Kinfolk Syrup Co.

A small-batch fruit-syrup brand for the bartender who wants the whole story on the label

The Fig Lemon Kinfolk syrup bottle: clear apothecary glass with a wooden cap, sitting on a soft grey ground, the deep fig-brown teardrop label centered low with KINFOLK SYRUP CO. on a small black tag at the top of the label and FIG LEMON in chunky white display caps below.

Kinfolk is a small-batch syrup company in Austin. It launched with four flavors (Fig Lemon, Pear Cardamom, Blackberry Sage, Strawberry Peppercorn) in clear apothecary glass with a wooden cap. People buy them as gifts and use them behind the bar, usually the same kind of buyer either way: someone who reads the label before they buy.

The label has to stand out on a crowded shelf and say what's in the bottle. Each is a teardrop in the flavor's color. Wordmark on a tag at the top. Flavor name in big caps. A serving suggestion in the middle. A short line about the flavor at the bottom.

The original direction

It started with old family photos.

Kinfolk means family, so the brand story started there. I went digging and landed in a box of old family photographs, and the depth they carry is instant. You see an old family photo and you feel the joy and the love in it before you know a single name in the frame. The first posters put the syrup right on top of that feeling: a family photo halftoned and washed in the flavor's color, the name running big down the side. That warmth is where the whole brand came from. The clean shelf labels that followed are the same idea, distilled.

The original Lemon Fig poster: a vintage family photograph of a father holding a small child on his lap in an armchair, halftoned and washed in Kinfolk's warm gold, LEMON FIG set in tall white display caps down the right edge, the serving line 'Pairs beautifully with black tea, bourbon, or rich baked goods' and the personality line 'Older than sin and twice as lovely' set on black panels, BATCH NO 23 in handwritten script at the foot.

The original Blackberry Sage poster: a vintage family photograph of a family standing together with a small child, halftoned and washed in deep purple, BLACKBERRY SAGE set in tall white display caps down the right edge, the serving line 'A smoky whiskey sour, a splash of soda, or spooned over vanilla ice cream' and the personality line 'She's got secrets buried deep in the dirt' below, BATCH NO 23 in handwritten script at the foot.

The label system

The shape stays the same. Every flavor gets its own color and its own voice.

The label shape is fixed. The color and the voice are tuned to the syrup. Fig Lemon is fig-brown with "Older than sin and twice as lovely." Pear Cardamom is a calm bone with "She's got secrets buried deep in the dirt." Blackberry Sage is a deep wine and carries the same line as the pear. Strawberry Peppercorn is a hot dusty pink with "She's got a sweet kiss and a mean backhand." The label tells you what's in the bottle and how to think about it before you taste it.

On the bottle

Clear glass, wooden cap.

The label sits on a clear apothecary bottle with a wooden screw cap. I like that the teardrop looks a little like the syrup itself, one fat bead of color dropped in from the top. The same bottle is used across the whole line, so the only thing that changes from flavor to flavor is the label.

The Fig Lemon bottle in front view: clear apothecary glass, dark wooden cap, fig-brown teardrop label centered low on the body.

The Pear Cardamom bottle: same apothecary glass and wooden cap, bone-cream teardrop label.

The Strawberry Peppercorn bottle: same apothecary glass and wooden cap, hot dusty-pink teardrop label with KINFOLK SYRUP CO. tag in the upper-left.

The label had to catch someone's eye on a shelf and still be worth reading once they got it home. The color and the teardrop handle the first part. The little line at the bottom is the part I had the most fun with, and it's usually the thing people quote back to me.

Closing

Credits

Client

Kinfolk Syrup Co. (Austin)

Sector

CPG
Food & Beverage
Specialty Goods

Role

Lead Designer
Brand Strategy
Copy

Discipline

Brand Identity
Packaging
Editorial Voice

Collaborators

The makers

Kinfolk Syrup Co.

It started with old family photos.

The shape stays the same. Every flavor gets its own color and its own voice.

Clear glass, wooden cap.

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