A Soft Drink Like No Other

Rai Bostock, the Global Marketing Manager for Lo Bros, revealed that the company was dedicated to using the best available packaging solutions that are simultaneously fit for purpose and are environmentally conscious.

Committed to using only glass or aluminium for its beverages, Lo Bros acknowledged that each material has benefits and drawbacks. However, Bostock shared that the choice to use glass and aluminium was centred around the materials being the most efficient to recycle, with the highest recovery rates.

"We know we are not perfect, and we do use some plastic where it is unavoidable. However, to reduce our impact, we partnered with Plastic Collective, who recently audited all plastic usage globally across the Lo Bros brand."

To further offset unavoidable plastic use Lo Bros also supports the Plastic Collective's recovery program, with these efforts making Lo Bros a Net Zero Plastic Accredited brand.

When creating product designs, Lo Bros outsources and has an internal graphic designer who works closely on all design execution. Bostock stated that Lo Bros often partners with design agencies regarding larger projects and new brand and product launches.

For Lo Bros' new product, Not Soda, the company partnered with Studio Ramp, a creative team based in Melbourne.

Bostock shared that over the last decade, product design has evolved into a mode of storytelling of brands, reflecting its values and ethos. The plan for the Lo Bros Not Soda was centred around creating something unique, with the underlying purpose of communicating a story through its visual identity and packaging.

"So, if this canned drink is Not Soda, what is it?"

The Global Marketing Manager stated that the challenge was to stop consumers and have them look at the Not Soda product. Naming the beverage Not Soda was a strategic choice, a polarising name that reflected that Lo Bros were not part of the soft drink industry problem while still being a sweet, natural, fizzy drink.

Not Soda was positioned as a drink that was 'Doin' Good' for both the consumer and the planet, removing the connotations between sugar and plastic waste through direct and clear copy and hierarchy.

With Lo Bros being a global company, Bostock stated that it needed to minimise its carbon footprint where possible. This has led to the brand deciding to produce locally in its three primary markets, New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Lo Bros can locally manufacture and procure ingredients to minimise its environmental impact by producing locally in these markets.

The Lo Bros Not Soda product also directly addresses the impacts of the soft drink industry through its partnership with Seven Clean Seas. With every can of Lo Bros Not Soda sold, the company funds the removal of the equivalent weight in plastic bottles from oceans and waterways.

Bostock described the partnership as one of which Lo Bros is very proud, having already removed the equivalent weight of over 500,000 plastic bottles in only six months from Not Soda sales in New Zealand alone.

When assessing colour brand development and design, Lo Bros believed that the company needed to be proactive about crucial issues in the soft drink industry for its Not Soda product. To do this, Lo Bros created its Not Soda range with brightness to highlight optimism and for the products to stand out on the shelf. The Not Soda range's block types and colour combinations are designed to be fun, accessible, and nostalgic for lovers of old-school soda.

"Not Soda letterforms jump out as a call to action, and a floating water line at the top of the can highlights the problem and empowering solution."

Bostock emphasised that the design was not created to be preachy or guilt-driven, only to reflect a humble little drink allowing consumers the choice to be healthier and help clean polluted waterways and oceans through every purchase.

Currently, Lo Bros are working on a plastic reduction initiative across its primary and secondary packaging, including innovating its kombucha labels on its glass bottles to a paper substrate, which removes a gram of plastic per label. n

SIAL

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