🧠What's going down at Obvi HQ?

Hey

Welcome back to the 12th edition of Brandish

Your guide to crafting an iconic brand

Before we jump into today’s newsletter, I just want to start off by sending my prayers to all the dead, wounded, and hurt by the war in Israel. I hope you all stay safe!

Now,

In this week's newsletter, I won't be talking about anything specific.

Instead - I'll take you for a trip down the "What's going on at Obvi HQ" aisle, where we'll explore what the team and I are currently working on - and most importantly:

What you can learn from it…

I know you’re busy, and so am I - so let’s dive straight into it!

Kick up your feet, grab your Brez, and let’s go

Coffee Over Cardio - Rebranding and relaunching

Not too long ago, we acquired a company called Coffee Over Cardio.

It's a brand that has already done +$10 million in sales and is already profitable, but… the founders didn't want to operate it any longer.

So,

We bought it.

And ever since the day we bought it, I've been working tirelessly on rebranding it to look more modern and less "childish."

Not because the old packaging wasn't good enough

But more because the old packaging wasn't good enough for what we're trying to achieve with the brand.

Let me explain;

It goes without saying that we're super bullish on retail these days. We just launched in 4200 Walmart stores for Obvi - which has opened our eyes to the opportunities that retail provides for CPG brands.

So, the goal of this brand is also to get it into retail as fast as humanly possible.

And that means: the packaging has to be re-designed…

In retail, your packaging is your bread and butter - and if it's not spot on, you're gone.

So

Here are a few of the things I've done to make this packaging design better;

• Hierarchy: Used visual hierarchy to guide the viewer's eyes. Make the product name and key benefits more prominent.

• Simplicity and Clarity: Keep the design easy to understand. Avoid clutter.

• Typography: Choose typefaces that match the brand's style guide and are easily legible.

• Colour Psychology: Choose colours that appeal to the target audience.

Below, you can see the new packaging design that I've created.

What do you think? Is it a hit or a miss?

Building brands through personal brands

Over the last few months, the power of personal branding in "business building" has become more and more evident to me.

This week, I had the privilege of sitting down with Maxx Chewning for 2 hours to record an episode of Chew On This.

… and one of the things we talked about was how Maxx has used his personal brand to grow his "actual" brands/businesses

In case you don't know Maxx - he's a YouTuber with 385,000 subscribers on Youtube…

AND

All whilst growing his YouTube channel - he has also started.

An apparel brand called Ever Forward

A candy brand called Sour Strips

… and started working with the well-known supplement brand Ghost Nutrition

But what's more interesting than the fact that he did all of these things simultaneously is that his YouTube audience helped fuel the growth of the entire ecosystem.

But Maxx Chewning is just one example of many, right.

Celebrities like The Rock, Connor McGregor, and Kylie Jenner are all building businesses to serve their audiences.… and a lot of the initial traction of their businesses is driven by their organic presence.

The lesson to learn from this is that building a personal brand may seem like a sunk cost in the initial phases, but it's actually one of the biggest opportunities everybody has in the digital era.

We’re launching in RiteAid

Another exciting thing we're currently working on is that we're launching in +1700 RiteAid stores in January.

… and this is both a blessing and a curse at the same time.

Why?

Because we're already in Walmart, and have given them our lowest price point for their ELP (Everyday Low Price)

And now, that gives us a problem with other retailers because they won't be able to compete with Walmart on pricing.

Buuuuut…

There's always a way.

For us, that way is to create two new SKUs with entirely new flavours that will only launch in RiteAid.

This way - we can keep our Everyday Low Pricing at Walmart and, at the same time, add value to other retailers who don't have to compete with Walmart.

The two flavors we're launching are Orange Mango and unflavored Collagen.

Unflavored Collagen?

Aren't you a "flavored collagen brand"

We were…

Because that was the only way we could stand out when initially starting out.

But now, since our formula is superior to any other collagen brand - we can start to compete with the big boys (read: Vital Proteins) on the unflavored collagen.

Two lessons to take away from this section:

A) You can always evolve and adapt your brand

B) Always look for alternative solutions. What else can you do to add value if you can't offer the lowest price?

Thanks for reading along

Hey,

Thanks for reading along.

I appreciate you and look forward to serving you again next week.