Bristol craft brewery Butcombe has teamed up with local food and drink branding specialists The Collaborators to refresh the look of its bottled beer, lager and cider to appeal to younger drinkers.
The redesign means new branding for Butcombe’s Original, Gold, Rare Breed and Goram beers, its Bohemia and Underfall lagers and Ashton Press cider. 
As well as featuring on point-of-sale material it will also be showcased on a new website for Wrington-based Butcombe due to be launched soon.
The new look aims to appeal to a younger audience without alienating the drinks’ existing fans, according to Bruce Rowland, head of marketing at Liberation Group, Butcombe’s parent company.
He said the redesign also focussed more on the 42-year-old brewery’s heartland and leveraged its connection with Bristol.
“Each product in the portfolio has its own new distinct look and feel – from a simple and classic update for our customers’ favourite Original, to a bold new look for Gold and Rare Breed and a more urban, youthful rebrand for Bohemia. Every brew has an individual story to tell,” he said.
Wick-based The Collaborators took account of research showing the way consumers scan and navigate products on the shelf and at the bar has changed over the years for the redesign. 
Creative director Mary Lewis said: “The first job was to bring more meaning to the Butcombe Brewery identity. The city of Bristol has been central to the brand’s history and success since the very first brew was born and we wanted to bring some acknowledgement of that loyalty to the brand.
“Also, when looking into the history and the current set-up at the brewery it was very apparent that Butcombe were making craft beer way before craft was even a thing. But Butcombe just didn’t tell anyone about this.
“We have created a simple ‘lock-up branding device’ that includes a sense of the city, without being too overt or inward looking. Those that know the city will see the link, those that don’t may simply see it as a well-crafted mark of quality.
“A simple ‘Bristol Born’ tagline was added to the neck of the bottles to further the connection.”
As several of the beers are award winning, medals have been added to the design while even the barcode replicates a pint.
Butcombe was founded in 1978 by former managing director of Courage Western Simon Whitmore. At the time, few breweries were making what became known as ‘real ale’ and Butcombe built up a loyal following of beer lovers in the Bristol area.
The brewery was acquired by Channel Island-based beer, wine and pub group Liberation four years ago. It also owns 27 pubs around Bristol, Bath, Somerset and the Mendips, including The Bell in Stokes Croft, The Cottage Inn at Baltic Wharf, the Hatchett Inn on Frogmore Street and The Ostrich on Lower Guinea Street.
The Collaborators specialises is a branding, design and marketing agency specialising in food, drink & lifestyle brands. Its clients have included Nature Valley snack bars, Far Side coffee and Feel Good Drinks.
