A coffee roaster branding with handfuls of nuts...

Problem

Coffee plants grow slowly, love shade and heights. Just like wine - terroir is so important! They're also endangered, suffering from deforestation, climate change, unpredictable rains and fungal infections. Research and support are needed.

Solution

Beans with purpose. Another coffee roaster just roasting and selling beans would have been a bit ordinary.

We'd set these guys up to have a really strong understanding of their purpose and how they'd make a deeper contribution.

Grey Matter sources its beans directly from the farmers, ensuring vital research and development can be undertaken. With this they are able to provide education to customers, explore beans that go deeper.

The idea behind grey matter is the synaptic response between neurons and the chemical reactions that take place during coffee drinking. It's about a culture, creating happy moments and being part of a community.

The identity was setup to be easy to tailor to new blends, single origins and special releases. It's detailed, cheeky, bold, and packed with anutty personality

Evaluation

We absolutely loved this project from 2019. It was ballsy and the brand went all in, opening up the roastery and two cafe's in Newcastle, with a slowly building wholesale business.

Unfortunately COVID's impact came just at the wrong time, smothering sales and the expansion of the wholesale business, forcing the closure of the cafe's and the shutdown of the roaster.