“Nederburg has gone through many changes over the years, both in positioning and identity, and some more dramatic than others… we wanted to maintain the leadership (position) of the brand in the wine category,” says Jackie Oliver, Marketing Manager at Nedeburg. “We want the consumers to see a familiar wine brand, a brand that’s been within the South African industry for 200 years, a brand that has a story to tell, that has equity. To retain the familiarity within the Nederburg brand we had to look back at all the logos and how they’ve changed over the years, we had to try and find certain elements that bring across the symbolism of nederburg and specifically, its values.”

With this as background, the team at BRAVO was briefed to look at the entire Nederburg range, from Nederburg’s flagship Two Centuries to its Foundation series. An immediate focus was the brand’s iconography: what it stood for, and what it revealed became important aspects to consider.

Without compromising on any of the owned elements of the brand, BRAVO Design had ‘free reign’ to update the wine labels with a design that would work in local and international markets.  The goal was to simplify and refine the existing labels, while also introducing a new style of wine. “Our heritage is important to us, and we wanted it to stand out with a clear name and crest, the latter which we wanted to have a more refined look by incorporating Nederburg’s iconic red,” explains Jackie. They also didn’t want to compromise on any of the owned elements of the brand – the diagonal shape of the label and the Nederburg font.

“An immediate focus was the Nederburg shield, and the two anchors, that have always been present on Nederburg labels,” says Brenden Schwartz, Owner and Creative Director at BRAVO. “When we began our research, it wasn’t clear what the brand connection to Nederburg was. What we found was that the shield resembled that of Haacke Beck brewery, where one of the Graue’s was a director in the 1800s.”  The goal was to respect the old iconography, but to infuse it with meaning.

“For Nederburg, and for this specific rebranding, we really delved into the depths of the brand’s identity. It is so important for brands to understand their own identity,” says Brenden.

Nederburg’s new labels very clearly draws on the past, while also being distinctly refreshed; the brand’s new labels offer clearly enhanced assets, with the Nederburg crest, in vivid red, enjoying prominence in its centre. “The shield and its anchors now also stand for something,” says Brenden.

The anchors that are used as a symbol of hope and steadfastness have been further developed to not only be inspired by the original Haacke-Beck Crest but also to represent Nederburg’s vision, with the flame above the left anchor and a star on the right representing the brand’s journey of innovation and discovery. Unity, the core value to Nederburg’s success is represented by the rope tying the anchors together. On the left of the mantel are the Oak trees and on the right are the iconic flowers of the cork trees, with the crown, representing Nederburg’s craft and pride of viticulture. Together all the iconography in the crest represents the modern day values and heritage of Nederburg.

Across the range, the brand name is presented at a diagonal angle, with Nederburg, in a black high-build varnish, mirroring the 35° slant at the bottom of the ‘cork cream’ labels. An intricate border, in gold foil, reveals a delicate pattern of vine leaves and tendrils, adding a sophisticated edge to the label.

“I believe this brand refresh not only respected the premiumisation of the brand, but also created value. Superfluous elements have been removed, with each of the remaining elements conveying something about the brand,” says Brenden. “It was amazing working with one of the biggest brands in South Africa, one that is known internationally, and to integrate this global standing in the design we developed for the new labels.”

“It was a dynamic experience, and we believe the new labels reflect the dynamism represented by this well-established brand,” added Brenden.

Read more on Nederburg Wines.