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Sharp’s Brewery

  • Brand Identity
  • Brand Strategy
  • Digital Design
  • Packaging
Brand evolutions can be a tricky business, especially when the brand you’re meant to be evolving is already doing very well for itself, thank you. How to move the whole forward while keeping most of the constituent parts the same?

In the case of the Sharp’s premium beer range, the existing brand identity was our own, with bottle labels based on the distinctive wave shape we’d created for the brewery’s logo. The look had served Sharp’s well. But, to build recognition nationally for the Cornish brewery, its beers needed to gain traction with the growing market of craft beer drinkers around the UK. The order was for a more contemporary look, with the personality of each sub-brand brought to the fore.

We obviously didn’t want to shake things up too much. With Sharp’s’ multi-award-winning amber ale, Doom Bar, as our model, we introduced a more contemporary typographic layout and a background illustration of an abstract seascape, different for each ale, to switch the visual emphasis from the brewery to its individual sub-brand.

As part of the review, we also carried out a dramatic rebranding of Sharp’s Cornish Pilsner, to pitch it against bigger, more exotic names such as Peroni and Estrella, and smaller, craft lager competitors. The new name – Offshore – brings it in line with the coastal theme of the core range, and with a background of sea spray excerpted from a painting by Cornish artist Neil Cannon, captures the pilsner’s crisp, cool refreshment.

Cheers!

Doom Bar is the UK’s biggest selling single bottled ale. Sharp’s Brewery’s flagship beer has been confirmed as #1 in terms of value sales in the ‘off-trade’, the industry term for supermarkets and retailers, with one bottle being sold every four seconds.
Business Cornwall
Buddy have excelled in developing the visual identity of our brand essence and in extending its value across our portfolio. They are a tight team, with extensive experience and an enjoyable collaborative process that continues to deliver outstanding results for our brands.
James Nicholls, Senior Brand Manager, Sharp’s Brewery
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