At Brandsymbol, we have a passion for branding done well, and we love to explore successful brands to uncover insights from their victories. Clean Juice, the first and only USDA-certified organic juice and food bar franchise – and one of the fastest-growing brands of its kind, is a fantastic example of strong branding and provocative storytelling. The Brandsymbol team had the opportunity to sit down with the Chief Marketing Officer of Clean Juice, B. Quick Chadwick, to delve deeper into their success.
We know a lot more goes into a branding strategy than just the name or logo. That’s why we started by exploring the brand story behind Clean Juice. For starters, they have a clear and distinct differentiator that separates them from others, and Quick’s passion behind it was clear from the start.
“The differentiator of Clean Juice is that we are certified organic,” he said, “not just some of the time or when it’s convenient…but we are all organic all the time. Why? We believe that organic isn’t a fad. It’s a return to tradition. It’s how food was always meant to be and how it should be given to the guest, prepared in a way that they want.
At the heart of our core values is transparency. In fact, it’s the key to trust, so we aim to be transparent in all our business dealings, especially when it comes to our guests. This is why we prepare the food right in front of them.”
As we continued the conversation on the branding strategy, we took B. Quick through a creative exercise to identify the brand’s archetype. Brands need to connect with their audience in a deep and meaningful way in order to build authenticity, loyalty, and trust. Brand archetypes provide a framework based on human psychology to help companies build worthwhile and valuable relationships.
We defined Clean Juice’s archetype as the nurturer. Also sometimes referred to as the caregiver, the nurturer archetype protects and cares for others. This archetype is deeply compassionate, generous, and altruistic. Some other examples of brands that fit into this archetype are Dove, UNICEF, Headspace, and Pampers.
“Our mission is to provide our communities across the United States with a truly healthy, delicious, organic meal to help them be healthy in body and strong in spirit,” said B. Quick. “As a company with faith-based values, it translates to an innate desire to serve our guests with a servant’s heart.”
Moving from brand strategy to the name and logo anatomy, we asked B. Quick about the meaning behind the name and logo, which serve as the bedrock for any brand.
BRAND NAME
“Clean” is the customer benefit and speaks to its unique differentiator (organic is clean), which is apparent in the name. Clean Juice is descriptive and meaningful to target audiences looking for a convenient, USDA-certified organic juice and food bar.
TYPOGRAPHY
The unique font is a type of sans serif, meaning it is without the lines or strokes attached to serif fonts such as Times New Roman. Sans serif fonts are cleaner and more approachable. The distressed treatment of the font – displayed as “spots” or particles in the logo – is another reference. B. Quick stated that it’s also a nod to the transparency behind the Clean Juice brand, in which we accept that none of us are perfectly pure, and regardless, we serve each guest with love and kindness.
IMAGERY
The iconography references the healthy juices supplied by Clean Juice. Additionally, it’s embedded into the wordmark, which alludes to the holistic lifestyle supported by this brand.
COLOR
The colors contribute to the overall brand message of Clean Juice as a health & wellness lifestyle brand. The iconic green accent color is also vibrant and lively, befitting the positivity and energy behind the brand.
We wrapped up the interview with a final creative exercise that challenges the participant to imagine their brand in the newspaper ten years in the future. We asked B. Quick, “if your brand was on the front-page news for achieving greatness ten years from now, what is Clean Juice being recognized for? What does that success look like for Clean Juice?”
His answer, “That Clean Juice made organic the new norm in the food industry…and pushed others to offer healthier options. We strive to love our guests and our employees. We want people to be excited to come to our stores, interact with our employees, and leave happier because they not only ate a healthy, delicious juice or snack but were treated in a positive and real way. The biggest success is knowing that we had a part of something bigger. We were there to help people develop healthier life choices in what they put in their bodies, changing how people think about organic food and the positive health effects our products have.”
For more information about the Clean Juice store, visit CleanJuice.com.
