Caribou Coffee Revamps Brand Identity

Caribou Coffee has undergone a makeover that will roll out during 2010 and into early 2011, as part of the company’s strategy to enhance its brand position and create new opportunities.

The new brand look includes a new logo, color palette and design elements, which according to the company bring broader context to its existing tagline, 'Life is short. Stay awake for it'.

The company said that its customers in all stores throughout the US will notice a new coffee-centric caribou on their cups. Previously the tagline focused on the benefits of caffeine, but Caribou has now shifted the element from a declarative statement to an opportunity for customer engagement on a more personal level.

Alfredo Martel, senior vice president of marketing at Caribou Coffee, said: “We saw an opportunity to better express who we are and what we believe in as a company across all interactions with our customers. The new elements of our brand give us an opportunity to do that and to ask our customers to explore and share what ‘staying awake’ means in their lives.”

According to the company, since CEO Mike Tattersfield’s arrival in August 2008, it has shifted focus away from expansion and toward elevating all aspects of the brand experience, which has resulted in a diverse and premium line of offerings.

Mr Tattersfield said, “Our brand relaunch runs much deeper than the new logo design; it really signifies the evolution of our company. We are passionate about and committed to creating the best cup of coffee possible and an experience that extends beyond our products. We are working to ensure that all aspects of the customer experience are at the same premium level of quality as our coffee.”

Earlier in November 2009, Caribou unveiled a menu of reformulated chocolate beverages made with all-natural gourmet chocolate from Guittard Chocolate Company of San Francisco. To boost its breakfast platform, the retailer introduced handcrafted oatmeal to its menu in January of this year and has been testing baked in-store pastry items at 25 stores in its home market of Minneapolis.

Central to this new rebranding, the company said that its logo has been adapted to a 'simpler but playful representation' of the brand’s key identification. The leaping caribou is now a coffee–brown color and is assembled out of graphic elements, including a coffee bean at the heart of the animal and 'C' shaped antlers.

The caribou also now leaps to the right, signifying the company’s vision and movement toward the future. The company said that the new look will be introduced via in-store elements such as napkins, cups, drink carriers, canteens and signage.