Milklab marks 10 years with refreshed ‘Crafted Chemistry’ brand identity

Milklab has unveiled a refreshed brand identity to celebrate a decade as Australia’s number 1 barista plant-based milk brand.

The announcement:

MILKLAB, Australia’s number 1 barista plant milk brand, has marked its 10th anniversary by unveiling a refreshed brand identity rooted in its heritage of quality and innovation. This significant milestone marks a decade of MILKLAB’s commitment to elevating the coffee experience, transforming from a pioneering brand into a global juggernaut in the alternate milk market.

MILKLAB’s journey has been one of constant evolution, and this commitment to progress is more important than ever as a new generation of café consumers emerges.

Recent research highlights that Gen Z is driving exciting shifts in coffee culture, attracted by curated café beverages (37%) and social media-driven experiences. For 18-24-year-olds, the novelty of new flavours (29%) and a drink’s aesthetics (26%) hold significant sway, with a remarkable 46% motivated to photograph their beverages.

This demographic is also highly influenced by milk choice, with 58% of Gen Z café goers reporting that the brand of milk or plant-based milk influences their café selection. Matcha and flavoured iced Matcha are soaring in popularity, while plant-based options like MILKLAB Almond Milk and Oat Milk lead the pack as the #1 and #2 preferred barista milks in Australian cafés, respectively.

As MILKLAB’s head of marketing, Natalie Latimore, explains, “MILKLAB’s rapid growth to become Australia’s number 1 barista plant-based milk brand is a testament to 10 years of collaboration with cafés, baristas and coffee roasters as well as our dedication to stay on top of global trends and beverage innovation to ensure we’re elevating the coffee and café experience for Aussie consumers.”

This new chapter for MILKLAB sees the brand not just respond to these trends, but reinforce its leadership, ensuring its identity resonates with these new audiences and continues to define excellence in a competitive market.

A New Chapter: Unveiling the “Crafted Chemistry” Identity

To mark this evolution and guide its next decade of growth, MILKLAB has partnered with creative agency Design Bridge and Partners to launch its refreshed brand identity, encapsulated by the philosophy of “Crafted Chemistry.” This identity rejuvenation expresses MILKLAB’s meticulous attention to detail and celebration of coffee and the coffee community. It heroes the dedication to refining every aspect of its offering, ensuring excellence in taste, quality, and experience.

“‘MILKLAB’ is more than just a name; it’s a philosophy,” says Natalie Latimore. “We know that the perfect cup of coffee is a journey of shared vision and partnership. The beans, the barista, the milk – each brings its unique quality to the experience, and without one, the magic is incomplete.”

This sentiment forms the heart of the “Crafted Chemistry” idea, bridging the brand’s scientific precision with the passion and collaborative spirit of the coffee community.

Rodrigo Salas, design director at Design Bridge and Partners Singapore, elaborates on this synergy: “With the idea of Crafted Chemistry, we wanted to highlight MILKLAB’s inherent strength in the rational & tangible aspects of the product (performance, expertise, precision) coupled with the power of partnership, collaborations and community that brings together the dynamic balance that we want to communicate in our graphic system.”

Heroing the Design: From Iconic Bottles to Dynamic Visuals

The refreshed brand identity translates this philosophy into a dynamic design system built on three core principles, ensuring a sophisticated, premium, and distinctive presence. This revitalisation goes beyond mere aesthetics, weaving MILKLAB’s commitment to quality and partnership into every visual element:

• Elevating the Iconic Bottle: MILKLAB’s distinctive bottle, a clear and recognisable icon, has been reimagined as a “creative canvas.” This allows it to frame captivating photography that captures moments of precision and passion, showcasing baristas in their element and behind-the-scenes excellence. It also serves as a flexible and delightful medium for creative collaborations with baristas and creators, celebrating craft and creativity.
• Authentic Photography Style that celebrates the Real Barista Community: The refreshed brand identity prominently features authentic, realistic photography. This imagery captures “in the action” shots, showcasing “real people & spaces” (baristas in their element), and “warm & inviting” moments through natural light and shadows. This approach ensures MILKLAB, its baristas, and the drinks they craft remain at the heart of the experience, celebrating the brand’s constant collaboration with the barista community and telling stories of shared passion, craft, and creativity.
• A Graphic System of Magic & Logic: The visual language brings together the “coffee science” and “specialty love” inherent to MILKLAB. While a core black and white palette maintains a purist approach, strategically applied secondary colours – derived from each product variant – introduce a vibrant and intentional “techni-colour” feel. This thoughtful use of colour highlights product individuality without diluting the brand’s premium feel, moving beyond a previous, more monochromatic aesthetic to inject warmth and personality.

With 6 cups of MILKLAB milk sold every second*, MILKLAB is more than ready to meet the demands of this evolving market. This refreshed brand identity solidifies MILKLAB’s leadership as it continues its remarkable growth as the flagship plant-based milk brand of leading Australian food and beverage company, Noumi.

MILKLAB is the flagship plant-based milk brand of leading Australian food and beverage company, Noumi. In the past year, MILKLAB has experienced 28% revenue growth and is showing strong international demand. Today, MILKLAB Almond is #1 barista almond milk in Australian cafés with availability in over 12,000 cafés, while MILKLAB Oat sits at #2 barista oat milk in Australian cafés, with availability in over 8,000 cafés across the country.

To learn more about MILKLAB and Noumi, visit www.milklabco.com or www.noumi.com.au.

Source: Blue Planet PR