Go-to-market strategy · Fully filmed commercial · Product graphic design
Venn Beverages
A functional non-alcoholic drink brand taken from research to screen: a go-to-market strategy, the graphic design of four cans and a fully filmed commercial. One principle throughout: proof over promises.
- Type
- University team project
- Team
- With Andresson, Arruda and Barboza
- Research
- 5 European cities
- Made
- Filmed commercial, product graphic design
The gap
Non-alcoholic drinks have exploded, but most brands compete on aesthetics or vague wellness claims. Soft drinks have high sugar and no function. Energy drinks feel anxious and aggressive. Premium wellness brands are expensive and pseudo-scientific. Nobody credibly owned the middle: accessible, targeted at specific moods and backed by research.
The wellness aisle is full of promises. Venn is built on proof.
The research
We studied purchase behaviour, category perception and willingness to pay among 16 to 31 year olds. A PESTEL analysis surfaced what could help or hurt the brand, including the sober-curious movement going mainstream and EU interest in health claims. That regulation is a burden, and also a moat against brands that can't back their claims.
Six segments that matter
Performance-conscious student, 16–24
Focus and Sleep. Exams and late-night study.
Sober-curious social drinker, 22–31
Social. Replaces alcohol at events and keeps the ritual.
Gym-aware health optimiser, 20–30
Focus and Calm. Protein shakes are normal, and this is the next step.
Anxious urban professional, 26–31
Calm. High stress, and open to clinical framing.
Wellness early adopter, 20–28
All products. Already buys functional drinks and wants better evidence.
Night-shift worker, 22–35
Sleep. An acute need with no credible product today.
Four products, four states of mind
Each product has a defined claim, named active ingredients and a clear occasion. Specificity builds trust, and vague benefits erode it.
Venn Social
GABA, L-theanine and passionflower, for occasions that used to call for alcohol.
Venn Calm
Ashwagandha, magnesium and lemon balm, for stress response rather than sedation.
Venn Focus
Lion's mane, bacopa and citicoline, for clarity without the crash.
Venn Sleep
Low-dose melatonin, magnesium and reishi, for wind-down rather than knockout.
The cans and the commercial
The project goes past the strategy deck. I worked on the graphic design of the four cans, where each one reads the same way: the Venn name, then "you want to" and the state of mind, whether focus, calm, social or sleep. The range was then shot in a fully filmed commercial, in a 30-second cut and a full version.
Where it sells
A product built on credibility has to be sold in credible places. A supermarket launch would have undermined the positioning.
Premium cafés
Where health-conscious young professionals already spend.
Boutique gyms
An existing belief in functional supplements.
University pilots
Direct access to students, high trial and word of mouth.
Subscription, phase 2
Bundles, recurring revenue and better customer data.
What I took from it
It is easy to run a survey that confirms what you already believe, and much harder to design one that doesn't. I also learned that positioning is a constraint. "Proof over promises" rules out certain ingredients, claims and partnerships. Good positioning costs you something, and that is how you know it is real.