According to research, the functional beverage market is expected to reach $173 billion in 2025. Producers are taking note and embracing functionality in the beverage space as “better for you beverages” really took off during the pandemic when people started to focus on their health more. This has laid the groundwork for creative agencies to have an impact on smaller companies coming to market.
Mark Christou, Founder & Creative Partner at ROOK/NYC and R/Co Ventures, has been integral to the development and brand identity behind functional beverage brands such as Health Ade Kombucha, Culture Pop Soda and most recently, the launch of Shrubbly.
As the functional beverage category continues to grow, it becomes integral for these companies to have a strong brand identity out of the gate. Mark worked with Shrubbly, to turn the old-fashioned “Shrubs” brand into a modern functional beverage.
ROOK/NYC was challenged to create a packaging system that translated each aspect of the Vermont farm ingredients to the consumer and develop an elevated brand identity to maximise education around the benefits of this ‘Bubbly Superdrink’ while also keeping premium appeal.
To gain further insight into the process behind the rebranding exercise, we spoke to Mark, whose 20 years of experience in the creative industries in both London and New York have left him with an enviable eye for branding.
Describe the purpose of the project and its target audience
Come Late summer 2021, with more regular consumer habits on the return, Shrubbly founder, Matt Sayre, approached ROOK/NYC hoping to elevate Shrubbly beyond the level of his earlier established functional beverage category competitors.
ROOK/NYC, a New York-based independent creative agency known for creating disruptive brands and packaging designs, was able to do exactly that by maximising education without losing premium appeal.
There was no target audience, rather a target mindset. Shrubbly is crafted for consumers that want a better for you beverage without the sacrificing of flavour and taste.
What was your thinking behind the branding solution?
The current category of functional beverages leans towards mass marketed, often youthful, approaches; bright colours, traditional typefaces, and abstracted illustrations. ROOK/NYC saw Shrubbly’s competitive differentiations as major assets that required more visibility than the existing packaging was providing.
Shrubbly, still carefully crafted from Sayre’s Vermont farm ingredients, celebrates the unique health benefits of shrub fermentation from the fruit chosen to the organic honey added to the natural health benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar.
With so many positive layers of the brand, ROOK/NYC was challenged to create a packaging system that translated each aspect to the consumer.
What was the most challenging aspect of the project?
The challenge was finding a unique visual language in a growing competitive market of the functional beverage category.
We developed the brand identity and design to tell a story around the world of shrubs and the spirit of the wilderness that comes from this farm to can-based brand. The intensity of the black paired with bright, bold, tasty colours helped set Shrubbly apart from the competitive set and has set a path that shrubbly can now own.
We felt that this look really embraced the Shrubbly’s team brand ethos ‘Believing in chasing dreams and making good by working hard, taking our best shot, and pressing on.’
What details are you most proud of and why?
We are really proud of our ability to effectively translate the mission and tastes of Shrubbly onto the can in a visually intriguing way.
The black can is an extremely bold statement to make for the current functional beverage space, but we found a way to make the full design look appetising, inviting, and unique while standing out on the shelf.
Did you learn anything new during the project?
Given our extensive experience working with the beverage space, creating entirely new and unique designs is an ongoing challenge. This project taught us that we can continue to creatively push ourselves by continuing to partner with unique clients.
Each beverage brand we’ve partnered with has something special that makes them stand apart from the crowded competitive set. Our job is to bring that trait forward and highlight the differences that make our partners special.
What visual influences fuelled your solution?
The intensity and wildness of the unique flavours and Shrub processes are what inspired ROOK/NYC to create the matte black can. The black can expresses a strong presence on shelf, with bright ingredient illustrations and typography in contrast.
Flavour expectations and health benefits are set at the top of the can, with various subheadings calling out additional positive attributes of the drink. ROOK/NYC designed the can with visual intrigue at the front of mind, aiming to continue Sayre’s celebration of Shrubs’ unique qualities, and the carefully curated ingredients that go into each can.
The centred illustrations and eyebrow shaped redesigned logo set the focal point on said ingredients, allowing consumers to recognise the shapes of lemons, ginger, and pomegranate, while embracing the potentially new shapes and descriptors of aronia berries and Apple Cider Vinegar.
Credits/titles for all the creatives involved
Creative Partner - Mark Christou
Managing Partner - Rebecca Thomas Christou
Project Manager - Lexi Bottern
Designer - Mark Christou
