Walmart-owned online retailer Jet.com, unveils its own private label, Uniquely J. The range of foods and home goods is a new challenger in the battle for market share in the rapidly emerging e-commerce private label category and represents a radical new direction for branding in the private label category.

Brand design consultancy, Elmwood (elmwood.com) delivered the strategic direction, naming and creative execution of the Uniquely J brand experience, from online shopping environment to packaging design. Elmwood has designed a brand experience for Uniquely J that meets the unique needs and shopping behavior of the 21st Century urban millennial, while breaking traditional category codes of the private label grocery brand.

A strategy delivering “Wow”

Competition for dominance in the e-commerce retail space is fierce, and relatively new online challenger Jet.com sought to build a brand for the ‘urban millennial’ that made shopping more transparent, efficient and fun.

With help from Elmwood, Jet.com launched its own private label range, Uniquely J, with the aim to disrupt the e-commerce experience by injecting more fun into shopping for groceries online. Elmwood’s strategic response was grounded in a detailed understanding of the urban millennial audience and the radically shifting dynamics of e-commerce and retail.

This deep immersion provided the foundation for Uniquely J online and offline, both across the physical pack and the online shopping experience. By placing emphasis on delivering an emotional experience and shareable moments, the Uniquely J brand is set to drive a reappraisal of the entire private label sector.

“Urban millennials expect brands to deliver emotional connections as well as functional benefits, says Camilla Crane, Director of Strategy, Elmwood. “They consistently seek out moments that surprise and delight. The opportunity here is to reimagine private label, making it an innovative brand in its own right—one that delivers moments of ‘wow,’ excitement, and that all-important consumer smile.”

Elevating the brand experience

The name, Uniquely J, sets up the unique brand experience the consumer will receive from Jet.com’s store brand. The private label brand includes household and grocery products with a focus on quality ingredients. Its illustration style creates a uniquely playful experience that definitively breaks with the traditional codes of the value-driven private label industry, delivering shareable moments both online and offline with illustrations and packaging that tell a story.

The abstract illustrations leave a unique impression across every brand touchpoint and go beyond a simple mark or symbol. The large illustrations amplify the premium qualities of the range, while a small Jet.com logo serves as mark of quality provenance. Engaging use of copy on pack communicates the brand’s offbeat and lively nature.

Ben Greengrass, Creative Director, Elmwood, says: “The element of fun in the packaging is dialled up or down depending on the product. For example, the illustrations for storage bags are defiantly offbeat, whereas coffees feature edgy, yet beautiful illustrations of tigers, skulls and even a gramophone, which imbue the product with trust. Design is also gender neutral.”

Crane adds: “Digital shopping has become the norm among urban millennials, but there is a clear role for both online and instore shopping in the near future. The consumer brands that embrace this unpredictable retail landscape and learn to flex seamlessly between digital and physical channels, while offering consumers something unique, will win. That is what we have delivered for Uniquely J.”

Through a close partnership with Vaught Studio and Jet.com, this new creative approach premiers 60 SKUs with plans to roll the concept out further in the future.