Snack Drawer has helped Yo-Chi transform a major sustainability decision into a high-impact cultural campaign, turning lost revenue into a measurable driver of engagement.
After removing bottled water from its venues (a move estimated to cost up to $10 million annually), Yo-Chi partnered with Snack Drawer to bring the decision to life through an earned-first campaign, “Bottle Battle”.
Turning sustainability into entertainment
Rather than lean into traditional purpose messaging, the campaign reframes Yo-Chi’s decision to offer free premium drinking water as a bold marketing platform.
The creative centres on a satirical boardroom scenario, where leadership are “furious” that the brand’s water bill isn’t high enough – flipping conventional business logic and positioning lost revenue as a win.
Hannah McElhinney, chief creative officer and co-founder at Snack Drawer, said the aim was to make sustainability more engaging.
“Purpose-led work often defaults to being serious – and that’s where it can lose people.
“We wanted to express a strong environmental-led decision in a way that’s entertaining and shareable – because that’s what drives real engagement and behaviour change.”
Built for culture, not just comms
The campaign leaned into entertainment-led storytelling and Gen Z behaviour, including the rise of the “emotional support bottle”, supported by creator amplification and earned media distribution.
In-store, digital screens displayed a live “water bill”, linking the campaign directly to customer behaviour, while a buy-one-get-one-free offer encouraged refills across Yo-Chi’s 70 locations.
The response was immediate, with 50,612 redemptions in a single day, bringing more than 101,000 customers with reusable bottles into stores.
Within nine days, the campaign generated a $355,132 “water bill” in forgone bottled water revenue, turning a sustainability decision into a measurable commercial and cultural moment.
Challenging category norms
Oliver Allis, co-owner and brand director at Yo-Chi, said the campaign was designed to provoke change.
“We hope the noise from this campaign can shake up the industry a bit.
“It’s ridiculous to celebrate losing money, but even more ridiculous is the continued sale of plastic water bottles in settings like Yo-Chi, where there’s a clear alternative.
“Snack Drawer helped turn it into something people could engage with and be part of.”
Top Image: Snack Drawer x Yo-Chi