Modernizing the Mexican Michelada with Arriba Chelada
Brand Identity, Logo Design, Packaging Design, Digital Strategy, Website Design, Social Media, MarketingAjnci partnered with Arriba Chelada to execute a complete visual, structural, and digital transformation, repositioning the beloved heritage beverage as a premium, modern, and better-for-you market leader. Through our strategic development of a cohesive brand ecosystem—spanning from a sleek, reimagined physical bottle to an engaging digital presence—we successfully revitalized an outdated product line. The resulting aesthetic honors Arriba's authentic roots while significantly expanding its appeal to today's diverse, health-conscious consumer base.
CHALLENGE
Prior to our engagement, Arriba Chelada was struggling with an outdated aesthetic and a confusing visual hierarchy that diluted its brand identity and resulted in weak market appeal across key demographics. A primary pain point was the product's packaging; consumer feedback revealed that the large, clunky format felt too much like a "Gatorade bottle," making it difficult and unappealing to hold. Coupled with inconsistent graphic elements and a cluttered label, the product was getting lost on retail shelves and failing to effectively communicate its premium, clean-ingredient value proposition to shoppers.
RESULTS
By strategically aligning Arriba’s rich heritage with a sleek, minimalist design, Ajnci transformed the brand into a formidable player in the Ready-to-Drink (RTD) Chelada category—a booming market projected to reach $1 billion in total value in 2021. Our expertise in unified brand architecture gave Arriba significantly stronger shelf impact, clearer consumer communication, and deeply enhanced brand equity. Most notably, this modernized aesthetic and elevated brand perception set the stage for massive collaborative growth, directly contributing to a proposed partnership with Miller Lite that projected 12.5 million cans sold, equating to an estimated $50 million in retail sales.
Arriba Chelada is a Southern California-based beverage brand dedicated to providing a premium, "better-for-you" Michelada mixer to the market. Their mission centers on enabling consumers to share traditional Mexican-style drinks with their families using clean, authentic ingredients. They pride themselves on using real organic tomato juice and sea salt, completely eliminating high-fructose corn syrup, MSG, artificial flavors, and artificial colors from their recipes to deliver a truly elevated beverage experience.
APPROACH
BRANDING
We began the transformation by redefining Arriba’s brand architecture, establishing a comprehensive digital asset management system and style guide to unify all visual assets. To provide context for our strong new visuals, our design team modernized the signature Arriba sugar skull logo by creating dynamic, clever variations—such as integrating vibrant flames directly into the skull's eyes to clearly denote spicy flavors. We then established a cohesive visual hierarchy anchored by the newly minted, compelling tagline: "The Better Michelada".
APPROACH
PACKAGING
To resolve the physical pain points of the original "Gatorade-style" bottle, Ajnci engineered a sleeker, more ergonomic bottle format designed to easily withstand the heat-fill production process without warping. We meticulously executed over 100 distinct label and layout iterations, refining everything from the typography on the cap down to the ingredient panel. By implementing a bold, minimalist color system utilizing deep blues, vibrant reds, and natural tones, we ensured consumers could immediately recognize flavors across distinct SKUs like Spicy Clam, Spicy Shrimp, Spicy Mango, and Vegetarian.
APPROACH
DIGITAL
We seamlessly extended this new brand identity into the digital space by completely redesigning Arriba's website. The new digital presence was carefully tailored to reflect the clean, premium, and modern aesthetic established by the physical packaging, guaranteeing a cohesive and visually striking user experience from the physical bottle on the shelf to the digital screen.
To drive the product's successful relaunch, Ajnci refreshed Arriba's social media visuals and crafted a robust suite of physical retail and marketing assets. This unified storytelling approach and clear communication strategy effectively captured the essence of Mexican craft, re-engaging consumers across all touchpoints and solidifying the brand's powerful new identity in the market.
APPROACH
DESIGN
Our marketing strategy centered on telling a unified brand story that highlighted Arriba's authentic Mexican craft and its clean, "better-for-you" ingredient profile. We crafted a robust suite of physical retail and marketing assets to support the product's relaunch and capture shopper attention at the point of purchase. To drive immediate trial and conversion during the rollout, our marketing deliverables included targeted promotional materials such as in-store static cling coupons.
