Before & After: Reyka

Here Design has been working alongside independent distillers William Grant & Sons to rebrand Reyka, a small-batch Icelandic vodka.

"Created with some of the world’s most naturally pure water, and filtered through lava rocks, Reyka is a genuine product of its Icelandic environment. Each limited batch is made using a rare carter head still, a handmade process that inspired the tactile nature of the new packaging.

“The new design uses embossing, tax strips and tactile paper stocks to highlight the craftsmanship in making this vodka,” says Here Creative Partner Mark Paton. “We’ve also created a series of icons that tell the story of the vodka-making process to help differentiate this more artisan product from its mass-produced competitors.”

Reyka has already outranked the competition on taste, winning a five star rating at the renowned Fifty Best Imported Vodkas competition in the US, and beating industry giants including Grey Goose, Ketel One and Ciroc. “Reyka Vodka is as unique and unconventional as the land that inspires it and the revised packaging by Here Design captures that Icelandic character and spirit” comments Senior Brand Manager Jennifer Logan."

Before: 

Comments

[yann]

The photography and ligthning contribute ti the effect, but the bottle itself and the whole packaging are very nice.The combination evokes what is sold.

[Andy]

This was probably the best vodka packaging on the market before the redesign, and while I like the new front label, they made an absolute huge mistake eliminating the various patterned wraps on the caps.

[Ben]

Yeah I agree. I like the new label, but I like the old label even more! I wonder why they decided to rebrand it.

[rachel g]

Yeah, it WAS my favorite packaging design on the market. Although the new one is still nice, definitely a downgrade from before. I have to admit, the second I saw the heading of this post I exclaimed, "NOOOooo!"

[Minhquan Nguyen]

I agree. The redesign is clean and serviceable, but it has made the product seem more generic than before.

[Vasili Andreyev I 495Design]

Before: the stories of myths about Iceland. Magic & folk.
After: farmacy generic product, no Ice. No Iceland

[drew]

This redesign looks more like an upmarket water label rather than a vodka, I like elements of the previous package that could have been kept while upgrading the face label and creating a smaller 2 part design that didn't cover the entire bottle surface.
I really do hate the icons pertaining to the elements that create the vodka... those are almost solely responsible for the water label reference.
A better combination of old and new elements could have been easily created to make a successful upgrade!

[This Guy]

Vrooooom.

That's the train running between the "Y" and the "K" in the redesign.

[Rachel]

Agreed. The new design is lovely standing on its own, but when I consider it alongside the previous packaging (which was also well-designed), it has lost much of its charm and quirk.

[nick]

I really think that they have made a mistake and ruined a beautiful design, Its lost its raw original feel and now looks like it has been designed which is wrong!!!!

[Ana]

I agree with the rest, the wraps on the caps were just beautiful before, now it looks like a hospital product almost.... a nice hospital product that is!

[Emil]

The new design sacrifices quality and intrigue for the sake of a refresh... it became much too generic for my taste. the old design was one of my favorites in the category.

[Darcy Bolker]

I am a strong believer that a brand image needs to be invigorated every 3-5 years, but that doesn't mean throwing away it's beautiful assets and personality. (i.e. the illustration of Mt. Helka, the intricate cap and neck designs that came with a story, and the embossed seal). At first glance the design has a nice hierarchy is fresh and clean, but this style is overdone and more importantly what is the strategic rationale?

[Richard LaRue]

I disagree with the previous sentiments entirely. I'd even goes as far as ranking this as one of the most successful rebrandings this year. The previous Reyka type was awful and aside from the bottle cape wraps THAT label was very generic. The only thing that is a step down is the previously mentioned bottle cap wraps. They should have carried that idea over.

[mnflathead]

The previous design is stronger & more unique. It communicated a sense of place that is evocative and appropriate for the brand.
The old design also stood out from the competitive set in store. The new design while nice enough is bland & uninspired by comparison,
it looks like many other designs in the category.

[keisinger]

this new design... looks like before and after recesion