Challenge

Licorice.com was born from a bold vision: to transform licorice from a simple commodity into a premium, desirable, and gift-worthy experience. While the name existed, an initial, low-budget logo attempt lacked strategic foundation and failed to capture the brand's potential. The core challenge, therefore, was to translate founder Warren Struhl's ambitious (yet still intangible) brand philosophy into a truly resonant identity and packaging system that could elevate perception, captivate dedicated licorice lovers, and establish a new category benchmark.

Strategy

A core insight fueled our strategy: licorice is polarizing—people either love it or passionately don't. This meant our goal wasn't to convert skeptics, but to create an irresistible haven for true licorice aficionados, a place where "Licorice Lovers Feel the Love." We embraced the founder's vision of transforming licorice into a premium, gift-worthy indulgence. The strategic imperative was to develop an iconic, ownable brand identity that could embody this, balancing fun with luxury to elevate licorice to a new, celebrated status.

Solution

After exploring distinct creative pathways rooted in the "licorice lovers" insight, the winning solution translated the brand's strategic vision into an iconic visual identity. This centered on bold, ownable black and red stripes – a design direction that cleverly drew inspiration from the familiar American notion of licorice and reinterpreted it for a premium, global offering. The striking logo and this distinctive striped packaging system established a "fun yet luxurious" aesthetic, giving tangible form to the brand's ambitious philosophy. This foundational design extended seamlessly to art direction, the Shopify e-commerce experience (including UX design), and an evolved line of customizable premium gift boxes, creating a cohesive and memorable brand world.

Results

The new brand identity and packaging made an immediate and significant impact. Sales for Licorice.com exceeded all expectations shortly after launch. The iconic black and red striped design captured widespread attention, earning a coveted spot on Oprah’s Valentine’s Day O List in O, The Oprah Magazine. As a further testament to the design's strength, branded vending machines mirroring the distinctive aesthetic went into production, extending the brand's reach. This foundational success for Licorice.com became a cornerstone for the client's new parent company, G.O.A.T. Foods (Greatest Of All Time Foods), leading directly to our engagement to develop their second brand, Pretzels.com. Today, G.O.A.T. Foods serves over a million customers, a journey that began with zero.