BOS Ice Tea:
BOS Ice Tea: It’s branding ‘BOSsificated’
Brand building has never been easy and taking a well-known local product and canning it doesn’t always a Superbrand make. Except when it’s Rushmere and Rooibos. Dianne Bayley looks at the little brand with the heart of a lion. Walter Landor, the brand visionary whose repertoire included Coca-Cola, Levi’s, Kellogg’s, GE, Fuji Film and the World Wildlife Fund, famously said: “Products are made in the factory, but brands are created in the mind.” Cape-based creative entrepreneur Grant Rushmere takes this seriously: “Our product is about thirst. Our branding moves you beyond thirst.” Rushmere, the man behind the simple, funky and extremely attractive Afro Coffee brand - which also launched a bevy of other Afro branded products - has raised the branding bar again with the undeniably South African-lekker BOS Ice Tea. Who would have thought Rooibos tea could be this sexy? According to Rushmere, design consultancy The President was briefed to capture and initiate an authentic African story. “People are looking for stories. They want something more than just eye-catching packaging. We believe the BOS brand offers this.” South Africans know Rooibos by heart; a drink revered for its ancient ingredients that bring health to life. Now BOS Ice Tea has “bossificated” rooibos - taking it out of the box, putting it in a cool Afro-centric can, and chilling it. It’s an entirely different approach and look from any other brand on
the market, and it has made waves in the market place since its launch in the Western Cape in July 2010. “Good branding moves you visually,” says Rushmere, “but the product itself has to offer far more than that. Consumers are looking for product integrity, something greater than a nice tea in a can. People actually do seek out the holistic brand, one that not only captures the essence of a good product, but backs it up with a holistic approach to the entire manufacturing process.” It’s a natural winner - flavours like peach, lemon, apple and berry are blended with rooibos tea farmed exclusively in the Western Cape on Richard Bowsher’s “magical organic farm” Klipopmekaar, in the Cederberg Mountains. The product can’t be faulted on its ethics - but it’s the pop art can and the philosophy that “good health does not need to be at the expense of good let-your-hair-down living” that delights consumers. “Our branding is what we would call ‘holistic commentary’ - it’s cross-cultural; it’s a social thing rather than just a commodity and we’re celebrating Rooibos tea’s African roots,” says Rushmere. “We think the BOS packaging and the play on one of South Africa’s favourite slang words,
‘bos’, makes this a playful brand with a serious and inspiring undertone.” In a market filled with well loved products, it takes something special to lift a “favourite brand” to a Superbrand. Rushmere believes that this lift is a combination of many factors, but that inspiration, humour and a “joyful approach to life” is playing a huge part in South Africa’s delight in BOS Ice Tea. “Many South African brands have been designed to meet what designers think are the standards of global branding. We have tended to kowtow to what ‘they’ like and not what we are . . . I think the world is ready for a bit of Africa - especially a healthy bit!” Rich in antioxidants and essential minerals, Rooibos tea is recognised internationally as an anti-ageing beverage. Claimed health benefits include powerful anti-spasmodic and anti-allergenic effects, improved circulation and liver function and lower cholesterol levels. BOS Ice Teas are also free of preservatives, colourants and chemicals. An enthusiastic local response from both the trade and the consumer suggests that BOS co-founders Richard Bowsher and Rushmere may be on to some international attention here, just as Afro Coffee received shortly after its launch. BOS is Currently available at all Woolworths outlets and in select Spar and Pick ’n Pay stores nationwide. You will also find BOS Ice Tea in many fine restaurants, bars and delis across South Africa. Both Bowsher, who was farming premium quality, organic Rooibos in the Cederberg, and Rushmere have a passion for building awareness and value around African products, which bodes well for the BOS brand. “Passion for
your products is vital to building a recognisable brand,” says Rushmere. “What you put out there with passion, people will consume with passion.” In developing the BOS brand with The President, Rushmere reviewed elements of African mythology from the San, Egyptian and West African tribes and used symbols of the lion and the dog star Sirius, in a contemporary take on ancient culture. The colours and designs of the cans is where “ancient” meets “today”. The product’s branding is backed up by the “unique BOS voice”, says Rushmere. “Besides the unusual BOS palmfrond umbrella we offer restaurants, we’re all about engaging activity that stops people in their tracks. We’ve conducted samplings around stunts like divers on the beach in shark outfits, - which certainly did stop them in their tracks! We believe in contributing through our marketing - whether entertaining people with our Twitter activated vending machine or seeing a herd of giraffes on bicycles handing out ice cold BOS, we want our marketing to be an engaging activity.” Seen as a brand that represents an authentic, contemporary, confident South Africa, BOS Ice Tea is billed as a “brand new damn good far better ice tea” which unleashes “energy, robust health and an exuberant capacity for joy”. It’s branding that appeals across all age groups and “it’s funky, contemporary Africa,” says Rushmere. Produced and packaged in South Africa, it’s the “it” brand locals and foreigners are going bossies for. That’s BOS, taking Walter Landor’s philosophy a step further: Products are made in the great, organic outdoors and brands are created in the heart.
