JDORaw 2020 – Mash Made in Heaven
Diablo Black Pepper Bitters.
Cracked black pepper bitters from the fiery heart of Venezuela.
Originating in Venezuela, bitters are to be dashed into cocktails and other alcoholic drinks, to add another edge and another flavour profile. How do we keep it grounded in it's cultural and historical roots, whilst pushing bitters to a new target audience, keeping it fresh, approachable and exciting?
The Approach
The Dancing devils of Corpus Christi are a series of religious festivals held in Venezuela to celebrate the presence of Christ in the Sacrament. The religious symbolism of Devils paying penance and kneeling in front of the Eucharist is to show submission and are used to show the triumph of good over evil.
As such, the visuals of the Dancing Devils can be used to brand and package these bitters, drawing comparisons to the flavour profile of black pepper with that of fiery demons and devils – that of a strong earthy flavour, which can add a kick of heat and bite to anything its added to.
The Problem
At the current time, Bitters are aimed at bartenders, industry professionals and cocktail connoisseurs, not the general market / public.
There has been an increase of cocktail drinkers since 2016 of 10%, with '40% of those aged between 18-24 said their favourite drink was spirit based.'
Therefore, how can we push new bitters to an untapped audience of Millennials and 'Gen Zs' who want to try something new?
Our name and logo
Diablo ['djaβlo] is a Spanish word meaning "Devil".
Diablo Bitters' target audience is that of younger Millennials and Gen Z's, and as such, the naming of the range of bitters reflects this.
The main type used throughout the brand shows the chaotic and playful nature of devils and demons, whilst not leaning too heavily into the religious aspects – It's a light hearted look at the tradition of the festival of Corpus Christi which keeps to the carnival aesthetic as to not alienate non-religious audiences.
The colours and iconography of Diablo Bitters again links back to the playful nature of both the festival and the target demographic. As such, lively characters have been chosen to represent the brand in and amongst the illustrations.
(Yes they have names; Bones, Pablo and Nick respectively.)
Colour for the brand has been chosen based off the flavours of the three bitters; Orange for cracked black pepper, mustard for ginger and crimson for chilli.
The bottles
The illustrations underneath the main label show the plants from which the flavour comes from, for example, the label on the ginger bottle with a ginger plant illustration.
The labels of the bottles draw parallels to the festival and carnival atmosphere. During the day, all seems quiet and the illustrations fade into the background, however as the night draws in the label comes alive with UV / glow in the dark ink illuminating the bottle from the inside.
Cracked black pepper
Spicy chilli pepper
Fiery ginger
Posters
Similarly to the bottles, the posters have multiple versions – during the day, they are bright and punchy, with the background illustrations acting as spot gloss, always there but only visible from certain angles.
However, as night draws in and as the devils and demons start to awake, so do the posters – transforming into a whole different beast.
(some creative licence has been used)
Bar sign:
When partnering up with select bars and cocktail lounges, the neon sign can be displayed above select areas.
T H A N K Y O U
