Pioneering a new product
In late 2017, LIMITLESS would pursue a new category in its lineup of cold coffee, brewed teas, and wholesale coffee bean distribution with the advent of our lightly caffeinated sparkling waters, which had its main source of caffeine derived from the coffee beans themselves. This shift into the emerging sparkling water base was seen as the natural progression of our brand narrative and was welcomed by our loyal customer base.
The groundwork was laid with the previous line of products, and the overarching company values of clean coffee, sustainability, and ethical sourcing would continue in this new line of beverages. Strategizing was quickly underway to develop a visual language for these flavors in the hopes that they would prove to have the same market disruption as our line of cold coffees had done so previously.
Below are some mockups and concept art for the initial rounds of design exploration; note that the inspiration of the overall color story shifts as the design becomes more solidified and as the overall story of the product’s conception is refined.
From the drawing board to the shelf
The transformation from early concepts to finished products can be seen here: what started as a playful spin on the very crowded and oftentimes overworked designs of our competitors laid the groundwork for truly refined and distilled visual language.
Some areas of interest include, most notably:
In our journey to craft a cohesive color story that spanned the full suite of flavor options, the original concepts were too muted and not energetic enough, which didn’t play with the narrative of being a caffeinated beverage.
The decision to keep the design language surrounding the carbonated logo, we felt, was indicative of the product at its core and helped to hammer home the mission of a refreshing beverage in terms of flavor composition and also innovation.
The choice to remove superfluous illustrations of the fruits and ingredients that were comprised of the beverage itself, instead choosing a flatter and more straightforward approach. This was aided by the usage of key market indicators such as nutritional information, the lack of artificial ingredients, and its zero sugar content.
Wholesale activation
After establishing the larger visual identity of these products, we went to work marketing them as alternatives to popular soda drinks and advocating for them as safer options as they pertain to energy drinks. This resonated with many retailers in the higher-end healthy foods space, and we began to partner with our first grocers, most notably Target, Fresh Thyme, and Whole Foods Market.
This enabled us to develop targeted ad campaigns that were quick to highlight the raw power of the beverage itself and all of its health-associated benefits; this allowed us to become invested in valuable areas of interest that put our brands on the same shelves as major competitors and collaborators alike.
Below are some examples of these out-of-home marketing concepts and how they would be displayed in the submarkets of choice where we had distribution agreements for our products.