Brand building has never been easy and taking a well-known local product and canning it doesn’t always a Superbrand make. Except when it’s Rushmere and Rooibos. Dianne Bayley looks at the little brand with the heart of a lion. Walter Landor, the brand visionary whose repertoire included Coca-Cola, Levi’s, Kellogg’s, GE, Fuji Film and the World Wildlife Fund, famously said: “Products are made in the factory, but brands are created in the mind.” Cape-based creative entrepreneur Grant Rushmere takes this seriously: “Our product is about thirst. Our branding moves you beyond thirst.” Rushmere, the man behind the simple, funky and extremely attractive Afro Coffee brand - which also launched a bevy of other Afro branded products - has raised the branding bar again with the undeniably South African-lekker BOS Ice Tea. Who would have thought Rooibos tea could be this sexy? According to Rushmere, design consultancy The President was briefed to capture and initiate an authentic African story. “People are looking for stories. They want something more than just eye-catching packaging. We believe the BOS brand offers this.” South Africans know Rooibos by heart; a drink revered for its ancient ingredients that bring health to life. Now BOS Ice Tea has “bossificated” rooibos - taking it out of the box, putting it in a cool Afro-centric can, and chilling it. It’s an entirely different approach and look from any other brand on
the market, and it has made waves in the market place since its launch in the Western Cape in July 2010. “Good branding moves you visually,” says Rushmere, “but the product itself has to offer far more than that. Consumers are looking for product integrity, something greater than a nice tea in a can. People actually do seek out the holistic brand, one that not only captures the essence of a good product, but backs it up with a holistic approach to the entire manufacturing process.” It’s a natural winner - flavours like peach, lemon, apple and berry are blended with rooibos tea farmed exclusively in the Western Cape on Richard Bowsher’s “magical organic farm” Klipopmekaar, in the Cederberg Mountains. The product can’t be faulted on its ethics - but it’s the pop art can and the philosophy that “good health does not need to be at the expense of good let-your-hair-down living” that delights consumers. “Our branding is what we would call ‘holistic commentary’ - it’s cross-cultural; it’s a social thing rather than just a commodity and we’re celebrating Rooibos tea’s African roots,” says Rushmere. “We think the BOS packaging and the play on one of South Africa’s favourite slang words,
‘bos’, makes this a playful brand with a serious and inspiring undertone.” In a market filled with well loved products, it takes something special to lift a “favourite brand” to a Superbrand. Rushmere believes that this lift is a combination of many factors, but that inspiration, humour and a “joyful approach to life” is playing a huge part in South Africa’s delight in BOS Ice Tea. “Many South African brands have been designed to meet what designers think are the standards of global branding. We have tended to kowtow to what ‘they’ like and not what we are . . . I think the world is ready for a bit of Africa - especially a healthy bit!” Rich in antioxidants and essential minerals, Rooibos tea is recognised internationally as an anti-ageing beverage. Claimed health benefits include powerful anti-spasmodic and anti-allergenic effects, improved circulation and liver function and lower cholesterol levels. BOS Ice Teas are also free of preservatives, colourants and chemicals. An enthusiastic local response from both the trade and the consumer suggests that BOS co-founders Richard Bowsher and Rushmere may be on to some international attention here, just as Afro Coffee received shortly after its launch. BOS is Currently available at all Woolworths outlets and in select Spar and Pick ’n Pay stores nationwide. You will also find BOS Ice Tea in many fine restaurants, bars and delis across South Africa. Both Bowsher, who was farming premium quality, organic Rooibos in the Cederberg, and Rushmere have a passion for building awareness and value around African products, which bodes well for the BOS brand. “Passion for
your products is vital to building a recognisable brand,” says Rushmere. “What you put out there with passion, people will consume with passion.” In developing the BOS brand with The President, Rushmere reviewed elements of African mythology from the San, Egyptian and West African tribes and used symbols of the lion and the dog star Sirius, in a contemporary take on ancient culture. The colours and designs of the cans is where “ancient” meets “today”. The product’s branding is backed up by the “unique BOS voice”, says Rushmere. “Besides the unusual BOS palmfrond umbrella we offer restaurants, we’re all about engaging activity that stops people in their tracks. We’ve conducted samplings around stunts like divers on the beach in shark outfits, - which certainly did stop them in their tracks! We believe in contributing through our marketing - whether entertaining people with our Twitter activated vending machine or seeing a herd of giraffes on bicycles handing out ice cold BOS, we want our marketing to be an engaging activity.” Seen as a brand that represents an authentic, contemporary, confident South Africa, BOS Ice Tea is billed as a “brand new damn good far better ice tea” which unleashes “energy, robust health and an exuberant capacity for joy”. It’s branding that appeals across all age groups and “it’s funky, contemporary Africa,” says Rushmere. Produced and packaged in South Africa, it’s the “it” brand locals and foreigners are going bossies for. That’s BOS, taking Walter Landor’s philosophy a step further: Products are made in the great, organic outdoors and brands are created in the heart.
