A new way to drink wine deserved a brand all its own.

THE SITUATION

Something interesting was happening in the wine aisle. Canned wine was moving from novelty to legitimate category, and moving fast. Between 2016 and 2018 alone, Nielsen-tracked sales grew from $14.5 million to more than $69 million. Consumers weren't giving up wine. They were finding more places to enjoy it. The appeal was simple: portability, convenience and less ceremony. No corkscrew. No glass bottle. No special occasion required.

Our client saw more than a trend. They saw an opening. They recognized an opportunity to put genuinely good California wine into a format that fit the way people were beginning to live and drink, and brought the concept to Raley's. Raley's saw the potential and jumped on board.

That created an even bigger opportunity: build a control brand that could give Raley's something distinctive in an emerging category, draw shoppers to its canned-wine shelf, and give them a compelling reason to come back. The challenge for MHD wasn't simply to make canned wine look good. It was to make good wine in a can mean something.

HOW WE APPROACHED IT

We started with an attitude: Slow Your Roll.

One Speed began with a clear vision from our client: a wine brand built around slowing down, enjoying the journey and experiencing California at a different pace. As an accomplished artist herself, she came to MHD with a strong creative point of view and many of the ideas that would ultimately define the brand.

Our role was to take that vision and bring it to life as a complete identity. Working closely together, we translated her ideas into the brand strategy, design and packaging system that became One Speed.

At the center of the identity is the California bear, a character inspired by our client's vision for the brand. He isn't roaring, charging or trying particularly hard to impress anyone. He's simply making his way through California, taking the long route and enjoying what he finds along the way. More than a mascot, he captures exactly what our client envisioned for One Speed: slow down, enjoy where you are and don't be in such a hurry to get somewhere else.

Across four varietals, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Rosé and Chardonnay, the bear's journey continues through custom illustrations depicting different California settings. Each can tells another piece of the story, creating a visual road trip through the state while giving the entire collection an unmistakable family resemblance.

And what was inside mattered just as much as what was outside. This wasn't novelty wine put into novelty packaging. The product delivered exceptional California wine at an unexpectedly approachable price point. That combination of quality, value, portability and personality gave consumers a reason to try One Speed once and a reason to put it in their cart again.

The 375 ml format completed the idea. Easy to take along and easy to enjoy, One Speed could go to the beach, the backyard, the picnic, the concert or wherever the day happened to lead. The package summed up the brand perfectly: Slow down and enjoy the view.

THE RESULT

One Speed did exactly what a strong control brand should do. It gave shoppers a reason to go to Raley's for something they couldn't get anywhere else.

Rather than simply filling space in an emerging canned-wine category, One Speed helped give that shelf a destination brand of its own: distinctive enough to catch attention, approachable enough to encourage trial, and backed by wine good enough and a price point compelling enough to bring customers back.

For Raley's, that means more than selling a can of wine. A successful control brand builds differentiation for the retailer itself. The product becomes part of the reason to choose that store, creating value that extends beyond the individual sale. For our client, an early read on an emerging category became a fully realized four-varietal brand.

And for MHD, it became the kind of assignment we love most: taking a smart business opportunity and giving consumers a reason to care about it.

The market created the opening. Our client saw it. Raley's gave it a shelf. We gave it a brand.

One Speed. Slow Your Roll.