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Branding · Campaign · Digital

United Coffee Roastery — building a community-first craft brand.

A full brand system and launch campaign for a craft roastery that wanted to compete with the polish of national chains while keeping the soul of an independent neighborhood shop.

ClientUnited Coffee Roastery
Year2025
ScopeBrand, identity, campaign, digital
Timeline14 weeks
The brief

One roastery, many neighborhoods.

United Coffee was opening its flagship roastery and direct-to-consumer storefront in a market crowded with both global chains and well-funded specialty players. The founders wanted to feel premium and intentional — but never aloof.

The brief asked for three things: a brand identity that earned shelf and storefront presence, a launch campaign that put a flag in the ground locally, and a digital home that could sell beans, manage a subscription, and host the brand's evolving story.

The work

Strategy, then a system.

We started with audience and category work — interviewing regulars, baristas, wholesale buyers, and lapsed competitors' customers. The insight: people don't just want better coffee, they want a brand that shows up for the neighborhood. "United" became more than a name; it was the brand's behavioral promise.

From there: a wordmark, a flexible mark system, a warm-craft palette, a serif/sans pairing built for both wholesale bags and Instagram, and a campaign concept — "All Roads, One Cup."

Identity in the wild

The full system, applied.

Packaging, social, in-store collateral, signage, and merchandise — designed as a kit, not a one-off.

Motion & campaign films

Six films, one campaign rhythm.

A short-form motion suite designed to feed paid social, the website, and in-store displays. Every film is built around a single human moment — the pour, the pull, the laugh, the first sip — and edits down to clean 9:16 and 1:1 versions for any surface.

Hero film · Roast

"From bean to bag" — the origin story film.

The flagship campaign film. We followed a single lot from green-bean delivery through roast, rest, and packaging — letting the craft do the storytelling. Used as the homepage hero, the first email in the welcome series, and the cornerstone of the launch paid-social burst.

Hero filmHomepageWelcome emailPaid social
Product · Summer drop

Cold brew, slow-poured.

A summer-window product film built around the slow pour and condensation beads — designed for the seasonal cold-brew menu launch.

Tease · 15s

The product tease.

A fifteen-second teaser cut designed to live in Stories and Reels — a quick visual hook with the bag reveal at the end. Replayable, screenshot-friendly, no voiceover required.

Regional · California

"Made for Californians."

A regional cut tuned for the California wholesale and DTC push — softer light, beach-adjacent rhythm, and a closing line that ties Alberta craft to West Coast morning ritual.

Regional · New York

"Built like the city."

The NYC market film — structure, skyline, and city rhythm cut against the precision of the roast. Used to introduce United Coffee to East Coast wholesale partners and the first NYC pop-up.

Narrative · Voiceover

The voiceover edit.

The same campaign film, recut with a calm female voiceover for podcast pre-rolls and longer-form YouTube placements. Brand voice carried by tone, not just typography.

Behind the scenes

Roast day, unfiltered.

The fly-on-the-wall cut of roast day, repurposed for Instagram, the email program, and the in-store waiting-area loop. Built to make customers feel like regulars.

Outcomes

A launch that doubled as a community moment.

2.4x
D2C subscription sign-ups vs. industry benchmark in first 90 days
38%
Lift in wholesale partner inquiries within one quarter of launch
11
Earned local and regional press features during the campaign window
Brand strategyNaming refinementIdentity system PackagingCampaign conceptArt direction WebsiteSubscription UXEmail lifecycle
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