Virginia Beer Co., a prominent brewery in Virginia renowned for its IPAs and community engagement, spotted an opportunity to create a light beer brand. This new offering speaks to the “fatigued craft drinker” — someone who appreciates quality beer but has grown weary of the craft beer scene.

But for this idea to work, they wanted to create some distance between their parent brand and this new offering. While their name is a valuable asset locally, it poses challenges for expansion beyond Virginia. (After all, why would a North Carolina consumer be particularly drawn to a Virginia Beer Co. product?)

In late 2023, Virginia Beer Co. collaborated with CODO to develop, position and launch a distinct Sub Brand designed to scale to markets well beyond their home state. (And so far, it’s working exactly as intended.)

Read a deep dive case study on what went into building the Cold Drinking Beer brand (including Brand Strategy, early sketches and summarily rejected concepts). And here’s a fun podcast conversation with the Virginia Beer Co. team for more background on this new brand.