Workaholic. Cold brew for workaholics

Workaholic is a cold brew for people who work too much, and its packaging behaves like them: it doesn't know when to stop. We named it and designed it for Cosmic Latte, a specialty-coffee chain, in 2020.

Cosmic Latte, with its shops mostly in business centres, wanted its own cold brew for summer. The drink was new to its market, and summer is the quiet season for coffee shops. Most cold brews on sale tasted too light and came in energy-drink cans or a cup with no pack; the chain wanted a strong one to share across a desk. And its customers work all summer anyway.

Cold brew is strong and heavy on caffeine, so we aimed it at people who work too much and poured it into wine bottles and beer cans. A true workaholic can't stop, so the brand got ten logos and ten labels instead of one: an owl in a tie, a couple cradling a laptop like a baby, an astronaut still taking calls. The can carries three designs that change as it turns on the shelf.

We couldn't stop at labels either: a gift box, bean bags, coasters, pins, wrapping paper, a flask, patches, posters and a Telegram sticker pack.

Workaholic launched in June 2020, as the shops reopened after months of lockdown. About 3,000 cans went through the chain's online shop and seven coffee shops. The owner said people held the can, read the label and smiled; a year later guests were still asking on Instagram whether it would come back. That autumn it took Gold at Pentawards 2020, Beverages, and in 2021 Bronze at the European Design Awards and Silver at White Square.

Launching a product into a season when nobody is thinking about you? Tell us about your task: we won't stop at one label.