customers at a subconscious level? Stop asking them what they think and start measuring what they actually do. Because in the end, that's what built a billion-dollar brand in six years.

Want to learn how to connect with your customers on a subconscious level? Find out how brand tracking with Behavio can reveal what truly drives purchase decisions.