solution

Working closely with the original Allagash While label illustration, Pulp+Wire chose not to simply put the same label design on the can but to modernize the look. We chose to tell the story of the brand and the Allagash River. The can has a different vantage point of the river than the original design; we hiked a bit further up the trail to see the river, its melting ice caps, and build a fresh new story from a new perspective.

A key theme of the project was about coming full circle with reverence to where the brand started and where it will continue to grow; Pulp+Wire Brand Strategist, Bryan Wiggins was the original designer of the Allagash Brewing Company brand and Allagash White bottle label and was instrumental on in all phases of ideation, layout, illustration, and storytellings.

But what is a good design team without a great client? The Allagash Brewing Co. creative team was supportive and excited about the pivot in design. We raise a glass to the partnership, the brand, and the evolution of the beer that started it all. (And to the beer community that has embraced the design!)

Impact

Allagash Brewing Company is one of the most revered beer brands in the country, widely recognized for introducing Belgian beers to the U.S. back in 1995. Since its founding, Allagash has been known almost exclusively for one flagship beer (Allagash White) enjoyed in one setting (bars and restaurants).

Over a 5-year period beginning in 2018, they strategically shifted their flagship’s formatting and size from only one package size (4-packs of 12oz bottles) to multiple packs, including: 6-packs of bottles, 12-packs of cans, 6-packs of cans, and more. The expansion was done thoughtfully and methodically, starting with extensive quantitative consumer research.

Allagash also used it as an opportunity to refine the brand, working with a woman-owned small design agency to reinterpret their original brand (and collaborating with the original illustrator in the process). The result: outpacing a down beer market, Allagash grew by 6 percent year-to-date in 2022. Allagash is one of only eleven top-50 craft brewers that grew in 2022, and the 32nd largest brewing company in the country.

As Hop Culture, a leading craft beer magazine, put it: “Perhaps no other brewery in the country has convinced so many young people to enter the brewing industry, or that by sticking to the fundamentals, and giving back to your community, you can grow with grace and class.”

Supported through smart and strategic marketing and sales efforts, Allagash grew by 6 percent year-to-date in 2022, outpacing a down beer market. Allagash is one of only eleven top-50 craft brewers that grew in 2022, and in 2021 (most recent data available), Allagash ranked as the 29th largest Craft Brewery in the U.S. by volume and the 32nd largest of any brewery, up from 38th in 2019. From 2019 to 2022, Allagash White grew packaged beer sales by 108% in stores tracked by IRI.