27.05.2022 - 08:15
SAY Seltzer design wins the Dieline award
Since 2020, the drinks industry has been buzzing about hard seltzers. In the Nordics, the category was not yet fully formed and the name ‘seltzer’ sounded vague to consumers, when Anora introduced this fast-growing segment in Finland as one of the first players in the market.
The first SAY Seltzers were launched for the spring selection in 2021, when SAY Seltzer Strawberry & Raspberry 4% and SAY Seltzer Orange & Guarana 4% were introduced to consumers. For summer 2022, SAY Seltzer introduced two new flavors, Grapefruit & Lemon 4%, and first alcohol free seltzer in Finland, SAY non-alc Seltzer Lime & Mint 0%. The visual identity, branding, illustration, and packaging design were made by Anora’s in-house design team.
On 23rd of May 2022, SAY Seltzer’s outstanding design was announced as an award winner in Dieline’s prestigious design competition. Dieline is the leading media brand for consumer packaging and consumer brands. Trophies were presented to 141 recipients across a wide range of categories around the world.
Anora is a unique brand house with its own in-house design studio, and the Dieline award is the first remarkable win for Anora’s own designs.
Antti Ojala, one of the designers of SAY Seltzer, describes how the brand development started: “In the beginning, we just had the brand name ‘SAY’ and good vodka-based beverages. Together with our agency partner, we started the project by conceptualizing the brand DNA of ‘SAY Seltzer’. At the core of the brand is a laid-back attitude and a sense of pride to walk your own path, doing the things you like. With strong brand manifesto, we knew the design should be loud and proud, while still following the visuality of the seltzer category.”
As a new brand in the novel category of hard seltzers, it was clear that the packaging of SAY needed to work extra hard in a busy retail environment, with the brand name prominent and visible. This challenge was solved by creating a logotype ‘SAY’, wrapped around a speech bubble. Capturing the essence of brand’s DNA, the open mouth practically shouts out the brand and conveys its strong attitude. A versatile and scalable design, each flavor of SAY Seltzer has a different, distinctively colored mouth with supportive illustrations to communicate the flavors while the white background provides a clear and calming canvas to the overall layout.
The Dieline award is a testimony of the power of integral work between brands and design, and the systematic buildup of design culture at Anora. Anora's design culture is about world-class creativity blended into processes, tools, knowledge and skills and combined with a strong focus on production capabilities at packaging material manufacturers and at Anora’s own bottling plants.
More information:
Marianna Salonen Brand Manager & Grocery Trade Marketing Manager marianna.salonen@anora.com