Ciao Energie, the drink launched by Squeezie, saturated TikTok feeds within hours. Plenty of people commented on the taste, the price, the can. The real story lies elsewhere. This launch is a demonstration of vertical video marketing, executed at a level few brands reach. Esekai is a vertical video production studio founded in 2021 in Paris, specialising in creative ads, UGC and organic content for e-commerce, SaaS and premium retail brands on TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts. In this article, we break down the complete mechanics behind a launch like Ciao. Not theory. The real system, phase by phase, format by format, with the figures from the field in 2026. And above all, how a brand without a famous creator can reproduce the same method. According to the Carrefour Belgium press release published on 11 June 2026, the drink came out on 1 June 2026 and presents itself as a natural alternative, lower in sugar than classic energy drinks.
Why Ciao Energie Is First and Foremost a Vertical Video Story
👉 Also read: Meta Video Retargeting: Does the Engagement Sequence Beat Standard Targeting?
An energy drink is a saturated market. The shelves overflow with cans that look alike. The difference is no longer made on the formula. It is made on attention.
And today, attention is captured in vertical. TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts. Full screen, sound on, thumb scrolling. That is where the desire to try a product is decided.
Ciao understood this before filling a single shelf. The brand was born in the feed, not on the shelf. It is a complete reversal of the usual logic.
A mass-market brand is now built first in vertical video, then in store. Not the other way round.
The 2026 Context: Why Vertical Has Absorbed Everything
In a few years, vertical video has gone from a niche format to the norm. The three major social platforms all push the same type of content: short and full screen.
Attention time has shifted. Audiences now spend most of their mobile time in vertical feeds. Traditional advertising loses ground every quarter. According to Médiamétrie's Année Internet 2024, reported by CB News, 80% of time spent online in France is on smartphones, and apps account for 94% of mobile time.
For a mass-market brand, ignoring this format is like talking in an empty room. The audience is elsewhere, on a screen held vertically.
Ciao fits squarely into this movement. The brand does not fight the trend. It uses it as the main engine of its growth.
Squeezie, or Built-In Video Distribution
Ciao's first asset is not the recipe. It is the audience. Squeezie reaches tens of millions of people already used to the short, vertical format.
This audience is not a marketing detail. It is a complete distribution channel, capable of generating millions of views without a euro of paid media.
Most brands pay a fortune to reach a fraction of this reach. Here, reach is built into the product from day one.
The Creator's Role: Accelerator, Not Method
It would be easy to conclude that everything rests on Squeezie. That would be an analytical mistake. The creator amplifies a system. He does not replace it.
A brand that bets only on one personality creates a dangerous dependency. If the face leaves, the brand collapses. The risk is real.
The right reading is different. The creator gives an initial boost. After that, it is the vertical content chain that sustains the brand over time.
It is this chain that you can copy. No star, but with method. That is the whole point of the rest of this article.
Anatomy of the Vertical Format: Why It Triggers Purchase
The vertical format takes up 100 percent of the screen. No distraction, no frame. The brain processes the image as an experience, not as an ad.
Sound is on by default. A can opening, a first sip, a sigh of satisfaction. These sensory signals trigger desire better than a written pitch.
The user is in discovery mode. They are not looking for a product. They let themselves be surprised. It is the ideal state of mind for giving rise to a new desire.
Finally, production stays fast and inexpensive. You shoot ten variations in a day. You keep the three that hold attention in the first two seconds.
The Script of a Video That Converts, Second by Second
A good vertical video is no accident. It follows a precise, almost mechanical structure. Here is the framework that comes up most often.
Second 0 to 2: the hook. A strong visual or a line that creates tension. If you miss these two seconds, the rest will never be seen.
Second 2 to 5: the promise. You show what the video will deliver. A discovery, an answer, a reaction. The viewer decides whether to stay.
Second 5 to 20: the demonstration. The product in action, in a real context. This is the emotional core, the moment of the sip, of use, of pleasure.
Final seconds: the exit. A clear, simple call to action, with no heaviness. Try it, order it, tag a friend. One action, never three.
The Complete Playbook Behind a Launch Like Ciao
A successful vertical video launch follows four phases. Each has a precise role. Skip one, and the mechanics lose their strength.
