Repositioning a BC winery — redefining the luxury wine experience.

Scope

Identity
Brand Assets
Brand Standards Manual

Timeline

3 months

Stand out in the luxurious space in BC’s wine market for a humble winery

Challenge

The creative challenge was to assess our given client’s current context and identify issues surrounding their brand, positioning, assets, and competition. We were then tasked to present a new identity that is an improvement and better serves the client, along with a graphics standards manual and supporting assets.

Van Westen Estate Vineyards, rooted in over 50 years of family tradition on the Naramata Bench, has evolved from being the largest cherry producers in the area into crafting exceptional wines in British Columbia, Canada. The quality speaks for itself, earning themselves numerous awards and selling out effortlessly.

Recognizing the charm inherent in their upfront and casual nature, the brand strategy needed a shift – maintaining their rugged authenticity but with an elevated touch.

Neighbouring Competitors

Neighbouring Competitors

Competitive Landscape Analysis

Competitive Landscape Analysis

Competitive Landscape Analysis

Competitive Landscape Analysis

Direct Competitors – Positioning

Direct Competitors – Positioning

Over 3 weeks, I sketched a variety of divergent identity concepts. Trusting my instincts played a big role throughout this identity creation phase. When my intuition signalled that something wasn’t quite aligned, I knew I had to listen and keep pushing through. By continuously persisting, experimenting, and exploring new avenues, I would break through with an identity that was strategically strong.

Solution

Staying true to our roots and celebrating heritage

Celebrating their roots, the Van Westen identity embraces modern hints to Dutch typography with nuanced letterforms, as a subtle rebellion against conventional luxury. The deliberate separation of letters entices a second look, prompting curiosity about the family name.

Notably, the ‘V’ of ‘Van’ becomes a symbolic bridge to their iconic wine-naming structure, highlighting their commitment to doing things differently. ‘Van,’ echoes its Dutch meaning of ‘from’ or ‘of,’ rooting the family’s journey from fruit farmers to award-winning winemakers in British Columbia. ‘West’ is a nod to their migration from the Netherlands to the Canadian west coast. This intersection of heritage and landscape mirrors the exceptional qualities of their wine – A blend of tradition and innovation, grounded in the landscape of the Namarata Bench.

The “daisymill” icon featured is a reference back to Dutch windmills, embodying resilience and innovation with the daisy at its core as Netherlands’ national flower, speaking to strength in the unassuming – a fitting symbol for a winery that thrives on the unexpected intersections of humility and the pursuit of becoming an award-winning winery in the heart of BC’s wine country.

Taking inspiration from their location, primary colours The Shed Grey and Chocolate Lab communicate rugged sophistication. Sunlight Cherry is used as Van Westen’s accent colour – a mix of orange, as nod to their dutch roots and peach, the fruit they grow on their vineyard.

Van Westen’s brand is a testament to the value of being on the right track from the start, a commitment to cultivating what matters, and a belief that the grass is greener where you water it – capturing the essence of wine that is truly of the earth, echoing the wisdom, warmth, and enduring legacy of the family that is redefining the fine wine experience in BC.

Bottle label family that stands out on the shelf

Packaging

The Van Westen packaging family is a celebration of the winery's roots with a rebellious spirit against conventional luxury. Embracing modern Dutch typography with deliberately spaced letterforms, the design system lends itself to enticing a second look and kindling curiosity to dig deeper.

Each Van Westen label displays a unique composition that combines typography, rhythm and art. The compositions take inspiration from the essence of each blend, creating labels worth taking a closer look at. Their commitment to an unfiltered journey from grape to glass strips away the fluff, resulting in bottles that are a statement piece of their own.

Crafting premium wines without the need for boastful claims, Van Westen has repositioned themselves from a once $35 bottle to a $55 bottle, embodying a confident, premium identity.

The 2018 Vulture displays a label-less label embracing unpretentious sophistication and poking fun at the collective nature of the wine industry – pushing forward the idea of going against the grain to craft wines that redefine the fine wine experience.

Takeaways

Process

A significant takeaway from this project is the true commitment to the process. Trusting my instincts played a big role throughout my identity creation phase. In moments when my intuition signalled that something wasn’t quite aligned, I knew I had to listen and keep pushing through. I understood that by continuously persisting, experimenting, and exploring new avenues, I would break through with an identity that was strategically strong.

Saturated Markets

I also took away just how difficult it is to carve out a distinct identity in the wine industry. It was certainly a challenge ensuring each bottle not only stood out on the shelf but also carried the genuine spirit of the brand. Van Westen has shown that leaning into what you do best is your “secret sauce” all along.

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