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Designing a niche lifestyle brand that is clean, minimal and timeless

Branding and UI for a supplement brand that was looking to break into the millennial market

With a love for natural, holistic health and wellness, former college roommates Taylor and Karissa set out to make an impact in the health and healing industry. After starting their careers with two separate dietary supplement companies, Taylor and Karissa united their passions and entrepreneurial spirits in 2016 to find a way to disrupt the industry. They turned their “what if ” conversations into a reality in early 2017 when Tonic Products officially entered the marketplace and has since remained a woman-owned, operated, and supported business. As wives, mothers, and business professionals, their mission is to offer natural, quality products that can easily be incorporated into any daily lifestyle.

THE OPPORTUNITY

Creating Chemistry in a Brand

After years of carefully crafting an identity around how they wanted to connect with their customers, Tonic came to LLT Group with a clear vision of the brand and messaging they wanted. As a new start-up led by young entrepreneurs, there was instant chemistry within the partnership. When meeting with the team, Tonic knew that working with LLT was the right fit. It was a win-win situation given the fact that the ones who would be designing this brand were also the target market for these products. There was no better approach to exploring and building this brand than by the minds of who Tonic consumers would be.

Having followed LLT’s work for a time, the Tonic team had been a fan of the clean and minimal design aesthetics and messaging put forth from the company. With this, Tonic came to LLT in need of a full brand delivery that would require a trusting, collaborative relationship. This involved building a unique lifestyle brand incorporating multiple packaging designs and full UI/UX user experiences that would truly makean impact.

Client Type

Startup

Headquarters

Addison, IL

Solutions

Experience, Development

Services

Branding, Packaging Design, Visual Media, Web Design, CMS, E-Commerce

THE APPROACH

Teasing out the brand’s identity

Having had a clear perception of what direction they wanted to go with the brand and products – clean, simple, timeless and aesthetically pleasing – the initial conversations required the full attention of the LLT team to absorb Tonic’s vision. Tonic would be producing three different products with three separate target markets, which inevitably played a major role in the decision-making process for LLT. The process involved an expansive amount of research on not only the target consumer market but also the health and wellness industry itself. This required a deep exploration of customer buying patterns to discover what motivated them to visit a website or purchase a product.

“I created up to twenty different badge logos, which is not common. Badge logos are a little more in-depth, but the quantity I explored was just based on my passion to just keep creating,” Melissa Leide, Creative Director at LLT Group, said. “The exploration was there, which definitely helped build their confidence in us and they were really happy with the output.”

Needing to design amazing product packaging and a lifestyle brand that will help make a splash in the marketplace?

Leveraging the brand to create unique packaging

The LLT design team was challenged by Tonic to create new, custom packaging that was as small and minimal as possible, a request that was new to the team and drastically different from past projects. It was strategic for Tonic to launch with small packages as their status as a start-up meant they would be allotted minimal shelf space in the retail environment. LLT wanted to deliver a product package that would not only give Tonic the opportunity to showcase all aspects of their product line, but also stand out from the competition in a crowded market.

“Those branding extensions that we did for them… I think we really built an amazing story and product line for them. Essentially, if they added another product into the portfolio tomorrow we could easily extend the brand,” Rahul Wahi, CEO at LLT Group, said.

“The final results of any related logo or packaging design are always exactly what I want and expect…” “… The Custom Collagen family of products has been developing nicely and the Tonic Products brand has always been sought after as an upscale product due to the packaging design. We’ve lucked out and have required very minimal advertising because the products really draw attention to themselves.”

— Taylor Wisnewski, CEO and Co-Founder of Tonic

THE RESULTS

From concept to customers

Tonic successfully launched their website while also getting their products on the shelves of over one hundred and eighty TJ Maxx and Home Goods retail stores. Today, the products are now in over three hundred of these stores all around the country. Tonic Products can also be seen in partnership with other companies such as Fab Fit Fun Boxes.

After the successful development and launch of the brand, LLT and Tonic continue to collaborate on new designs for product line extensions. LLT continues to focus on and listen to their partner to create a brand that hits on every touchpoint while successfully fulfilling all of their expectations when it comes to the execution of the deliverables.

“I’ve loved all of the design work that LLT has done for me. My Tonic Products branding and packaging are my favorite pieces that have been worked on by LLT. We get complimented on both of those aspects constantly and it has really helped the products sell themselves,” “The design team has always asked the right questions, listened to what it is I’m trying to convey, and come up with options that I feel are always in line with what I pictured.”

— Taylor Wisnewski, CEO and Co-Founder of Toni

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