A brewery or distillery brand has to work on a tap handle, a can, a shelf talker, a hoodie, and a sign across a dark room. The money goes into making one system that does all of that.
What does brewery or distillery branding cost?
- Logo tune-up, $1,200. Clean up the mark you already have so it holds up small, in one color, and on a can.
- Brand identity, from $2,500. The mark, type, color, and the rules for using them.
- Naming and full brand, from $6,000. A name check, the identity, a label system, taproom signage direction, and the voice.
Anything over $3,000 can be paid by the month across the months it takes, no interest. See brand and web for the details.
What does the money buy?
- A name check. Before you print anything, the name gets searched against other breweries, distilleries, and drinks brands. Your attorney should run the trademark search before you commit.
- The identity. A mark, a type family, and a palette that read from across a bar and at the size of a bottle cap.
- A label system. The template every future release drops into.
- Taproom signage. The menu board, the tap list, the wayfinding to the restrooms and the patio, and the merch wall.
- Voice. How you write a release note, a can description, and an Instagram caption, so it sounds like the same people every time.
Why does a label system matter more than one great label?
Because you will release a lot of beers or bottlings, and each one should look like yours without a designer starting over. A label system sets what stays fixed (the mark, the grid, where the required text goes) and what changes per release (the color, the illustration, the name). Your team or a freelancer can then produce the next seasonal in an afternoon, and the shelf still reads as one brand.
Do we need a new brand or a refresh?
Most taprooms that have been open a few years need a refresh: keep the name and what people already recognize, and fix how it holds up across cans, signs, and the website. Start over when the name is causing real trouble, a conflict or a story you have outgrown. The brand refresh cost page goes through the difference.
What should we have ready before we start?
Bring the things that already exist and the things you know are coming.
- Every label, can, and sign you have printed so far, good and bad.
- The release calendar for the next year, even if it is rough.
- The required text your compliance person says goes on every label.
- The name of your printer or can supplier, so the system fits their specs.
- Two or three brands on the shelf you would hate to be confused with.
Have you worked on food and drink brands before?
Yes. At Olson I worked on the Phillips UV vodka site, a One Show Interactive Merit in 2002 (the case). I did Grain Belt Premium work that got SIGGRAPH recognition, and worked on Schell's and Old Dutch at Olson.
Answered by Jared Lukes, Minneapolis. Twenty-five years in brand, UX, and technology, currently holding fractional AI and technology seats at three companies. About Jared.