Following the legalization of recreational cannabis, Truss Beverages, a joint venture between Molson Coors and Hexo, sought to be a different type of cannabis company. Instead of joining the crowd of cannabis generalists, they sought out to be specialists in cannabis beverages.

It was a completely new industry. And a completely undefined one. Truss had no identity, no brands, no products. And the cannabis industry lacked any form of behaviour or occasion.

In order to do so, Truss asked the agency to help launch a wide-ranging portfolio of cannabis beverages that would stretch across various drinking occasions and demographics.

Their task was to build these brands from scratch - to define, shape and ultimately grow the category by branding the Truss portfolio. They needed to appeal to a broad range of consumers, stand out on the shelf and adhere to the strict industry regulations. One brand wasn’t going to cut it, so they created five.

With limited and speculative research on the category, they didn’t know exactly who their consumers would be, so they needed to look beyond demographic breakdowns and tap into something more universal. They kept coming back to cannabis’ biggest benefit - how it makes you feel. Need states gave them the space they needed to create multiple brands but also gave them boundaries for distinction between them. They narrowed in on five need states that would act as the launch pad for our brands: enjoyment/celebrating, health & wellness, chill/taking it easy, taste/experience, and high intensity

They created five unique brands from scratch. Crafting the entire identity from name, look/feel, logos, formats, flavours, to occasions. For their celebration brand, they created Little Victory, a sparkling beverage for celebrating the little things in life, like a good hair day or finding five dollars in your winter coat pocket. The visual identity incorporated a graphic system made of confetti and vibrant colours that popped. A playful and positive tone pulled it all together.

For their wellness brand, they had a bit more of a challenge as the regulations prevented them from using any wellness language or imagery. From naming, design identity and even beverage styles, they created Veryvell. A simple typographic choice helps cue wellness, without ever saying wellness. That design choice flows throughout the rest of the design theory from wellness based packaging, colours, and typography.

For their chill brand they created Mollo, a line of cannabis-infused beers. Paying tribute to their Quebec roots, the name comes from the French expression “vas-y mollo” meaning “take it easy”. Regulations prevented any use of animal imagery in their visual identity, so they used the hexagon found on a turtle shell to cue kicking it back and taking it slow. They chose a stubby bottle as the vessel to help short-cut the intended drinking occasion.

For otheir taste/experience brand, they created House of Terpenes. A brand that leans into the world of terpenes found in cannabis and celebrates their flavour. They wanted to echo mixology rituals found in alcohol with a rich visual identity made up of deep colours and ingredient imagery.

Finally for their high intensity brand, they created XMG, their highest potency beverage. The name alludes to the maximum THC allowed in cannabis beverages (10MG) while also allowing the consumer to interpret what “X” is to them. The visual identity uses bright colours and graphic line treatments to cue the high-intensity effect of the product.

Truss claimed 34% of the market share within the first year, won best cannabis beverages by KIND magazine and was voted the #1 new cannabis product by consumers. Truss continues to dominate the shelves in retail fridges across the country and has been applauded by industry professionals, retailers and consumers as fresh and innovative.