The Full Story
BRINEE
The Ask:
Over 15 weeks, our team was tasked to concept, brand, and build a go-to-market plan for a new creative venture. Our initial research identified a clear market opportunity: a massive consumer trend in pickled foods, but a market dominated by "traditional and boring" brands.
My Work:
Cross-functional Team Leadership, Strategic Ideation & Brand Direction, Project Coordination & Delivery, Creative & Copy Review
Team:
Casey Hall (Strategist), Chen Li (Art Director), Emma Rich (Copywriter), Malcolm Rose (Experience Designer), Me (Creative Brand Manager)
As the project lead, I ensured our final delivery was a complete, go-to-market-ready brand which included:
-
Market & Competitive Analysis: Identified a market gap where 'cucumbers reign supreme' and competitors lack flavor diversity.
-
Brand Strategy & Positioning: Defined a unique, 'cheeky' brand voice and mission: "When people talk about pickles we want them to talk onions."
-
Brand Identity & Packaging: Developed a full brand world and final labels for our three launch flavors: 'Silly Dilly', 'Citrusy Zang', and 'Sweet Hollerpeño'.
-
Copywriting & Tone of Voice: Oversaw the creation of a complete "Social Media Bible" and brand manifesto.
-
Go-to-Market Strategy: Outlined a launch plan including pop-ups, local eatery collabs, and a BRINEE chatbot.
-
Social Media Campaign: Managed an initial launch campaign that successfully generated 2.6K views across 892 unique accounts.
From Fermented Dreams to Pickled Reality
It was Malcolm, our experience designer, who first pitched onions. Well, actually, he pitched about four different fermented paths. The thing about Malcolm is that he’s cool. The kind of cool that doesn’t try too hard—it just is. That’s Malcolm in a nutshell: a 6’2” guy who takes up just the right amount of space, no more, no less. Throughout the project, I found myself relying on his steady, unwavering nature as a grounding force for the work.
After exploring production costs and popular use cases, we landed on onions. Bright pink pickled onions were everywhere—on Instagram, on menus, in our own kitchens. Their vibrancy and versatility sealed the deal. But how could we make our onions stand out?
Enter Casey, our strategist. She brought her research skills and boundless energy into the kitchen—and the grad school apartments we turned into boardrooms. Casey not only developed our strategic positioning but also whipped up three distinct flavors, each catering to different palates. If we’d had more time, she probably would’ve created a dozen. Her enthusiasm was infectious, and she made sure we had fun (and plenty of onions) every step of the way.
Simultaneously, we began shaping our brand’s look and feel. Who was our target audience? What did they care about? She turned out to be a trendy, 31-year-old furniture restorer who fancied herself a home chef. Self-assured, adventurous, and drawn to visually striking things, she became the embodiment of our brand.
When Onions Found Their Voice (and Character)
This led us to a chicken-or-egg moment: Did the brand’s tone inspire its visuals, or vice versa? Either way, it was a dream pairing. It felt like we’d entered Doodle Jump—bouncing from one good idea to the next, each more satisfying than the last, until we couldn’t stop. Chen, our art director, chose bold, attention-grabbing fonts that perfectly complemented Emma’s cheeky copy.
Cheeky. So cheeky it frequently had me giggling aloud during copy reviews, especially when I’d get Emma to read her work aloud in her serious, unaffected voice. There are many many things that impress me about Emma, but the biggest one is how I saw her tap into an entirely new personality for BRINEE. Watching her access this fresh, unexpected voice was one of the most impressive and crucial moments of the project. It became a defining point for BRINEE—setting the tone for everything that followed.
At the very beginning, I had one non-negotiable request: I wanted a character—a cartoon onion. Looking back, it seems like a "strange hill," but my gut told me it was the fastest way to give both the team and our future customers an emotional connection to the brand.
It was a strategic decision to create a distinct brand asset, and it became the turning point for Chen, our art director. It became my top priority to create that safe space for him. And when we started brainstorming our flavor characters—each bursting with personality—it felt like Chen was all in.
This one decision unlocked our entire brand world, moving seamlessly from flavor descriptors to label designs, and finally, to the wondrous world of BRINEE.
.png)
Behind the Onion Jar: My Take on the BRINEE Magic
My dream has always been to work with ridiculously talented people and push ourselves to new heights—professionally and personally. That’s what first drew me to the creative brand manager role, and it’s what fills my cup every time I get to do it.
It’s such a privilege to have some of the best and brightest young creatives trust me enough to help take a project to its full potential. More than any cool deliverable (and we definitely made some cool shit), it’s that trust I value the most.
My contributions to BRINEE are in both the things you can see (creative reviews, ideating, pitching) and the stuff behind the scenes (keeping timelines on track, setting the right energy, checking in weekly). At the end of the day, that’s the kind of work that fuels me, and it’s what I’ll always strive to do—every single day.