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How Ueshima disrupted the saturated UK coffee market

In a category dominated by long-standing Italian traditions and modern British lifestyle brands, we helped the Ueshima Coffee Company successfully establish a unique competitive edge. By creating a culture-driven brand, we transformed Japan’s pioneering coffee house into the 5th largest ground coffee brand with 48% YoY growth in the UK.

Following our original work with Ueshima in 2021, the brand achieved rapid growth to become the fastest growing coffee brand in 2022. Our latest brand refresh marks the next chapter in the 93-year-old Japanese coffee brand’s evolution, as it turns the heat up on Illy, Lavazza and Starbucks.

The challenge

Ueshima’s success to date had been largely down to the packaging on the shelf – but most of their story wasn’t visible to UK consumers. If the brand was going to move to the next level, it needed to move beyond the overused origin story ‘Japan’s No.1 Coffee’ – it had to feed the curiosity of the consumer and express the ‘why’ behind Japanese coffee culture.

The solution

A new positioning – Japanese Coffee Mastery, is designed to connect with a coffee-curious audience – people with a desire to explore new flavours and approaches. The bold new look leans into Japan’s distinctive cultural intersection of meticulous craftsmanship and high-energy creativity.

The creative

Central to the refresh is a dual personality that reflects the unique spirit of Japan – a world where timeless tradition meets vibrant, disruptive innovation.
• Visual contrast: Traditional calligraphy by master artist Kashuū represents precision and heritage, while playful illustrations by Con McHugh capture modern, high-energy creativity.
• Colour palette: A refined base of neutral tones highlights the brand’s craft, punctuated by vibrant accents that reflects their restless, creative spirit.
• Verbal identity: We paired crafted and considered language with bold creativity that challenges established coffee category norms.