VitaliTea Brand Extension Case Study
The Assignment
My idea to add a line extension to Young Living emerged as I was assigned to work with the company. We were tasked with studying the assigned company and creating a brand extension that would seamlessly integrate with the particular company’s offerings and enhance their brand. The task became clearer when considering the different factors, such as the type of bottler, drink, and its primary sales location. This process made it easier to determine what type of nutritional drink could add value to Young Living’s already extensive lineup of wellness-related products. The type of drink I chose was turmeric, and the location I selected is Orange Theory Fitness. Opting for an energy drink aligns with the needs of individuals seeking tea on the go and those likely to purchase a can at a gym before or after an intense workout to either gain or regain energy. Since tea naturally contains caffeine, it seemed obvious to choose an energy drink, which is regularly consumed by people who travel frequently and those who often work out. Energy is crucial for exercising and staying alert; therefore, VitaliTea as an energy drink perfectly suits the lifestyle of active individuals in their daily routines.
The Company and Brand Extension
The company I was assigned is Young Living, an essential oil company based in Lehi, Utah. Young Living focuses on essential oils and expands its offerings with other wellness-related products. Their brand exclusively sells products online without any physical retail stores. This fact was a crucial consideration in developing my brand extension. The aim of my brand extension is to enrich Young Living’s selection of wellness products without detracting from their existing lineup. The name of my brand, VitaliTea, is a play on words, representing the “vitality” one experiences when drinking a can of VitaliTea.
Target Audience
My ideal customers are young adults in their 20s to 40s, individuals who are constantly on the move, and those invested in fitness and overall health. A perfect example would be someone who frequently works out and is always on the go, needing the caffeine boost from an energy drink while also appreciating the natural, tea-based flavor of VitaliTea.
SWOT Analysis
The decisions I made by examining Young Living more closely through my SWOT analysis revealed that the company has many strengths, including being a top manufacturer and seller of essential oils. However, it also faces challenges due to a troubled history with the press and government. That’s why I believed VitaliTea would be an excellent brand extension to enhance Young Living’s portfolio and, concurrently, improve their social media marketing while introducing a new product.
New Affordances
The new affordances I identified and incorporated into VitaliTea include all-natural ingredients derived from clean sources. Additionally, I aim to eliminate limitations by positioning VitaliTea as a major seller for Young Living, thereby increasing their sales and enhancing their market value in the process.
New Value Proposition
For my value proposition, I began by examining what Young Living already offered and looked for ways to enhance it to support the addition of my new brand extension, VitaliTea. After researching Young Living, I realized their website and ethos focus on all-natural ingredients and wellness of the body. This insight led to the formulation of the final value proposition: With VitaliTea, live your vibrant life and enjoy natural, refreshing energy.
New Mission Statement
To arrive at my final mission statement, I needed to understand Young Living’s true goal as a company. I discovered that their main priority is to sell products that enhance people’s well-being, with wellness being a key selling point for all their products. As a result, I aimed to craft a mission statement that represents the values of Young Living while also aligning with my brand extension. At Young Living, we strive to create earth-friendly, all-natural products that benefit the customer’s health, body, and mind.
My Process
The process of developing my brand extension began with rough sketches to encapsulate the name VitaliTea in a logo, illustrating it as an all-natural, tea-infused energy drink. I started with various ideas, such as the “V” being a cup and leaves positioned over each “I”, and continued refining my sketches from there. I finalized my first mockup logo with the “V” as a mug and leaves over both “I”s to highlight the natural essence of VitaliTea. I then chose a serif font, featuring a significant contrast between thick and thin lines, and a green color palette to emphasize the all-natural aspect of VitaliTea. The “V” was modified to retain its original shape, yet appear as if it contained tea. Additionally, I incorporated leaves in the middle of the logo to further accentuate the tea component of the drink and its all-natural ingredients. This led me to my final logo design.
My Solution
My final logo features a natural green color palette and a contrast between thick and thin strokes in the letters. I designed the “V” to appear as if it’s filled with tea, creating the illusion of a cup or mug. The leaves between the “t” and “a” emphasize that VitaliTea uses all-natural ingredients and only high-quality tea in every can. After refining my final logo, I moved on to design my first can and main flavor, Ginger VitaliTea. Taking inspiration from popular energy drink cans such as Celsius and Zoa, I analyzed what makes their designs successful and where they could improve. This analysis led to my final can design, which features leaves in the background and continues the all-green color theme. When designing my second flavor, I aimed to maintain the appealing design of the ginger flavor, making minimal changes for my next energy drink flavor. For the Watermelon VitaliTea, I altered the color palette in the “V” to resemble watermelon colors and adjusted all the can’s accents to red and pink to better reflect the colors of a watermelon.
Advertising/PR/Social Media
For my advertisements, I chose a carousel ad and an expandable ad. Carousel ads are effective at showcasing more than one image in a single post, attracting viewers with one picture and then encouraging them to view the other images in the carousel. Expandable ads also work well by piquing customer interest with only a small portion of an ad visible initially; when clicked, they expand to reveal the full ad, providing all the details about a product. Next, I decided to focus my PR campaign on food and drink-based influencers by including a QR code on every can. This QR code can be scanned and will direct users to a page featuring influencer recipes that incorporate VitaliTea, demonstrating delicious ways to use VitaliTea beyond just drinking it from a can. Utilizing influencers to showcase how VitaliTea is more versatile will significantly increase exposure for the VitaliTea brand and, by extension, Young Living.
