Swerve Sweetener
Swerve is truly a breakthrough product: a zero-calorie, zero-glycemic sweetener made from erythritol and oligosaccharides that measures and bakes cup-for-cup like sugar.
Zehnder’s Role
When Swerve Sweetener approached Zehnder, what they had was a great product. What they didn’t have was a brand — no visual identity, no packaging, no way to tell their story on a shelf crowded with Splenda, Stevia, and a dozen other alternatives.
Our job was to build Swerve’s brand from scratch, giving this one-of-a-kind product the brand confidence it deserved.
During the market research phase, we spent time talking to the people who would be most excited to use Swerve. From sugar-free home bakers to parents managing diabetes, Swerve’s target audience was looking for permission to bake, share, and celebrate without compromise.
So while competitors defined themselves by subtraction (fewer calories, less sugar, no guilt), Swerve could be built on adding joy back into baking. That shift became the emotional engine of the brand.
After months of developing a visual system, tone of voice, food packaging design and architecture, and so much more, Swerve is now one of the fastest-growing shelf-stable sweetener brands in North American retail. Deliverables included:
- Brand logo and visual identity system
- Multi-language consumer packaging design for retail shelves
- Branded touchpoints such as business cards, point of purchase displays, influencer baking kits, merchandise, and food show booth graphics
