Uphill Coffee

In December 2020 Annelies & Matthias, a seasoned couple of entrepreneurs from Ghent, contacted DesignRepublic to create a name, a branding & packaging for their new project: a canned, cold brewed and nitro enriched coffee sold out of the refrigerator….cold coffee in a can? what is cold brewed? and nitro enriched is that some kind of strange substance ;-)?

Meeting Annelies & Matthias in person quickly made us clear that canned coffee out of a fridge is already a big hit in Germany and the States, that cold brewed means ‘made without heat’, which creates lower acidity for a smoother, naturally sweet taste, and that the drink is infused with a touch of nitrogen for a creamy mouthfeel. A recipe for success, we’d say. Now just a name, a positioning and a packaging design.

DesignRepublic steamed up its engines and the whole project, from first contact to production and ready for sale, took us barely three months to finalize.

Photography by Lucid (Katleen Willaert / Jochen Verghote – photo 1, 6) & Jan Opdekamp (photo 2-5)

The briefing stated that the new brand needed to be young, natural, easy, energetic, fresh and outdoors. The brand name ‘Uphill’ reflects all these elements and works perfectly in combination with the baseline ‘natural energy from natural caffeine’.

For the logo itself, we used an elegant, slightly retro-looking font, at a gentle upward angle, against a stylized hill with a hint of an upward hiking trail. All this to emphasize the uplifting nature of this energy drink perfect for outdoor adventures or just to sip at your favourite local coffee bar.

This design features on 2 of the most influential packaging design sites: ‘World Brand Design’ and ‘Packaging of the World’.