Chris Harrelson

Zero sugar.Full soda energy.

THE ROLLOUT

A bigger stage.

All 110 SKUs launched together. An exclusive fruity variety pack followed, alongside nationwide distribution across more than 4,300 Walmart locations.

4,300+

Walmart locations nationwide

110

SKUs launched simultaneously

5

Product lines sharing one visual identity

1

Exclusive Walmart fruity variety pack

Source: Zevia internal launch records and Walmart distribution.

A woman smiling out of a blue car window, holding a Zevia can

Fifteen seconds of soda energy. Directed in house.

MY ROLE & COLLABORATORS

My part in the work.

As Creative Director, I shaped the strategic and creative direction with CEO Amy Taylor and CMO Stephanie Schonauer.

I led agency partners Turner Duckworth and BBDO Colenso and carried the work into packaging, photography, film, digital, and launch.

$1M

Agency and production budget owned

9 mo

Brand repositioning from strategy through launch

COMPANY

Zevia, PBC

AGENCY

Turner Duckworth · BBDO Colenso

YEAR

2023

ROLE

Creative Director

SERVICES

Brand strategy, creative direction, agency leadership, packaging, photography, film, digital, activation

THE CREATIVE OPPORTUNITY

Make people want what’s in the can.

Zevia had a clear product proposition. We wanted the pleasure of drinking it to be just as obvious.

The opportunity was to bring more appetite, color, and energy into the brand.

Keep the zero-sugar credibility. Give the personality more room.

A soda should look like something you’re excited to open.

BUILDING THE BRAND WORLD

A hand holding a Zevia Energy can against a bright sky and pink shapes
Zevia Tea cans arranged with fruit and botanicals against a blue and yellow backdrop
A Zevia Ginger Beer can beside a ribbed glass of ice on an amber surface

THE REPOSITIONING

A leaf had more to say.

The stevia leaf gave us a visual starting point.

Its scalloped edge became a fluid graphic language. Saturated color brought the energy. The system could move across Soda, Kids, Tea, Energy, and Mixers while giving each line its own expression.

One recognizable family. Nobody required to dress exactly alike.

Two hands clinking Zevia cans above a blue mirrored block
The Zevia booth at Expo West, with visitors walking past

PROCESS

Then came the other 109 SKUs.

A design system gets a proper workout when it has to live across 110 products.

Zevia leadership and Turner Duckworth shaped the strategy, logo, and design system together. I directed the in-house rollout across packaging, photography, CGI, film, and Expo West, and partnered with BBDO Colenso on “It’s all gooooood” and Zevia.com.

The job was to keep the idea recognizable through all of it.

You could spot it across the room.

Color, shape and appetite held the world together. Packaging, photography, CGI, film, digital and Expo West each gave the identity a different way to come to life.

  • Stacked Zevia soda cans in many flavours
    SODA

    The core range, in full color.

  • A row of Zevia Energy cans on pink columns
    ENERGY

    Bold color gives Energy its own place.

  • Zevia Tea cans arranged with fruit and botanicals
    TEA

    Fruit, botanicals and a fresh point of view.

  • A Zevia Ginger Beer can beside a ribbed glass of ice
    MIXERS

    A different mood. Still unmistakably Zevia.

  • The Zevia booth at Expo West with visitors walking past
    EXPERIENCE

    Turning the brand world into a place.

  • Two hands clinking Zevia cans against a blue sky
    PHOTOGRAPHY

    Appetite meets graphic impact.

01 / 06

THE REBRAND IN THE WORLD

110

SKUs launched simultaneously

5

Product lines, one connected visual system

4,300+

Walmart locations nationwide

1

Public launch at Expo West