Tavern‘s RTD beverage Hyper Blast, is built to disrupt and to solve the category’s most pressing challenge: how to stand out. For a category defined by acceleration, Tavern’s Chief Creative Officer Mike Perry argues that banal white cans and safe innovation products still dominate. Differentiation, he says, has become less about invention, and more about creating meaning.
Hyper Blast is a 16oz, naturally-caffeinated with yerba mate, vodka-based, 12% ABV alcoholic energy drink available in four “flame-kissed” flavors: Charred Mango, Blackened Razz, Grilled Pineapple, and Torched Lime. It enters the market with a design-led proposition and a fully realized brand world. Rather than relying on generic familiar tropes or chasing novelty for novelty’s sake, Tavern has taken a different route to many of today’s new-to-world brands: applying its modern heritage approach to create what it calls “disruptive familiarity.” The idea is simple, but difficult to execute: build something that feels instantly recognizable, while still delivering something relevant to contemporary culture.
“Most brands today either lean entirely on heritage or try to invent something completely new,” says Perry. “We wanted to sit in the tension between the two, creating a brand that feels like it’s always been there, but couldn’t have existed until now.”
Drawing from 80s and 90s jet ski culture, skate catalogs and analog magazine layouts, the design system seeks to embrace clutter, contrast and controlled chaos. The visual identity is composed more like editorial spreads than traditional CPG and alcoholic brands. Layered typography, badges, and motion cues integrated across vast brand elements working together to invite consumers into a deeply vivid, visual universe.
At the core is a world building approach, where identity extends far beyond logo and package design into a dense ecosystem of assets, artifacts and sub-brands. On shelf, the brand’s maximalist design and layered storytelling are intended to stand in stark contrast to often simplified category norms, creating immediate visual disruption while hinting at a deeper world beyond the pack. Beyond the physical can, the brand extends into a suite of assets including a constellation of sub-brands, racing team identities, and editorial-style campaign layouts. Together these elements invite the consumer towards a more fun and immersive role as a participant surrounded by sponsors, gear and culture.
The team developed the liquid in collaboration with liquid development partner JAI Development, refining its technical credentials and carefully calibrating the nuances of its flavor profile. From there, Tavern delivered a comprehensive, end-to-end brand, defining the strategy, name, identity system, and packaging architecture from inception, ensuring that every element worked as a cohesive system rather than a collection of parts. In addition to brand creation, Tavern led the work required to bring Hyper Blast to market. This included engaging distributors and partners, refining positioning for retail, and managing the operational complexities associated with launching a new-to-market product.
Says Perry: “People don’t want to be sold to, they want to be part of something bigger. The best brands create an aspirational universe that people genuinely want to enter, and a feeling and experience that keeps them coming back for more.” Hyper Blast will launch in retail mid-summer.
