Chuhai is a popular alcoholic drink made from shochu, soda water and fruit juice. Kirin Brewery launched Hyoketsu--the name literally means 'ice crystal'--in July 2001 and the brand enjoys overwhelming dominance in its category. Bravis devised the unique-looking aluminum can to widen the appeal of the beverage from the existing market of middle-aged and older men to young men in their twenties and thirties. The bold blue and silver design successfully distinguished Hyoketsu from the offerings of other companies and built it into a winner that has far outstripped its rivals in sales.

Rather than just create the design for a new participant in the preexisting chuhai market, the Bravis strategy was to create in Hyoketsu an entirely new brand category. Our designers deliberately rejected any preconceived notions of what chuhai design was supposed to look like. Other companies all used yellow (the color of lemon, a major ingredient of the drink) for the basic chuhai, then expressed the different flavors available through changing the color of the packaging.

After exhaustive discussions, Kirin and Bravis decided that changing the color of the package to reflect the different flavors would only dilute the brand's identity. Blue and silver were therefore established as the key colors of the brand throughout the flavor line-up, resulting in a strong brand image that has now achieved universal recognition. Hyoketsu won a special award from the Japan Packaging Design Association in 2003.

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