Phase 1: Vertical Teasing Before the Drop
Before going on sale, the brand builds anticipation. Short, mysterious formats that show without revealing everything. A colour, a sound, a name that keeps coming back.
The aim is not to sell. It is to plant a question in the viewer's mind. That curiosity prepares the launch peak.
Phase 2: The UGC and Creator Cascade
At the moment of the drop, it is not one or two videos that come out. It is dozens. Shot by creators, by real consumers, by the brand itself.
This density creates an impression of omnipresence. The product seems to be everywhere at once. The viewer feels they are missing out if they do not try it.
The key is variety. Different tones, different angles, different faces. A single polished video is never enough. Volume and diversity do the work.
Phase 3: The Switch to Paid Creative Ads
The best organic videos do not stay free. They become creative ads. On TikTok Ads, on Meta Ads, sometimes on YouTube.
The logic is simple. Content that holds attention without budget performs even better with budget. You do not guess the winning ad. Organic has already pointed it out to you.
This is where many brands fail. They produce organic content and ads separately. The winning system links the two in a continuous loop.
Phase 4: Social Proof on Repeat
After the peak, demand has to be sustained. Unboxings, tastings, reactions, reviews. Each vertical video reminds people that the product exists and that people like it.
This social proof reassures the hesitant. Seeing other people consume the product reduces perceived risk and triggers the follow-up purchase.
The Vertical Formats That Work for a Drink
Not all formats are equal for a consumer product. Here are the ones that stand out, observed in the field in 2026.
1. The first sip. Close-up on the opening and the first sip, clear sound, sincere reaction. This is the format that triggers the most immediate desire.
2. The moment of consumption. The product in a real context: a work break, the gym, a gaming session. The viewer projects themselves into it.
3. The blind test or the comparison. Putting the drink up against market references. The format creates debate and engagement in the comments.
4. The behind the scenes. How the product was born, who makes it, why. The story creates attachment, not just desire.
5. The reaction and the duet. Taking an existing video, reacting to it, extending it. This format exploits TikTok's native mechanics and multiplies reach.
Building a Creative Library That Lasts
A launch is not an end. It is the start of a library of videos that will feed the brand for months.
Each winning format becomes a template. You adapt it with other faces, other settings, other hooks. An idea that works can be reused ten times.
This library is a valuable asset. The more it grows, the more you know what works. You stop starting from a blank page at every shoot.
Brands that last do not look for a permanent splash. They capitalise. Each video feeds the next, in a logic of accumulation.
Organic and Paid: The Loop That Multiplies
The biggest strategic mistake is separating organic and paid. They are two sides of the same system.
Organic acts as a laboratory. You test dozens of hooks and formats there, at almost no cost. The audience votes with its attention time.
Paid acts as an amplifier. You take the videos that have already proved their strength and push them with budget. The risk is low, the result predictable.
And the loop closes. The data from paid tells you what to shoot next. The new shoots feed organic again. The system runs on itself.
Multi-Platform Distribution: TikTok, Reels, Shorts
The same vertical format is distributed on three platforms. But they do not react in the same way. You need to adapt without starting over.
TikTok rewards spontaneity and trends. Raw, reactive, native formats perform best there. It is often the ideal testing ground.
Instagram Reels values aesthetic polish and consistency a little more. The audience there is sometimes broader in age. The tone can go up a notch in finish.
YouTube Shorts gives a video a longer life. A format can keep running for weeks after its release. Retention is king there. According to YouTube's official blog, CEO Neal Mohan announced in June 2025 that YouTube Shorts average over 200 billion daily views.
The right method is not to copy and paste everywhere. It is to produce a solid base, then adjust it to the codes of each platform.
The Mistakes That Kill a Vertical Video Launch
The first mistake is insufficient volume. Putting out three videos and waiting for a miracle. The vertical format works by accumulation, not by a single hit.
The second is disguised advertising. A spot that is too clean, too scripted, too salesy. The audience spots it in a second and moves on to the next content.
The third is a weak hook. If the first two seconds do not hold people, the rest of the video does not exist. The promise has to be immediate.
