Iconic sports beverage brand Gatorade is making a splash in an entirely new category: premium unflavored water. An electrolyte-infused, alkaline water product, Gatorade Water embodies a new brand world and package design that parent company PepsiCo says, “maintains the confidence and swagger of Gatorade, while branching into a space of lightness and brightness to distinguish Gatorade Water as an athletic wellness product.”
According to Gatorade Enhanced Waters Senior Director of Marketing Emily Boido, the company launched the brand extension to capitalize on the trend of more wellness-minded athletes. “They’re [athletes] seeking a premium unflavored water to drink throughout their day but haven’t found a brand they trust,” she says. “As a brand with deep credibility in hydration, Gatorade has a unique opportunity to expand our offerings in the wellness space and fill that gap.
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“We also know that the definition of an athlete is expanding, and our ability to serve today’s active person, regardless of how or why they sweat, gives us the largest opportunity for growth.”
The new brand world and package design were created by PepsiCo Design & Innovation in collaboration with brand design agency Vault49. Of the design strategy, Courtney Jimerson, senior design director, Gatorade Portfolio, explains that in the wellness space, simplicity and functionality go hand-in-hand. “Therefore, it was critical to strike the right balance of both clean design paired with hard-hitting credentials front and center,” she says. “We understood the need to not only carve out a unique space in the market that was visually distinctive, but also push our traditional efficacy, scientific, and sports hydration credentials.”
Jimerson adds that the brand is “building a world that combines athletic performance and athletic wellness, maintaining the intensity of traditional Gatorade, while branching into a space of everyday lifestyle territories where a broader aperture of athletes are.” As a result, the Gatorade Water visual identity is rooted in the ethos of movement, “finding the overlap between the movement of water and of the human body, while communicating all-day hydration and great taste.”
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Leveraging the equity of the Gatorade brand was paramount to the overall vision, along with design elements that cue both refreshment and the active occasion. The bottle is sleek and streamlined, with minimal graphics, which Jimerson says allows the water to speak for itself. Running vertically along the bottle is a label with the bold white Gatorade typeface against an orange background, with an orange cap to match, for “a confident, premium visual identity,” says Jimerson.
While simple in its appearance, the label uses various printing techniques for maximum shelf impact. The pressure-sensitive label is transparent and is flexo-printed with four spot-color varnishes. Gatorade orange was selected as the primary accent color and drives category distinction among competitors on shelf. In addition, “white and metallic silver blend harmoniously with the water flowing luminously behind it,” Jimerson explains.
One of the ‘movers’ featured in Gatorade Water’s marketing campaign is choreographer and dancer Whitney Carson.
Supporting the new product is a marketing campaign titled, “Always in Motion,” that features “disruptors in the world of movement who flow the way water moves,” shares the brand. Among them will be high-profile choreographers and dancers, longboarders, and other “movers.”
Gatorade Water was introduced in February and is available in two sizes—1L and 700 mL with sports cap—both online and in stores nationwide. Says Boido, in just the few months since it was launched, the product has seen incredible traction. “We’re seeing strong success in sales out of the gate, and we are looking forward to continuing the momentum through our peak summer selling season.” PW
