The Cocktail Factory, Olssøn Barbieri

The Cocktail Factory

The Cocktail Factory is a line-extension of the brand platform that we developed for Shake-it Cordial Mixers. After the commercial success of the mother brand, recognised for their complex and natural flavours and for restoring pride to the cordial category, we were asked to develop a strategy and brand architecture for a range of RTD´s that would allow for both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks within the same system.

Year

2022

Deliverables

Art Direction, Packaging, Branding, Design strategy, Custom bottle, Illustration

Industries

Beverage

Materials

Glass, Uncoated paper, Aluminium

Techniques

Glass casting, Offset printing, Blind embossing

Client

Hans Just Group (Denmark)

Collaborators

Irene Laschi, Illustration

Tomas Lindell, Illustration

Officina Poligonale, CGI Visualisation

The Story Laboratory Agency, Photography

Awards

2023, ADC Shortlisted

2023, Pentawards Bronze

2023, Visuelt Diploma

The range launched with four classic cocktails and two mocktail recipes, all crafted in Copenhagen.
The custom designed bottle is a 200ml miniature version of the original Shake-it bottle, retaining a balance between premium cues and accessibility. The bottle offers a nice drinking experience when enjoyed directly from the bottle, with a feel akin to holding a cocktail glass.
The original brand mark of Shake-It Cordial Mixer was also reviewed by introducing the iconic bottle instead of the strainer.

Custom bottle design

The 50cl and 20cl bottles are inspired by vintage carafes and classic glass juicers — the first associated with hosting and special occasions, the latter for everyday use. The 12 grooves at the bottom of the bottle offer a distinguished and premium look.
The grooves are meeting at the bottom mimicking the shape of a juicer. The cork has a utilitarian quality, balancing premium cue with accessibility.

1. Technical drawing of the 20cl bottle

To underscore the quality of each recipe, the labels are embellished with embossed elements and a debossed pattern and each cocktail is illustrated positioning The Cocktail Factory as a premium retail brand. The small single format label, optimising the production and economy, also needed to differentiate between sparkling and still, provided by a small box on the front, in combination with an overview on the sides, where essential product information are presented in check-boxes for clarity.

Cocktail culture has a nostalgia problem

Despite fresh approaches to cocktail aesthetics — the science-lab precision of “molecular mixology”, the craft dive, the revamped ’70s rec room bar, the tiki revival — the bar world has a fixation on the so-called “Golden Age of Cocktails”, those precious few decades from the mid-1800s until Prohibition.
The actual mixing of drinks was then a mystery best left to the guild of bartenders.
It wasn’t until after World War II that premixed drinks made their appearance.
Pre-made drinks remained popular also thanks to “Home entertaining”
coming back in vogue in the 1960s and 70s. Hosting the perfect cocktail party became a must in “socializing” among middle-class adults in the ‘70s. 1. Entertaining at home
2. The Heublein party guide, 1968
3. Party time AD, 1972

The departure from the original mixer brand architecture is clear, distinguished by a hierarchy prioritising the drink names, while also retaining strong affiliation. A color block is introduced to clarify the ingredients and create a color coding matching the cloudy liquid colors. An oblique colored stripe reinforces the alcohol free message and helps differentiate from the alcoholic range.
The outer case, containing 24 bottles, is an elegant and affordable system, functioning for all SKU´s, providing a timeless expression and a proud means of transportation.