Before designing a logo, choosing colors, or creating packaging, brands need to understand precisely who they are trying to reach. That means going beyond basic demographics and drilling down to how consumers live, where they shop, what products they already buy, and what influences their purchasing decisions.

That groundwork guides everything from visual design and messaging to distribution strategy and the overall look and feel a product creates on the shelf.

As the hemp beverage and functional wellness categories continue to expand in popularity, standing out is becoming more challenging. Many products compete for attention in similar formats, from flavored sparkling beverages to low-dose social drinks, making it harder for new brands to stand out.

Lynn Altman, founder and CEO of Brand Now, an innovation, branding, and package design agency based in New York City, works with companies to develop products and build a brand identity.

She spoke with Hemp Beverage News about the process she uses with new brands, from identifying market opportunities to creating products with a clear purpose.

Finding the White Space

When a new beverage brand approaches Brand Now, Altman said the first step depends on where the company is in the process. Some brands show up with nothing more than an idea, while others already have a formulation and need help building the brand out.

For companies starting from the beginning, the first step is market research. Brands need to understand the category they are entering, who else is competing for consumer attention, and where there may be opportunities to create something different.

In the hemp beverage space, that means looking at everything from product format and ingredients to pricing, distribution strategy, and consumer expectations.

Altman often looks for what she calls the “brand white space,” or an opportunity that has not yet been fully claimed.

“It’s looking for a meaningful point of difference for people,” Altman explained. “Is there a formulation, a promise, a benefit, a flavor that hasn’t really been captured yet?”

A product does not necessarily need to reinvent an entire category, but it does need a clear reason for consumers to choose it.

She pointed to the traditional beverage market as an example. Two brands can compete in the same category, but their positioning, personality, and connection with consumers can make them feel entirely different. Snapple and Arizona iced tea both sell flavored iced tea, yet they reflect different identities. Snapple has traditionally leaned into a more premium, quirky personality, focusing on unique flavors and storytelling, while Arizona is known for large-format cans with a mass-market approach. The products may sit in the same category, but they appeal to different consumer mindsets.

That same approach applies to hemp beverages, where many brands are competing in similar formats.

Building Beyond the Product

Having a good-tasting product may be the most important part of the equation, but a strong brand story influences how consumers understand and experience it.

For brands that already have a formulation, Altman said the next step is understanding who the product is really for, where it fits on the shelf, and which channels make the most sense for reaching that consumer.

“It’s not being something for everyone,” Altman said. “It’s finding your audience.”

She pointed to low-dose beverage brands as an example. While multiple companies may offer similar formulations, the story behind the brand shapes how consumers interpret the product. One brand may frame the same type of beverage as a wellness ritual, another as a social alternative to alcohol, and another as part of a specific lifestyle or occasion. The brand’s story ultimately guides everything from packaging design to marketing language.

Identifying the target audience then shapes brand messaging. Even small word choices can change how consumers perceive a product. Altman noted that a brand describing itself as a “leisure drink” creates a different feeling than one positioned as a “social tonic,” even if the products are similar.

“People used to come to us and say, ‘We want to create a brand,’ and what they were talking about was a logo and a tagline,” she explained. “But going right to design without saying, ‘Who are we and who are we for?’ That’s actually the cornerstone of the brand.”

The message shifts based on who the product is speaking to and how it is positioned.

Altman pointed to Dad Grass as an example of a brand built around casual social occasions like backyard BBQs, rather than focusing on the specifics of the product itself.

Emerging beverage brands still have opportunities in crowded categories, she said. The key is identifying an entry point—through audience, occasion, or positioning—that creates space for a brand to stand out.

Translating Brand Strategy Into Design

Once a brand understands who it is trying to reach, the next step is translating that into a design. One approach Brand Now uses is describing personality through archetypes. Brands, like people, can be playful, rebellious, premium, or design-forward, and that comes through in packaging, tone, and visuals.

Packaging needs to clearly communicate what the product is while creating enough differentiation to stand out on the shelf. For beverage brands, that can mean everything from color and typography to flavor profiles and overall presentation.

When brands push toward more daring design choices, Liquid Death often comes up as an example. It succeeded by breaking completely from traditional bottled water branding. The product looks nothing like its category, and that contrast is what makes it immediately noticeable.

Altman often works with clients across a spectrum she describes as “mild to wild,” exploring how far a concept can be pushed in design.

Testing unconventional ideas in traditional research settings can be difficult because focus group participants often react negatively at first simply because the ideas feel unfamiliar.

Messaging is Not About the Product

Altman said one of the most common mistakes brands make is focusing too heavily on what is inside the can, rather than why the consumer should care.

“It’s not about me, it’s about you,” she said. “Why will you love it? What will it do for your life? Why choose this over another hemp beverage?”

She said messaging should center on the benefit, the use case, or the reason someone would choose one product over another.

She pointed to a brand like JoyRush, which targets women navigating perimenopause, as an example of clear audience-driven messaging. By focusing on a specific consumer need, the brand can align its formulation and communication around a specific purpose.

“That’s a perfect example of a brand that knows exactly who it is speaking to,” Altman said. “It always feels scary to narrow your audience, but clarity creates relevance.”

Many brands default to broad appeal across age groups, assuming they need to speak to everyone from younger consumers to older adults.

“But you can’t speak to a 21-year-old and a 75-year-old in the same way,” she said. Even adjacent audiences require different messaging to feel relevant.

She pointed to a client developing personal care products for both teenage girls and their mothers. “A teenage girl is not going to want the same brand as her mom,” she said. “You have to rethink the positioning entirely.”

Altman emphasized that narrowing a target audience is not limiting—it is clarifying. “Speaking to a perimenopausal woman is not restrictive,” she said. “It creates focus. It means you know exactly who you are solving a problem for.”

Innovation Pathways

Altman said that once a brand identifies a core consumer need, the same functional ingredients can be used to create different drinking occasions and expand into adjacent use cases.

In women’s health, for example, a brand focused on menopause could extend to other related experiences, such as menstrual cycles or hormonal shifts across different life stages. The goal is not to change the core purpose, but to apply it to additional moments where similar needs appear.

“You establish a core audience first, and then expand the use case into other areas,” she said.

Altman added that this approach allows brands to grow without losing focus and to continue building brand awareness rather than broadening too quickly.

She pointed to the idea of expanding from menopause support into menstrual-cycle products for younger women dealing with cramps, sleep disruption, and mood changes.

“What you’re really doing is mapping need states across time,” she said.

That shift—from a single audience to a continuum of related needs—is where innovation strategy becomes more impactful.

Altman also pointed to an example of expanding product use cases across age groups, where parents may replace traditional sugary drinks for children with nutrient-focused alternatives like Olipop.

The broader opportunity, she said, is recognizing that innovation is not just about new ingredients, but new occasions for the same benefits.