StrangeLove were ready to take their dynamic, disruptive attitude into the soda space, driven by a desire to cut through the sugary sameness of fizzy drinks.  They saw an opportunity to forge the way for a new generation of “craft soda”, infused with a lighter, cleaner and more refreshing vibe.

Our exploration led us back to the origin of soda, with its roots as a small-batch brewed tonic made in apothecaries, an almost medicinal product.  We also embraced nostalgia cues from soda’s pop culture glory days of the 1960s, 70s and 80s.  For the design we devised an approach we named “premium abstraction”, featuring strong, modernist graphics stripped back to the bare essentials.

Colour played a key part in communicating the different flavours, using organic shapes to portray the varieties in a more subtle, abstract way.  We utilized modern, assertive photography to add confidence with a ‘shoot from the hip’ approach. Clean sans serif type was used to establish sophistication, with unexpected typesetting complementing StrangeLove’s trademark irreverent copy. A dot pattern also became a key brand asset, realised in communications as a playful interpretation of rising soda bubbles.

StrangeLove doubled in sales after the soda launch, testament to how an innovative product with an unexpected ethos can achieve great shelf appeal and connect deeply with a sophisticated target audience.