Brewhaha

Design: Denomination
Location: United Kingdom
Project Type: Produced
Client: Brewhaha
Product Launch Location: Global
Packaging Contents: Kombucha
Packaging Substrate / Materials: Glass

New hand-brewed alcoholic kombucha brand, Brewhaha, launches with category-defining brand and packaging identity by drinks design specialist Denomination.

Brewhaha has been created in response to a surge in consumer desire for interesting drinks with health-giving qualities – especially among the ‘smashed avocado’ generation. This trend for wellbeing is now crossing over into the alcohol sector, as more people seek out healthier brands for social occasions.

Alcoholic kombucha – the latest trend in the world of probiotic-rich fermented tea – is still a fairly new sector, especially outside the USA. Denomination’s striking work for Brewhaha shows how brand and packaging design can be used to define new drinks categories, while also creating a maverick, Instagram-worthy buzz.

Cross-category benefits
Emma Day, PR Manager, Brewhaha, says: “We wanted to create upheaval in the sector, disrupting, changing the game and shaking up the world of alcoholic drinks that are better for you. We approached Denomination because it has a track record of creating stand-out brands that smash category boundaries and make a strong impact.”

In response to the brief, Denomination has created a new sector language to ensure Brewhaha makes a big noise in a space that’s still in its relative infancy. The overall design and copywriting play up the ‘odd’ nature of kombucha, which is brewed with a live yeast culture known as ‘mother’.

Rowena Curlewis, CEO, Denomination, says: “Typically, kombucha focuses solely on the healthy and organic in terms of design cues, so we moved it into the craft beer space to signal its alcoholic content to consumers and set it apart from its softer sister.”

A brown beer bottle with a crown enclosure has been used, with labels that combine craft beer-inspired packaging and imagery with copy that speaks to the alcohol sector while celebrating the drink’s health benefits.

The Denomination team let their imaginations run riot, creating idiosyncratic personalities for each variant – Bearded Gymnast, Dear Leader and Mad Magician – that make a virtue of the distinctive nature of the brew. Colourways that reflect the ingredients create strong colour blocking, and inspire those social media-worthy moments so important to the target consumer group.

The perfect blend
Rowena Curlewis says: “As a drinks specialist, we have an innate understanding of design cues across beer, wine, cider and spirits and so have been able to apply this knowledge strategically and creatively. Bravery in design, variant naming and copywriting have also worked to create a category-defining brand.”

Emma Day says: “Denomination has cleverly leveraged the perceived benefits of kombucha while tailoring the product to compete with other refreshing alcoholic beverage choices. We wanted to come across as an adventurous new brand, and Denomination has more than delivered.”