The Full Story
BRINEE
The Ask:
Over 15 weeks, we were tasked with creating a side-hustle project—either a product, service, or creative venture with a purpose. The goal was to build a brand, develop its visuals, manage the process, and execute marketing, all while documenting our journey to deliver a polished presentation.
My Work:
Cross-functional Team Leadership, Strategic Ideation, Project Coordination & Delivery
Team:
Casey Hall (Strategist), Chen Li (Art Director), Emma Rich (Copywriter), Malcolm Rose (Experience Designer), Me (Creative Brand Manager)
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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.
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 to die on, 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.
I think this was the turning point for Chen. He’s reserved—an incredibly dedicated worker who doesn’t take risks unless he knows it’s safe to do so. 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. From there, we moved seamlessly to flavor descriptors, label designs, and finally, the wondrous world of BRINEE was born.
