Swee Kombucha: Packaging

• Date added

7 March 2023

Swee is a kombucha brewery born in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, a city with a rich culinary and cultural heritage in its own right, deepened by a myriad of different influences over the centuries. Swee brews its probiotic ferments from a careful selection of local, all-natural ingredients to create a range of refreshing beverages that are delicious and good for the gut.

Stockholm-based design and branding studio Bedow worked on their identity design system and packaging design that would allow them to grow their range of products over time.

Client

Swee Kombucha

Year

2022

Bedow

Creative Director

Perniclas Bedow

Strategist

Anders Bollman

Motion Designer

Petter Dybvig

Typefaces in Use

Helvetica Neue
Swee Kombucha: Packaging
Information

During a meeting with Bedow, the founders of Swee proclaimed, "Kombucha should be brewed, not made." Georgia is well-known globally for its culinary sector, lauded for its utilisation of fresh, home-grown ingredients and its pioneering work in natural wines. However, the non-alcoholic beverage market in the region is not as well-established, and kombucha remains an unfamiliar beverage to many. As the only all-natural kombucha in Georgia, Swee wanted to own that position. The brand aims to attract the discerning drinkers of Georgia by offering a sophisticated flavour profile that differentiates it from its sugary competitors available on supermarket shelves.

Swee Kombucha: Packaging
Swee Kombucha: Packaging
Visual Identity

The identity design of Swee is centred around its ingredient list, transforming what is usually viewed as functional and mundane information into a visually engaging infographic system. This system is utilised in various mediums including packaging design, social media, and billboards. Swee's brand identity is built around the tagline "100% natural", emphasising the brand's commitment to using only all-natural ingredients. This message is conveyed visually through two different modular systems: one focusing on the drink's unique list of ingredients, and the other emphasising the symbiotic relationship between kombucha yeast and bacteria culture. The wordmark, created using hundreds of oscillating shapes reminiscent of kombucha yeast and bacteria, reinforces this idea.

Swee Kombucha: Infographic system
Swee Kombucha: Packaging
Swee Kombucha: Outdoor ads
Swee Kombucha: Outdoor ads
Swee Kombucha: Work-in-progress
Packaging

In keeping with its commitment to using all-natural ingredients, the company places a strong emphasis on sustainability. This is reflected in the choice of materials used for its packaging design, which are limited to recyclable materials such as glass, aluminium, and paper. The glass bottle design, featuring a straight silhouette and a short neck, has been optimised to avoid transportation of unnecessary space between the bottles.

Swee Kombucha: Infographic system

“One tough challenge within packaging design today is to be able to not only stand out on a store shelf, but also be simple enough to stand out in a digital context.”

Perniclas Bedow

Creative Director, Bedow

Swee Kombucha: Infographic system
Swee Kombucha: Still life photography
Swee Kombucha: Still life photography
Swee Kombucha: Packaging
Swee Kombucha: Packaging
Swee Kombucha: Logo
Swee Kombucha: Animated type

Bedow

Bedow is a design and branding studio based in Stockholm. For nearly two decades, it has earned a reputation for its progressive work and a roster of international clientele. Its work moves beyond the oft-lazily categorised "Scandinavian style," combining hand-drawn details, design craft, and artfulness to create simple, thoughtful, and practical designs that are easy to engage with and comfortable to have around.

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