How do you design a beer brand?

Once in a very long while, as brand builders, we feel that we have given life to something that we are truly proud of. Kati Patang - the new craft beer that was launched a week ago - is surely one such.

Shouvik Roy

Some time ago, I learnt how 'design thinking' is complex, like a game of snooker where almost infinite results are possible in a single shot. The starting point, of capturing and assimilating human values, is the most complicated task.

However, to capture the journey of how we embraced these values in designing this beer brand, I have broken this journey into bite sized chunks.

Here are the four main steps in the process of designing this craft beer brand:

1. Deep-rooted Cultural Insight:

Easier said.

Here, our starting point was 'What is right with the millennials?' They form the largest beer consuming population.

We zeroed in on the spirit of 'unfettered freedom' that they express in their daily lives. The one that makes them comfortable multi-tasking, taking un-planned breaks from their careers, travel the world and discover themselves in ways that majority of the previous generations never did.

They have far more respect for those who have multiple vectors of success - not just professional.

2. A product with a story to tell:

There has been a slew of craft beer launches in India led by the dominant success of Bira. The most important aspect of this project was to get the beer right. This was the singular focus of the founding team for the first 12 months. The first product 'Amber Ale' has been received well by beer drinkers as well as experts.

The story of the brew is very promising - the water that's used to brew this beer originates in the Himalayas and the brewery is in Bhutan, right at the source - shaping both, the product and its story.

3. The graphic design challenge:

Most new craft beer brands in India have one quirky animal and a swanky pack graphic. Mostly, they are very 'young' looking brands. The graphic design challenge for us was to make this a new, mature, young brand that is in keeping with the sensibilities of the craft category.

This is where we started exploring an illustrative technique that captures the spirit of duality in Kati Patang. And within a short frame of time we struck gold here. It was important to keep some of the category codes like gold to convey 'premium-ness', while experimenting with a quirky name and an equally quirky illustration.

4. Sights set on a 'community' and a 'cause':

We were clear that a brand like Kati Patang needed evangelists and a cause that will drive a community to bond and stay loyal over the next few years. It is an endeavour to make standup comics, musicians, dancers, photographers, and people with other creative pursuits that run parallel with their work life, the ambassadors for this brand. As a brand it will create and promote the Founders Club that helps people explore their passions freely and help them soar.

Kati Patang is a brand born out of intrepid exploration.

(Shouvik Roy is Senior Partner, YAAP, a digital content company. Brewed in Bhutan, Kati Patang is a recently launched craft beer brand.)

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