About Project

After owning a well-established bitters company for many years, The Bitter Housewife came to High-Proof Creative to design its new ready-to-drink Bitters & Soda beverage. Along with the RTD can design, we refreshed the company’s logo, brand identity, and color strategy. The goal was not only to help launch a new product but to create a visual family for all the products.

One challenge we faced in designing in the non-alcoholic, ready-to-drink space is where The Bitter Housewife Bitters & Soda cans are displayed on the shelf. Would the product be next to soda water? Near mixers and syrups? Or in smaller stores, would the new product find itself in the canned cocktail aisle? We set out to distinguish the cans from alcoholic canned cocktails with a design that would appeal to avid soda water consumers but without turning off those consumers intrigued by canned cocktails.

The company’s image is fun, slightly snarky, and exceptionally approachable. The Bitter Housewife believes in great drinks made from real ingredients. With all of this in mind, High-Proof Creative created a simple, mid-century inspired design system that reflects the brand’s character. The diamond shape was used as a focal element to reinforce the vintage aesthetic. We brought in the brand’s mildly snarky tone-of-voice by adding subtle touches such as “Sparkling, Complex, Bitter. Just like you,” to the back of the can.