Every brand is different, and the people behind every brand are different. Conveying a personality and tone of voice which reflects that is key. The team behind Cariad are a fun bunch and they really know their beans. They're passionate about creating products that people love which guided them to the name Cariad—the Welsh word for love.
We needed to create a brand that would strike the right balance between reflecting the company's Welsh heritage and appealing to a wider audience.
As part of our research we looked at what other coffee brands were doing and how we could make Cariad stand out from the crowd. There’s been a huge rise in artisan coffee and the packaging is often serious, dark and heavy—we wanted to step away from this and create a bright, energetic brand. We proposed that a brand with personality would be a refreshing change in a crowded market.
To help communicate the personality of the brand we developed a hand rendered logo—purposely misaligned and rough around the edges. A subtle heart for the tittle of the 'i' offers a nod to the name without being obvious.
We felt that a product with a recognisable Welsh name didn't need other clichés or gimmicks. We used colour to reinforce the link—a rich, vibrant red, paired with the dark Prince's Gate blue offered a link to the parent company.
Wales isn't known for its coffee, we don't exactly get the weather for it! However Prince's Gate wanted a link to their hometown and a way to create a bit of intrigue about the product. We solved this by coming up with a brand statement 'With love from Pembrokeshire'—a play on the name and a way of reinforcing the care put into the product.
In addition to the brand statement we wrote playful messaging and copy to help bring Cariad to life.
We felt that the hand rendered logo worked so well, we developed an entire custom typeface in two weights. Read more about how we did it.
With the identity, messaging and typeface finalised we developed a range of packaging and applications. Additional colours were introduced to help differentiate between blends and to create on-shelf impact.
Even though Cariad needed its own distinctive character part of the brief was to make sure the brand worked in harmony with Prince's Gate as the two will be marketed together.
Cariad is currently being distributed locally, but expect to see it in supermarkets and coffee shops near you soon! If you want help building your brand and want to be the next big thing in food and drink, get in touch.
