Brandworld // Naming // Brand ID // Packaging // Social Media // Shopper marketing // Website // Investor Deck

WHEN WE FIRST MET NAILAH ELLIS, she had just hung up the phone with Kevin Hart and needed to return a call to Target. For years, she separately pursued both with no luck. Now, Target — in the midst of 2020’s reckoning with Black-owned businesses — was ready to give her national distribution for Ellis Island Tea, her hibiscus tea based on a handed-down recipe. And, Kevin was ready to invest in a new recipe that met his better-for-you health criteria. The challenge? Neither the original or new recipes were ready for shelf. We had 100 days to build brand foundations and a physical manifestation (naming, identity, packaging and more) for each

Before she met us, Nailah’s laser-like focus was being a successful Black female entrepreneur. A decade earlier, she began bottling and peddling her great grandfather’s Jamaican hibiscus tea from the trunk of her car. Over time, she built a Detroit following and accumulated some investment and media interest. She was well known for her Detroit hustle. And, it’s from that instinct that she created the new recipe to respond to Kevin Hart’s admonition that her original recipe had too much sugar — a problem plaguing People of Color. Her instinct: lean even more into the recipe’s origins and sweeten the Jamaicans do with cold-pressed

Our 4Cs investigation pointed to a big opportunity in a glutted category for the new recipe. Better-for-you and flavor weren’t rep- resented in a single product. Through this process, we also unlocked purpose for the brand. “I’m trying to find my identity through this business,” Nailah declared. As a Black, female entrepreneur, she could do well by doing good with her new recipe. She could be- come a “Sugar Rebel” taking on the industry that has brought so much harm to her people.

BrandWorld

The BrandWorld strategic process pivoted the brand, focused Nailah on where she could create differentiation and set the stage for the new recipe. The BrandWorld came to life in three equally-important pillars intended to work in conjunction.

Even though there was brand equity in the original recipe, we knew we needed to create a second standalone brand that represented the BrandWorld.

First up, we decided to remedy the vexing nature of the original recipe’s name. Hart complained that Ellis Island Tea was a hard to say. He was right. But, we also had the issue of Ellis Island, the centuries-old port of immigration, wasn’t the passageway for Black Americans. We simply changed the name to Ellis Isle retaining the equity using Nailah’s last name.

Then, we began the process of naming the new recipe. The BrandWorld not only provided the creative basis for the naming process but also provided many of the stems from which names were generated. Ultimately, the brand’s Caribbean origins won out. Wet Shuga (note the onomatopoeia) is what Jamaicans call cane juice. The name emphasizes the product’s innovation with a tinge of naughtiness.

Given the constrained timeline, we collapsed identity and packaging development for both brands — Ellis Isle and Wet Shuga — into one process. The BrandWorld once again provided creative impetus for the packaging. Both brands needed to differentiate from the quasi-formal packaging in the category. Ellis Isle became the put-together older sister with her own verve. Its shield pierced with bright lime green typography and its ingredients bursting from behind. Wet Shuga appeared as the irreverent young- er sister intent on disruption. The logotype inspired by vintage reggae dancehall posters. Its hues and textures also derived from the tropics. And its typography with hand-labeled pressed juice.

The two brands debuted on schedule in Target coast to coast in April 2021. As the national chain honors its commitment to connect its disparate consumer base with Black-owned businesses, Ellis Isle features prominently.

It's that drip everyone wants a drop of.

Shout out to Photography William Richards and Stylist Kaysian (@flowerchild1999)

As head of design // Doner // Detroit // 2020-2021