Tomos & Lilford Brewery: From shipping container to packed stadium

A small Welsh brewery began their adventure in a shipping container…

Using botanical ingredients, found in the surrounding coastal wilds of South Wales, Tomos & Lilford’s beers promise to whisk you away you on a sensory adventure across lands and through time.

… but soon grew into an eight-barrel outfit and moved into their own premises.

Their sudden growth meant they needed a fresh look to compete with the big boys of craft and traditional breweries alike.

This was an exciting time and they asked Hybrid Studio to reposition them, moving from ‘fusty’ (their word!) to a more current, flexible and clearer brand. They wanted to simplify their messaging while a new website would allow them to handle online sales and help increase their turnover.

‘People couldn’t understand what we were based on our previous brand. It had no clarity or consistency so the message was confused,’ said Rob Lilford, Director (also Chief Brewer, Inventor and Dreamer).

It was time to get serious.

Rob’s other half, Jo, is very handily a brand strategist (also Tomos & Lilford Director, Maître d’ and general Rein Holder). She did all the research and developed a brand strategy for the brewery.

Then Tomos & Lilford asked us to deliver the creative — visual research, brand design, and web design and development complete with an online shop.

What we did:

• Developed a fresh new brand to reflect the brewery’s growth and appeal to customers old and new
• Designed a new logo
• Designed packaging and everything else that goes with it: labels for bottles and cans, signage, clothing, pump clips, beer mats…
• Designed and developed a clean, modern, easy to navigate website and e-commerce store with Shopify

Today, Tomos and Lilford supply retailers of all shapes and sizes, restaurants, bars and festivals throughout the UK.

The brewery now has a far more professional look, with tonnes of personality that retains their offbeat charm. They can sell directly to their customers and the sales have been rolling in.

And they’ve been producing signature beers for some of Wales’s most loved places and people including Wright’s Food Emporium, Scarlets Rugby and St Fagans National Museum of History.

And on top of all that they can run their business with confidence, knowing they have a clear and consistent brand, unique and recognisable — and completely them.

Rob said: ‘I love what Hybrid have done and we’ve had nothing but positive feedback. I feel very proud now. I’m much more confident in presenting the company.’

What’s your brandimal? Read more about the thinking behind Tomos & Lilford’s animal of choice.