REBUILD
A REBUILD approach introduces pear cider without weakening what already works.
CASE STUDY
Client / Category
LOBO — Craft Cider and Spirits
Challenge
Extend beyond a flagship apple cider without diluting brand equity
Solution
REBUILD — portfolio-led range expansion
Outcome
Enabled customer exploration into pear cider while protecting the core brand
Built through a clear three-stage approach
Clarity → Visibility → Consistency
THE CHALLENGE
The business had built strong recognition and loyalty around its flagship apple cider. The product was well understood, trusted, and clearly positioned within the craft cider market. What wasn’t working was the path forward.
There was no clear vision for how the range could expand beyond apple without confusing customers or weakening what already worked. Introducing a pear cider — an old-world style traditionally known as Perry — created commercial opportunity, but also risk. Without a clear framework, any extension outside the core product risked feeling disconnected or forced.
This mattered now because growth depended on offering something new, while maintaining confidence with an existing audience that valued familiarity and authenticity.
THE INSIGHT
A typical response would have been to create a sub-brand for the pear cider, visually separating it from the core product to signal difference. While common, that approach would have diluted brand recognition and added unnecessary complexity at an early stage of portfolio growth.
The real issue wasn’t how to make the new product look different — it was the lack of a system that showed how new products could belong together.
What needed fixing was range logic: a clear way to extend the brand without reinventing it each time.
OUR APPROACH
The project was guided by a simple principle: grow the range without breaking what already worked.
Instead of creating a new brand, we focused on putting clear rules in place so the range could expand with confidence.
Key decisions included:
Setting up a clear way for new products to join the range without weakening recognition
Allowing each product to feel distinct, while still clearly belonging to the same brand
Using illustration carefully to create difference, without restarting or reshaping the brand
Introducing Perry in a way that felt current, while still respecting its traditional roots
To support this, the existing wolf character evolved to reflect the new product, carrying the story forward from the original apple cider rather than starting again.
We worked with Norwegian illustrator Bjørn Rune Lie to bring this to life. His refined, contemporary style helped present a traditional drink in a way that felt relevant to modern craft drinkers — without relying on nostalgia or clichés.
Importantly, no new brand name was introduced, and there was no visual break from the core range. The extension felt deliberate, connected, and planned — not experimental.
THE RESULT
From the outside, the pear cider was immediately understood as part of the same LOBO range — familiar, but clearly offering something new. It didn’t feel like a side experiment or a departure. Customers could recognise it at a glance and understand where it sat, making it easy to try without hesitation.
Inside the business, the project removed uncertainty around future growth. The REBUILD process gave the team a clear way to introduce new products without reopening core brand decisions or debating every extension. There was a shared understanding of how the range could grow, and why each product belonged.
As a result, customers confidently explored pear cider as a natural next step from apple, and the brand expanded without losing momentum, recognition, or trust.
WHY IT WORKED
It worked because the brand put clear decisions in place before adding anything new. Instead of decorating each product in isolation, the range was built to expand in a controlled, deliberate way. That meant growth didn’t create confusion, extra complexity, or pressure to reinvent the brand each time.
This reflects how we work at Influx. We focus on helping brands grow with restraint and confidence, so each addition strengthens what’s already there. It’s an approach that works for any established producer looking to move beyond a flagship product without losing recognition or creating unnecessary sub-brands.
IS THIS FOR YOU?
You’re an established craft producer extending beyond a flagship product
You want to protect existing brand equity while pursuing growth
You need clarity before introducing new SKUs
You have a willingness to think in systems
You have a long-term, portfolio-level mindset
This is not for start-ups or early-stage concepts, producers chasing novelty or trend-led design, or businesses creating sub-brands for every new product.