The rebrand of Co-op’s own-brand alcohol range looks to align with its craft brand counterparts

Branding agency Robot Food has rebranded Co-op’s own-brand alcohol range, giving the packaging a unified identity that clearly draws inspiration from its craft brand counterparts. Whereas most own-label packaging is designed to fit into the traditional aesthetics of their individual product sectors, Co-op and Robot Food aimed to give the range a strong visual theme, using the store’s iconic blue with black and white across all labels, as well as the silver Co-op logo.

The individual designs step away from traditional alcohol packaging and demonstrate allusions to common tropes of contemporary brewery and distillery branding – from the sign-painted lettering of the beer and lager range to the flat graphics and sans serif typography of the spirits.

According to research carried out by the graphic design studio, shoppers are “savvier to own-brand alternatives, with innovation, quality and price major factors in the recent sway of consumers’ opinions,” it states. Retailers, however, were reluctant to break from the “apologetic” design approach which sees own-brand products blend into the crowded shelves.

This rebrand looks to use expressive type, impactful graphic treatments and an “ownable” look for each product, Robot Food says, “to not shy away from own-brand status”. It describes the outcome as “an eclectic but cohesive range that sits confidently alongside the leading brands”.