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Sector
Food & Beverage FMCG
Client
Codo Mocchau Tea JSC
Scope
Brand Strategy, Visual Identity, Verbal Identity, Packaging design, Website design & development
Giving instant milktea
a real-tea check
In present-day Vietnam, no drinks define indulgence better than milktea. Its rapid growth in popularity has created a race for novelty and scale, regrettably giving birth to instant products that rely heavily on artificial flavors and preservatives. Some of them even contain no real tea at all.
Veteran tea-maker “Codo” Mocchau was in a strong position to challenge this status quo, armed with over 6 decades of expertise in tea-making and expansive production capabilities. In 2024, Codo brought to milktea lovers a milktea that is, at long last, made with only natural ingredients. Say goodbye to all those additive-rich milkteas with their obscure artificial “toppings.” And hello to the purely good milktea that is Codo’s 3-in-1 instant milktea.
We were asked to help Codo lay the foundation for their new milktea brand. Our ongoing work encompasses brand strategy consultation, brand identity development, packaging design, website design & development.
For the people since day one
The company was amongst the oldest of Vietnam’s modern history, its origin dating back to 1958. Initially a production unit of the then state-owned Mocchau Farm, it was tasked with provisioning the region of Northern Vietnam, which had just reclaimed independence and was recovering from war. In the very beginning, Codo Mocchau was dedicated to delivering quality to everyday people, and this commitment remains strong until today.
When old tea meets milk tea
We like to think of Codo the milktea lover as the young and bubbly grandchild of Codo the tea-maker. Born over half a century later, Codo Milktea inherits the family’s vision, values and know-hows; however, unlike her predecessors whose hard work has gone mostly unnoticed, she shall take the stage with radiating confidence, an unapologetic demeanor, and some serious (milk)tea to spill.
Along this line of thinking, we attempted to craft a brand identity that marries the old/tradition and the new/youthfulness, while staying as close as possible to its Vietnamese root. The visual identity is reminiscent of the late-20th-century Vietnamese graphic language on the one hand and is marked by the brazenness and vibrancy of the current era on the other. Brand messages echo the company’s distilled wisdom, meanwhile, with as much sincerity as candor.
Codo Milktea’s highly recognizable patterns draw inspiration from old production-propaganda posters, a relic from the early days of Vietnam’s modern history. In a similar fashion, they employ visual rhythm to create a sense of unity; by contrast, bright colors and rough brush strokes forcefully pull the pattern to the foreground, directing attention to the once uncelebrated dedication and boundless energy of the Mocchau mountains.
Representative illustrations of everyday objects, animals and nature are used in combination with graphic elements and copy to communicate and form connections with the audience.
