NewGround produce coffee with a social conscience. Not only do they roast, brew, and serve ethically sourced, high-grade coffee from carefully selected small-scale farms around the world, but they also create work and training opportunities for ex-offenders across the UK—giving some of the most overlooked people in society a fresh start in life.

However, after winning a coveted pop-up space in Selfridges’ London flagship store and being exposed to a new and bigger audience, it was clear the brand needed to present itself as a more contemporary, relevant and premium coffee brand.

It was clear from our research that, as compelling and differentiating the social story was, that alone was not enough to drive sales or raise their profile. To do that we needed to be more customer/client focussed and appeal to two key audiences with distinct needs:

The Elitists.
These are the high-end coffee shop owners/wholesale buyers who know their coffee and care about the quality of the product and expertise behind it.

The Hipster Sipsters.
These guys appreciate good coffee but generally can’t separate the bean from the chaff. To them coffee is more of a lifestyle and they’re looking for the key signifiers of cool that represent them.

Our task was to build a brand that retained and built on its reputation as catalyst for social change but could also clearly communicate the quality of its product and feel relevant and desirable to a young, fashionable demographic.

To do this we needed to create a brand that oozed authenticity and elegance. That could be both beautifully bold AND boldly beautiful. And this insight gave us our idea:

Coffee with conviction.

We positioned the brand as a purposeful and passionate advocate of both great coffee and a more inclusive society. Blending (pun intended) a no-nonsense attitude and playful tone with an assured sense of authority and simplicity. A brand that can look great whilst doing great things

With bold and playful typographic executions, we allowed the tone and attitude to be communicated clearly with warmth and humanity. The simple, clean, and uncontrived photography style provides authenticity and honesty. And the combination of soft, natural colours gives the system a freshness and approachability.

Working together we created a modern, stripped-back and confident identity, one that conveys their premium sensibilities and sense of style without losing the social values at the heart of the brand.