Stay twisted: How Smirnoff Ice is tapping into a new era of young women’s identity

Something is shifting in the way young Kenyan women consume, not just what they drink, but what they signal when they do.

Smirnoff Ice brought that shift into sharp focus at the launch of its Stay Twisted campaign, hosted at the EABL Microbrewery. 

The evening brought together lifestyle influencers and media personalities for an experiential event anchored by the brand’s newest offering: Smirnoff Ice Raspberry Twist.

The event, designed to do more than introduce a flavour, was a deliberate statement about identity and style.

Guests arrived in outfits that matched the product’s distinctive pink aesthetic - a visual cue that blurred the line between brand and personal expression.

“Perfection is boring. We celebrate the ‘Twist’, the funny, and unexpected parts of womanhood. Stay Twisted is a celebration of authenticity and of women showing up exactly as they are," Veronicah Waweru, Innovations Brand Manager, EABL.

The campaign arrives at a telling moment. Across Nairobi’s social spaces, a generation of young women is increasingly steering away from inherited consumer scripts and toward a culture built on deliberate self-expression.

The clothes they wear, the playlists they stream, the spaces they frequent, and the drinks they choose have become tools for identity, not afterthoughts.

For this audience, convenience, taste, and experience are not competing priorities, more like the expectation.

It is a reality that has given rise to a new circuit of highly curated social experiences: intimate fashion showcases, bespoke DJ sets, and rooftop gatherings designed around spontaneity and aesthetic coherence. Stay Twisted positions Smirnoff Ice squarely within space.

The cultural conversation does not stop when guests leave the venue.

Online communities have become extensions of these physical gatherings - spaces where curated content fosters a sense of solidarity and shared identity. The Stay Twisted campaign is built with that digital continuum in mind.

As young Kenyans continue to shy away from rigid, inherited identities, their spending habits will increasingly favour experiences and brands that provide platforms for co-creation rather than regular experiences.