Pernod Tries to Rejuvenate Its Ricard Liquor Brand

In the 80 years since Paul Ricard cooked up the first batch of the anise liquor that would bear his name, the recipe for serving it hasn’t changed: Mix one part Ricard with five parts water to create a pale yellow, opaque concoction traditionally drunk as an aperitif. It’s not a drink that’s aged well with young consumers. “When I go out with my friends, I drink beer or whiskey and Coke,” says 27-year-old Mathieu Camilleri, who works at a high school in the southern French town of Solliès-Pont. “I remember my granddad drinking Ricard when I was a kid.”

Modernity has spurred Pernod Ricard, the Paris company that owns the brand, to give it a makeover as Ricard’s French sales have dropped 8 percent this year after a tax increase on spirits. In 2011, Pernod introduced a new bottle for Ricard, with a square bottom and the brand name embossed on the sides. And it has updated the water glasses and jugs it provides to bars, historically used for marketing because of restrictions on print ads in the brand’s early days.