karma guava

PROJECT: Packaging Design

DELIVERABLES: Illustration/Packaging Design/Brand Collateral

TIMELINE: 1 WEEK

Project Type: Creative Concept Work

Karma Guava Groove is a self-initiated concept packaging project that imagines a bold new tropical guava soda flavour for Karma Drinks. Built around the idea of flavour as rhythm, the project explores how a new product extension could feel believable within Karma’s playful, organic, and Fairtrade-led world, while introducing a distinct personality of its own.

The challenge was to create more than a flavour variant. Karma Drinks already has a recognisable visual language rooted in expressive illustration, bold colour, hand-crafted typography, and ethical storytelling, so the design needed to respect the brand’s existing energy without becoming a direct imitation. The goal was to build a flavour world that felt ownable, memorable, and commercially believable.

A person using a red and yellow sticker applicator to apply a decorative label with the text 'GET GROOVY WITH GUAVA' onto a red box. The box is branded 'Karma Drinks' and features graphics of a guava and musical notes.
A cardboard package of Karma Drinks Guava Groove soda cans, a small soda can, and part of a black and red cardboard box with promotional text, all on a gray tiled floor.

MEET THE NEW & GROOVY MASCOT

At the heart of the concept is a chilled guava mascot, designed to bring humour, attitude, and character to the product. Paired with speaker-inspired illustrations, musical notes, rough-edged textures, and bold typographic treatments, the identity turns guava into a visual performance: loud, fruity, playful, and full of movement.

Two cans of Karma Drinks organic guava soda with red, black, and white packaging, featuring a cartoon guava character, set against a black background with a red textured surface beneath.
A pack of four organic guava ginger soda cans in a red and black box with a cartoon guava character, set against an orange background.
A can of organic sparkling guava soda resting on ice cubes.

STRATEGIC DISRUPTION

The final packaging system uses a high-impact red, black, cream, and guava-green palette to create a strong shelf presence while maintaining a raw and organic feel. The black lower section anchors the layout and improves product hierarchy, while the red upper area carries the energy of the flavour. This contrast allows the design to feel expressive without sacrificing clarity of key product details.

Cans of Karma Drinks organic guava soda in a row with a black, red, and green label design featuring a cartoon guava character with sunglasses and headphones.
A chess pawn with a smiling emoji face on top, set against a red background.
A bright orange tram with promotional advertisements for Guava Groove, featuring a cartoon guava character and the phrases 'Scan for more good karma' and 'Get groovy with guava.' The background includes a brick building with arched windows and greene

ENERGY BEYOND ONE CAN

To develop the concept beyond a single can, the system was extended across slim cans, multi-pack carriers, delivery-style boxes, branded tape, and promotional mockups. These touchpoints show how the flavour could live across retail, delivery, and campaign environments, creating a fuller product world around the central idea.

Ultimately, Karma Guava Groove explores how packaging can transform a flavour into a character-led brand moment. It brings together ethical storytelling, playful illustration, and bold commercial packaging to imagine a product that feels both rooted in Karma Drinks’ universe and confident enough to groove on its own.

Bright red and black beverage label for 'Karma Drinks' tropical guava soda featuring a cartoon character with sunglasses, musical notes, and text promoting organic guava flavor and fairtrade ingredients.