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D2C brand · Shopify · Food

From D2C start-up to the candy aisle.

Hamburg-based ahead makes sweets without empty calories: protein and fibre instead of sugar. We helped build the D2C business, from the Shopify store to the growth model. The loud 2022 rebrand was designed by Emanuel Rinne.

ahead campaign visual
2017
Founded in Hamburg
2022
Full rebrand
Rewe
Listed since late 2022
The project

A brand that screams “Yummy!”

ahead started in Hamburg in 2017 as a performance-food start-up: bars and drinkable meals for mental performance, founded by two former German armed forces officers. It evolved into a brand with a clear mission: sweets without a guilty conscience and without empty calories, made with protein, fibre and good fats.

We helped build the ahead D2C business: the store runs on Shopify, and brand, presence and growth model were developed hand in hand. The own channel is the foundation of the brand: a direct customer relationship and full control over the brand experience.

In 2022 the brand got the look the product deserves: significantly louder, edgier and bolder. The rebrand, designed by Emanuel Rinne, brings colour blocking, cartoonesque typography and a visual language that simply screams “Yummy!”, from packaging to the store. Since late 2022, ahead has also been on the shelves at Rewe.

ahead store design on a smartphone
Process

From niche product to retail brand.

1
Performance-food origins
2017, Hamburg: ahead launches with products for mental performance, sold direct to consumer, and reaches a wide audience through the German TV show “Die Höhle der Löwen”.
2
Building the D2C business
Shopify store, brand and growth model from one team: the direct channel becomes the core of the brand and its direct line to the community.
3
The 2022 rebrand
Louder, edgier, bolder: new logo, packaging, colour and typography system and digital surfaces. Designed by Emanuel Rinne.
4
Onto the shelves
Listed at Rewe since late 2022: the D2C brand becomes a retail brand, with the own store as its foundation.
What was created

Brand and store from a single mould.

01
Brand identity
A new logo and a visual language that makes the brand significantly louder and bolder.
02
Packaging
Packaging design that stands out on the shelf: colour blocking and instant appetite appeal.
03
Typography & colour
Cartoonesque typography and a colour-blocking system for recognition across all channels.
04
Digital surfaces
UI and UX design for the store and digital touchpoints, consistent with the new brand world.
05
Shopify store
The D2C foundation: the own Shopify store as the direct channel to the community.
06
Two channels
D2C and retail work together: the brand grows online and on the shelf.
ahead drinkable meals
Results

What changed.

Rewe
On the candy shelves since late 2022: the D2C start-up became a retail brand.
2022
A full rebrand from a single mould: logo, packaging, typography and digital surfaces.
D2C
The own Shopify store remains the foundation: direct customer relationships and full control of the brand.
Approach and technology

Brand, product and store, never thought apart.

At ahead, design was never decoration: brand, packaging and store speak the same language. The rebrand was designed by Emanuel Rinne. That experience flows into every one of our projects.

Shopify
Figma
Adobe Creative Cloud
Cinema 4D
Brand design
Packaging

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