More of what you love.
A Leeds University research project uncovered a natural, caffeine-free drink that tastes like coffee. Brand Revolution turned it into LUCO: a full identity built to earn its place in the coffee ritual, not fight it.
Not an alternative. The second cup.
A Leeds University-led lupin bean project had uncovered a promising idea: a natural, caffeine-free drink that looked, smelled, and tasted like coffee. But the product still needed to move from academic concept to consumer-ready brand.
The challenge was defining why someone would choose lupin coffee in a market already full of alternatives, decaf, and wellness-led substitutes: educating people on an unfamiliar ingredient, standing apart from other lupin products, and staying flexible enough to grow beyond coffee.
A wolf, hiding in plain sight.
Brand Revolution built LUCO around the positioning "more of what you love." Rather than framing lupin coffee as an anti-coffee alternative, we positioned it as the second cup: a way to enjoy the ritual of coffee later in the day, without the caffeine.
The team developed the name, strategy, logo, packaging, product designs, investor deck, and brand guidelines. LUCO gives the brand a simple connection to lupin coffee, while leaving room to grow into a broader lupin-based company.
The visual identity uses bold colors, playful illustration, and lupin-inspired details, anchored by a distinctive wolf mark rooted in the lupin flower's connection to the Latin word lupus. It's a character built to hide in plain sight, right at home in a coffee ritual.
A voice as clever as the bean.
The same playful, confident tone runs from packaging into every campaign touchpoint.
"When's your caffeine cut-off?"
Campaign creative built around a problem every coffee drinker knows, positioning LUCO as the answer for the second cup.
"From farm-to-froth."
UK-grown lupin beans gave the brand a sourcing story worth telling, turning an unfamiliar ingredient into a point of pride.
"Clever little bean."
Playful, confident copy that carries the brand's personality from the shelf to social to out-of-home.
LUCO transformed from an academic concept into a credible, investor-ready brand platform: a clear story, a complete visual system, and the tools to introduce lupin coffee as a more natural, sustainable addition to the coffee ritual.
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