• The Brief

  Work with our client ‘Mix’ to brand a beautiful, unique supermarket range of Rosehip skincare products. Create cut-through for a locally manufactured product, in a saturated category of mass-produced global brands.

  We worked with Mix through the initial stages of consumer research (to discover purchasing drivers) right through brand positioning to naming, story development and packaging design.

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• Naming

  Essano is a blend of words; Essence and Sano. The former harks to the essence of nature. Sano is latin for ‘health’.

  Using the word Rosehip was key. As this range was an ‘unknown’ in a mature category – leveraging a well understood, all-natural ingredient gave us a ‘leg-up’ in consumer’s minds (as initial research confirmed Rosehip held positive associations and was synonymous with ‘goodness on the skin’).

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• Positioning

  Loved by Skin. Naturally.

  LOVE was a major brand cue. Earlier in the strategy process, research had indicated (loud and clear) that women wanted natural, effective skincare that they LOVED the feel of on their skin. Love was central to the DNA of this brand and informed design.

Story

The brand personality is light hearted, aspirational and pays tribute to the modern woman – applauding her laughter lines and encouraging her to be: ‘her own kind of beautiful’.

• Design

  The design is honest, authentic, feminine and beautiful. The signature dusky pink has great on-shelf cut-through and is loved by a loyal brand following almost as much as the products themselves.

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• Results

  • Finalist, 2015 Best Design Awards, ‘Best Effect’ (a category acknowledging the business results of branding)
  • Essano launched exclusively into Countdown supermarkets in October 2013. It is now the 5th largest brand by value (outperforming multinational brands such as Garnier, Simple, Aveeno) with significantly less sku’s in range
  • Grown from grocery channel only, to grocery and pharmacies both in New Zealand and Australia)
  • Sold in over 3000 distribution points across Australasia
  • Grown from 6 to 18 sku’s

• Creative Team

  Diana Parry – Strategist/Storyteller
  Jen Cheyne – Creative Director/Packaging Designer