The fourth is the absence of a switch to paid. Letting an organic video that works die is throwing money away. The right reflex: amplify what works.
The fifth is betting everything on a single creator. Dependency creates risk. A content system must survive the departure of any single face.
What E-commerce and Retail Brands Must Industrialise
You do not have Squeezie. That is not a problem. What can be copied is the system, not the celebrity.
The system rests on three pillars. A volume of vertical videos, fast iteration, and a move to paid on the best formats. Nothing magic. Method.
Industrialising means producing this volume every month, without depending on an exceptional shoot. A production chain that runs continuously, not a one-off campaign.
The brand that wins in 2026 is not the one with the most beautiful video. It is the one that puts out the most, tests the fastest and keeps the right formats.
How Many Videos, at What Pace: The Numbers from the Field
A brand serious about vertical rarely produces fewer than twenty videos a month. The most aggressive exceed a hundred, mixing creators, UGC and variations.
On that volume, a minority really performs. The rule observed looks like a one-in-ten ratio. Hence the importance of numbers. You are not gambling, you are finding the winners through testing.
The pace matters as much as the quantity. Publishing regularly sustains reach. Platforms reward consistency, not isolated peaks.
A Realistic Budget for a Brand Just Starting Out
Many people think a vertical video system requires the budget of a big brand. That is wrong. The entry cost has fallen sharply.
A brand just starting out can launch regular production on a modest monthly budget. The essentials go into volume and iteration, not luxury equipment.
The real investment is not the camera. It is the method. Knowing what to shoot, how to edit, when to switch to paid. That is where profitability is won.
A simple rule: start small but regular. Twenty videos a month sustained over time beats one big shoot with no follow-up.
Measuring What Really Matters
Views don't tell the whole story. To steer a vertical launch, track four precise indicators.
1. The hook rate. The percentage of viewers still there after three seconds. It is the judge of your hook.
2. The retention rate. The share of the video actually watched. It reveals whether your format delivers on its promise to the end.
3. The click rate. The video's ability to push towards action, in organic as in paid.
4. The cost per acquisition. The final measure. A viral video that sells nothing is worth nothing. The right format combines attention and conversion.
Typical Case Study: A Drink Launch Without a Star
Let's imagine a drink brand with no celebrity at all. It wants to copy Ciao's logic. Here is what its three-month plan looks like.
Month 1: getting started. Thirty vertical videos shot with five creators and a few real customers. All formats are tested in organic.
Month 2: amplification. The five best videos move to paid on TikTok Ads and Meta Ads. The budget concentrates on what has already proved its strength.
Month 3: capitalisation. The winning formats are rolled out in series. The library grows. The cost per acquisition falls because the right templates are repeated.
No star, no miracle. Just a system held for three months with discipline. It is repeatable by any serious brand.
Questions to Ask Before You Launch
Before producing the first video, ask yourself a few simple questions. They prevent launches from going off into the void.
Does your hook work in two seconds? If you hesitate, it is too slow. The vertical format does not forgive slowness.
Have you planned enough volume? Three videos are not a launch. Aim for ten at least from the first wave.
Do you know what to do with the videos that work? Without a plan to switch to paid, you let your best assets die.
Does your brand survive the departure of a creator? If the answer is no, build your system first, not your dependency.
The Method Applied by Esekai
At Esekai, we produce this volume of vertical video for e-commerce, SaaS and premium retail brands. Creative ads, UGC and organic content, designed for TikTok, Reels and Shorts.
Our logic is not the isolated viral video. It is a regular flow of vertical assets, ready for paid, with formats that really convert.
We link organic and paid in one loop. Content that works for free becomes advertising. The data from paid feeds the next shoots.
The Ciao launch shows the direction. Vertical video is no longer one channel among others. It is the starting point of a modern mass-market brand.
In Summary
Ciao Energie did not win thanks to a drink. The brand won thanks to a vertical video system, carried by an audience native to the format.
This system comes down to one sentence. Lots of vertical formats, tested fast, and the best amplified in paid. A celebrity helps, but is not essential.
The real question for your brand is not to find your Squeezie. It is to build the vertical video production chain that runs without him.
Last updated: 3 June 2026