For the past two decades, researchers have been extensively studying resveratrol, a naturally occurring compound commonly found in the skin of red wine grapes that is said to have anti-aging, cardiovascular and anti-cancer benefits. Looking to hone in on those benefits, Jonathan Straub, a sales executive, put together a team of experts to help him launch a functional beverage that contained the powerful antioxidant.

The challenge: First introduced in 2008 as Préventiv Water, the company originally focused its branding strategy around wine, from the name of its varieties, such as Berry Bordeaux, to the packaging’s graphic elements and taglines, “Health Benefits of Red Wine.” But, despite being a healthy, functional beverage, Préventiv’s association with alcohol resulted in negative connotations for the brand.

“This is not a grape juice and it’s not a wine extract. It’s just this very unique ingredient. The [concept] was very confusing,” says Marcus Hewitt, chief creative officer of Dragon Rouge, the agency behind the redesign. “They just wanted to create a brand that had more of its own identity.”

Although it had just launched a few years ago, Préventiv Water knew it needed to rebrand.

The solution: Without any strong brand equity or loyalty, Dragon Rouge was able to entirely recreate the product, beginning with the name.

Préventiv is not a problem-solution beverage, so Dragon Rouge steered away from preventative health-like name concepts, and instead, looked to reference the main ingredient, resveratrol. After testing a variety of options, they pulled letters found in the antioxidant’s name and chose EVR (pronounced ever), which conjures positive associations of living forever.

They also shifted Préventiv’s positioning around the idea of fueling a healthy lifestyle — targeting young individuals that are proactive about their health.

“Brands like Pom have a badge value, so that’s what we were aiming for — a short, catchy, [memorable] name,” Hewitt says.

The concept lent itself to a bold logo treatment and inspired simple yet impactful packaging, where the focus is on the brand name and flavor. The black logo balances the “e” and capital “R” over the “V”, which directs the eye to a heart icon that conveys the nutritional benefits. Translucent fruit on the neck of the bottle gives the feeling of an X-ray and stands out against the white label. The fruits (wild berry, pomegranate and grape) were reproduced as duotones rather than the traditional full-color graphics to increase impact and taste appeal.

To create a more streamlined look, most of the copy points were moved to the back of the label, where a chart distills the nutrition facts and calls out the major health benefits of the drink. By doing so, the team created a package where the brand itself becomes the “hero.” BI