The Somersby logo combines freshness and creativity to fill all image elements. The logo conveys a rich apple flavor with notes of sweetness and invites you to try a refreshing and invigorating vitamin drink.
Somersby: Brand overview
Somersby, one of the ten most popular cider brands globally, was developed in 2008 by the Danish brewing company Carlsberg Group. Created to diversify Carlsberg’s portfolio beyond traditional beer, Somersby cider was initially launched in Denmark and Norway, designed to appeal broadly through its mild, sweet flavor profile. Though its branding evokes English cider-making traditions, the product was tailored with specially selected apple varieties and later expanded with additional flavors, including blackberry, elderberry, citrus, and watermelon. Carlsberg further customized the cider’s ingredients for local tastes when entering new markets, facilitating its international growth into over 40 countries. Marketing campaigns featured the humorous fictional aristocrat, Lord Somersby, positioning the cider as a symbol of summer leisure and relaxation. Subsequent product innovations included the introduction of pear cider, Sparkling Rosé, alcohol-free variants, craft lines, and limited seasonal editions. Currently, Somersby continues its global expansion, actively developing its digital presence, engaging consumers online, and regularly introducing new flavors to adapt to diverse regional preferences.
Meaning and History
Somersby is an alcoholic brand known for its ciders based on apple juice and other fruits and berries. Its logo depicts a tree that reflects the main ingredient in its drinks. At first, the apple tree was before a bright sun, symbolizing dawn and optimism. A ladder was attached to the apple tree to show the company’s continuous work on the quality of its products. But then the design changed: the tree’s crown in twisted spirals began to look like a bouquet of fanciful flowers.
Nevertheless, all the Somersby emblems have something to do with the apple theme. The general concept didn’t change either: the signs reflect the idea of communication, bright mood, and joy associated with drinking cider. Designers experimented only with a design to make the logo correspond to consumers’ modern trends and tastes.
What is Somersby?
This well-known international brand offers light fruit-based alcoholic beverages with a refreshing taste and moderate alcohol content. The production relies on a special apple juice fermentation process, creating the perfect blend of fruity sweetness and gentle acidity. In addition to traditional apple cider, the lineup includes various fruit flavors such as pear, blackcurrant, red berry, and seasonal varieties. This brand is popular for casual gatherings and summer celebrations, thanks to its light and approachable character, reflected in the refreshing taste of its drinks.
2008 – 2019
Carlsberg introduced the product as natural. Therefore, the first logo of the brand is very realistic. It depicts a harvest. The apple tree studded with apples hints at the main ingredient in cider (the drink is made by fermenting apple juice).
The fruits must be ripe and of special varieties. The emblem conveys the juiciness and fullness of the fruit through the bright setting sun illuminating the tree in the background. The sun speaks of warmth, late summer to early fall, when it’s time to harvest.
Symbolizes the sun and the heat needed to ferment the raw material. The finished product can also be consumed warmly, adding honey and spices.
The emblem gives the impression that the sun is looking down on the tree, showing the company’s greatness, rise, and prosperity.
The yellow hue that dominates the image echoes the drink’s color and its rich, concentrated sweet flavor. When you look at the emblem, a pleasant warmth spreads over body, conveying cider’s stimulating and tonic properties.
Under the visual part is the name of the brand. The word Somersby is used as the surname of the lord who supplied cider to the court of the English king. It is a fictional character created for the brand legend.
The big capital letters stand for the prevalence of the drink, which is known in 47 countries worldwide. Their proximity tells of a high concentration of ingredients. The dot at the end of the inscription says, “If you drink cider, only Somersby. There’s nothing better.”
2019 – today
In 2019, the decision was made to rebrand because the cider market had grown tremendously, and the Somersby brand was young enough to be lost against the competition. Management decided to make the brand more recognizable and its visual identity distinctive. Elmwood Leeds agency was given such an assignment and presented a new logo.
Keeping the main element of the past composition – the tre-, the designers gave it a more fabulous and creative look. This made the element exclusive, standing out from similar pictures. The main objective – to make the brand more recognizable – was realized thanks to this. At the same time, the image fixed in the consumer’s consciousness was not broken.
It is no longer possible to distinguish the fruit on the branches. For 2019, in addition to the apple drink, a pear drink and variations with flavorings were produced, so the emblem was smoothly moved away from specifics, leaving the general image of a fruit tree. At the same time, filler elements are added to the crown of the living tree on the specific flavor label.
The green color of the modern logo is fresher, matching the hue of the ripe apples used in the classic recipe.
The sun’s disappearance helps focus attention on a single, well-remembered element that directly connects with cider-making. The hues of the finished drink have also changed, and the yellow notes no longer play an important role in the image.
The curves and swirls on the crown convey a passion for the flow of life and enjoyment of each day. The bright colors of the drink lift the spirits and encourage customers to rejoice and have fun.
The brand’s name is more in harmony with the image thanks to the resizing of the letters to match the curve of the soil under the tree. The trunk seems to be holding on to the Somersby name with its roots, showing the birth of the brand from the legend of a lord who lived centuries ago.
Font and Colors
The logo’s main color is green, in different tones and shades, with the addition of yellow. Gamma evokes a feeling of warmth and coziness. It tells about drinking cider in the company of pleasant people.
- Green suggests the naturalness of the drink and the high level of tannin, typical for the green varieties of Granny Smith apples used in the recipe. The overtones create a sense of the richness of flavor, adding various fruity nuances.
- Yellow conveys the gas bubbles that fill the glass and the caramel color of the drink.
The lettering font resembles Ozonos Bold but has curved E and M edges.