Robotic Meals has unleashed a brand new id for The Protein Ball Co., repositioning the model because the unapologetic challenger in a crowded and more and more performative protein snack market.
The rebrand – constructed across the intelligent concept “Ballsy by Nature” – ditches the model’s outdated, feel-good aesthetic in favour of one thing wilder, louder, and extra confident. It is a transfer that displays each a shift in shopper style and the model’s personal ambition to reclaim its place as class chief.
“After 11 years in enterprise, our model had misplaced its persona,” says Sam Williams, advertising director at The Protein Ball Co. “We would have liked an company that would problem us and channel our dedication and keenness into one thing that actually represented our model values and would propel us into our subsequent stage of progress.”
Robotic Meals’s problem was to reintroduce character into an area that had develop into visually homogeneous. “Immediately the hole between wellness and pleasure is closing,” says Chloe Stacey, artistic strategist at Robotic Meals. “Merchandise that provide a practical protein repair and nothing else simply aren’t sufficient anymore.
“It is serotonin-boosting snacks that serve operate, flavour and delight in each chunk that win a spot in customers’ hearts (and stomachs).”
Whereas many manufacturers within the class nonetheless lean on pastel palettes and polished well being cues, The Protein Ball Co. goes the opposite approach. “There’s an unwritten rule that ‘pure’ should imply ‘delicate’, however nature is not gentle in any respect. It is courageous. It is balls-to-the-wall. It is metallic,” says Martin Widdowfield, artistic director at Robotic Meals.
That philosophy formed all the pieces from tone of voice to typography. The brand new id combines a no-nonsense sans serif with expressive handwritten parts, all backed by a vibrant color palette that displays the model’s flavour-first method. The packaging additionally swaps its former “cute” minimalism for one thing rougher and extra tactile, utilizing close-up, textural pictures of the protein balls themselves to convey realness and vitality.
In line with Sam Jepson, designer at Robotic Meals, the aim was to offer the model confidence to personal its place available in the market. “The Protein Ball Co. has all the time been the OG within the class and a market chief – they simply wanted somewhat nudge to have the boldness to outwardly act prefer it.
“Bolstered by the model concept ‘Ballsy by Nature’, the brand new distinctive property have the flexibleness and impression to span throughout an ownable model world.”
The model’s new tone of voice takes that very same perspective into phrases. Developed by Robotic Meals’s copy workforce, it highlights the empty claims and corner-cutting frequent within the broader protein class, doing so with humour and confidence slightly than company warning.
“We needed The Protein Ball Co. to burst again onto the scene with an opinionated voice that may make customers query their snacking habits and embrace their ballsy facet,” says Lizzie de Jong, senior copywriter at Robotic Meals.
It is an method that is already paying off commercially. For the reason that rebrand, the corporate has landed main new listings with Caffè Nero and WHSmith, in addition to increasing throughout 10,000 new retail factors within the US.
“Our daring new look and unambiguously ballsy tone of voice haven’t solely solidified our huge concept however helped us safe formidable new listings,” says Matt Hunt, co-founder of The Protein Ball Co. “I could not be happier with the consequence.”
The brand new model world positions The Protein Ball Co. because the irreverent antidote to wellness fatigue, proving that clear elements and character can coexist. By heroing the “badass” facet of nature and holding the design uncooked, Robotic Meals has managed to carve a definite visible and verbal house in a sector that usually performs it secure.
“The Protein Ball Co. has by no means been about trend-chasing,” Martin provides. “They make clear, all-natural snacks with integrity, and now they have an id that reveals they imply it.”
