Cute animals and “gloopy” type: Building a plant-based milk brand for Gen Alpha

While some brands are still searching for the best way to captivate Gen Z, KiddiWinks – a plant-based milk brand for kids – is already looking to Gen Alpha, an age group born from 2010 onwards (the same year the iPad was invented). KiddiWinks launched on 22 November, with branding from Brooklyn-based studio Young Jerks and London creative agency Wildish & Co. According to the two agencies, the central challenge to the work was not just catering to this upcoming market but to the parents buying the product, showing elements such as nutritional information alongside playful accents, like animal mascots.

The plant-based market is saturated with brands. Though, Wildish & Co.’s Sam Fresco states it’s still a project of firsts. “We haven’t seen too many tackling alt-dairy and the Alpha audience – that really felt like a first to us.” Bought on board for its work for nutritional yeast brand Notorious Nooch, Wildish & Co. delivers the site for KiddiWinks – complete with elements like Shop Now buttons that ‘fill up’ with milk. Meanwhile, Young Jerks focuses on wider branding.

The KiddiWinks logotype is entirely hand-drawn, purposefully “made to look gloopy and milky”, says Kelly Thorn, senior art director at Young Jerks. Gloopiness also informs the choice of supporting fonts: Caspar by Alexis Boscariol and Genty from Flavor Type with Visby Round by Connary Fagen. Thorn adds: “Visby’s a soft serve kind of a body copy.”

Elsewhere, illustrated animal characters run throughout KiddiWinks – dubbed Winks – to introduce a sense of play. Thorn, who created the illustrations, explains that memorability and storytelling was essential and that mascots, like the Winks serve this purpose. But they also help to deliver crucial nutritional information. Fresco explains: “The illustrations were great for explaining the science and the why behind the product. As a drink backed by pediatric science, Kiddiwinks provides the nutrients kids need to thrive, but that's not always easy to communicate.” The illustrations break down this research for parents looking to make an informed choice.

Fresco outlines some of the thinking that went into creating a brand that could be both educational and exciting: “We started thinking, what would a plant-based milk brand for kids look like? What would be the historical stigmas attached, and how would the brand work to shake that? How would the typography and illustration of the identity work to change perceptions? KiddiWinks is a really interesting brand as it hits the intersection of sustainability and health, both key decision drivers in purchase decisions – especially for parents.”