B&B studio re-imagines Real alcohol free wine alternative

B&B studio has worked with The Real Co on a refresh of its brand identity and packaging design. The new design brings greater clarity and credibility across the range, combining a simplified system with meaningful messaging and a more considered design aesthetic.

With a product originally envisaged as a kombucha, and more recently marketed as a sparkling tea, Real was keen to transcend such limiting descriptors and establish its premium craft credentials in fermentation. In partnership with B&B, the brand sought to take advantage of the growing opportunity in premium alcohol free drinks as more and more consumers seek moderation without sacrificing quality experiences.

The refreshed design builds on the codes and conventions of the wine and champagne category, while maintaining the creativity and sense of the extraordinary that has always characterised the Real brand. While the existing design was led by abstract product names and a more anarchic creativity, the new system brings in wine inspired product descriptors and simplified colour coding that reflects the wine style that each liquid emulates. The brand name is strengthened and centralised for greater awareness, and recoloured from gold to glossy black for more impactful standout. Premium cues are re-established through a new brand icon foiled in gold – an artful combination of a monogrammed R and a gold star, imbued with a sense of forward motion – symbolising the brand's ethos of relentless refinement.

‘Our evolution of the Real label design has been sympathetic, yet really transformative,’ commented design director Jack Gibbons of B&B studio. ‘We all love the creative and unpredictable spirit that the brand embodies – it is the perfect metaphor for fermentation – but we needed to make the design easier for consumers to decode and navigate. The finished cans and labels still feel disruptive in the premium wine world, but they have a new freshness and clarity that invites consumers in and helps them better enjoy these fabulous products.’

The Real Co's founder David Begg said, ‘Fermented for extraordinary flavour and quality, our products don't conform to the norms of the category, so it is tremendously difficult to capture our essence in design. But B&B's skill in combining consumer friendly information with unparalleled craft and creativity has finally given our drinks the brand presence they deserve.’