There’s one thing deliciously ballsy a couple of inventive company launching its personal FMCG model. Whereas most are content material to spec-pitch their method into oblivion or politely therapeutic massage consumer briefs into one thing vaguely attention-grabbing, London model company Greatergood determined to do what many people secretly dream of: turn into their very own consumer.
The result’s Reformed Characters, an alcohol-free drinks model that appears nothing just like the rivals cluttering up the Low & No class. And it is all an intriguing case examine in what occurs when companies must dwell with the results of their inventive choices.
The perception that launched a thousand cans
The issue with most alcohol-free manufacturers is that they style of compromise. Not actually (although generally actually), however conceptually. They’re the designated driver of the drinks world: wise, earnest, and about as thrilling as a Tuesday night Groups name.
Greatergood’s analysis revealed what most pub goers already know: that the folks selecting to take a break from booze are often those you’d need at your social gathering. They don’t seem to be teetotal by nature; they’re “wholesome hedonists” having a tactical timeout. The self-directed transient, then, was to create one thing that did not really feel like punishment.
Enter the “Reformed Character”; a double-edged identify that performs into cult tradition, meme vernacular and that significantly British self-awareness about our ingesting habits. It is cheeky with out being cringe, self-aware with out being preachy. And the accompanying tagline “Unapologetically Alcohol Free” does comparable heavy lifting, positioning abstinence as a alternative fairly than a compromise.
Design that takes dangers
This is the place it will get attention-grabbing for visible creatives. Whereas the alcohol-free class has largely settled into a well-recognized design language (muted colors, botanical illustrations, craft beer-adjacent typography, numerous white area signifying “purity”), Reformed Characters went full throttle in the wrong way.
These cans function daring, full-spread metallic patterns in inexperienced, pink and gold. They’re loud, assured and inconceivable to disregard. Every variant—The Herbaceous Character, The Darkish & Decadent Character, The Bittersweet Character—has its personal distinct persona, however by means of sample fairly than illustration.
The supporting model world consists of illustrations that slyly reference hangovers, blackouts and “Sunday scaries”; the precise causes folks reform their ingesting habits, fairly than the wellness-washed narratives most manufacturers peddle. It is refreshingly sincere work that trusts its viewers to get the joke.
The tote bag proven within the imagery continues this pattern-forward method, whereas transit promoting and packaging preserve a constant visible language that is extra artwork gallery than well being meals aisle.
The complete-service gamble
What makes this undertaking significantly noteworthy is its scope. Greatergood did not simply create a model identification and hand it off. They developed the precise drink formulations, constructed the Shopify retailer, created retail pitch decks, secured producer runs and launched your entire direct-to-consumer operation.
That is company work taken to its logical excessive, or maybe to its most genuine conclusion. In spite of everything, there is not any consumer guilty if the positioning would not land, no procurement staff to water down the inventive, no inside stakeholders demanding their daughter’s opinion is mirrored within the ultimate design.
The end result? Conferences with Selfridges, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, and worldwide curiosity from the USA, Canada and Europe. Not dangerous for a self-initiated undertaking that would have simply disappeared into the rising pile of “company aspect hustles that went nowhere.”
What creatives can be taught
The Reformed Characters case examine demonstrates one thing necessary: class conventions exist to be challenged, however provided that you are prepared to do the arduous work of understanding why they exist within the first place. Greatergood studied the Low & No market, recognized a niche between shopper perception and model expression, then dared to fill it with one thing genuinely completely different.
It additionally highlights how nice branding requires greater than a pleasant emblem and a few intelligent copy. The product has to ship, the distribution technique has to work, and your entire model ecosystem wants to hold collectively. If you’re spending your personal cash, that self-discipline comes naturally.
Whether or not Reformed Characters turns into the subsequent large factor in alcohol-free drinks stays to be seen. However as a inventive assertion about what’s attainable when companies belief their very own instincts and spend money on their very own concepts, I would say it is already succeeded.
Typically being your personal consumer is not simply good enterprise; it is the one option to do the work you really need to see on the planet. One can of herbaceous botanical spritz at a time.
