Block repackages Feral Brewing Company using a handcrafted DIY rough-and-ready approach
Western Australia’s largest independent brewery Feral Brewing Company has received a complete brand and packaging overhaul from Block.
Based in the Swan Valley, Feral has a cult following of beer enthusiasts globally yet remains unknown to less discerning beer drinkers – despite being current titleholders of the Australian International Beer Awards Best Large Australian Brewery.
Feral tasked Block with implementing a cohesive brand strategy across an eclectic portfolio of beers with the goal of increasing sales and commanding an on-shelf presence befitting one of Australia’s most awarded craft brewers.
Block’s rebranding is handcrafted and distinctive without detracting from the company’s obsessive focus on its beers, flavours and ingredients, with an intentionally DIY, rough-and-ready aesthetic to match the company’s hands-on approach to brewing.
“At a time when all the big guys are jumping on the craft brew trend and every bloke and his accountant-mate starting a trendy micro-brewery, Feral is the real deal. Feral is all about what’s in the bottle, so we felt this rebranding shouldn’t look overworked or pretentious. What we have created is the antithesis of the minimalist or ‘ye olde’ beer brands that are cluttering the market,” says Mark Braddock, Creative Director at Block.
The branding process started with the purchase of an old photocopier for $50 so that the packaging and promotional material would be genuinely fresh and DIY.
“The explosion of beer labels has seen the beer cabinet become one of the most crowded retail spaces imaginable, so our new look has been created to own its shelf space in a very ‘ballsy’ way – which is absolutely on-brand for us. With a name like Feral, we were never going to nice and quiet,” said Steve Finney, Feral’s Sales and Marketing Manager. “Block have done a great job at bringing the outside of the bottle in line with what’s inside it.”
The rebrand represents the next step in the brewery’s evolution. Feral launched 11 years ago and its flagship retail brands are Feral White, Smoked Porter, Sly Fox, and Hop Hog, which is “as near to the perfect beer as you will find”, according to The Guardian.
In 2012, Feral added a second brewery to its Swan Valley microbrewery to keep up with demand and expand its footprint in the eastern states.
6 Comments
Beautiful design work and a couple of those posters are worth raising a Sly Fox to as well.
Lovely work. (And a lovely beer, although their previous labels let them down for years.) On a curious note, when I asked my local publican about the new design, he said the rep had told him they’d saved money by doing it in-house. I told him that this was definitely not the case.
It’s an interesting comment never-the-less. Sometimes when we take a ‘hand made’ approach to our work, we see it as an interesting counter point to the usual polished (and boringly expected) approach. However our customers who often aren’t as visually sophisticated, can see it simply as – hand made.
I have huge respect for Block’s design and brand work. And I love the strategy, but I think the execution falls a little short this time. Feral’s has a real roughness about it, but this work just doesn’t have the ‘grunt’ I’d expect from them.
All they need to do now is rethink their decsion to sell it as a 4 pack rather than a 6 pack at the same price – rip off… its turned me to white rabbit.
Love the packaging.
Love the posters.
Oli – are you sure you don’t mean turned you into a white rabbit ? cause you must be shopping in Wonderland. Feral White on Dan Murphy’s is $11.99 for 4 (or $3.99 per bottle). White Rabbit $20.99 for 6 (or $4.09 per bottle).