Jamaica Blue

Jamaica Blue had the heritage, the footprint, and the product quality — but the brand wasn’t being perceived at the level it deserved. As an established café franchise operating across Australia, New Zealand, and selected international markets, Jamaica Blue had long been known for quality coffee and food. But over time, there had become a gap between what the brand offered and how it was being experienced by customers. In particular, the business wanted to strengthen its positioning as a specialty coffee destination, rather than simply another café brand. At the same time, it needed to appeal to a younger, more design-conscious audience without losing the loyalty of its existing customer base. That created a delicate challenge. The brand needed to evolve, but not at the expense of recognition or familiarity.

Jamaica Blue’s biggest differentiator wasn’t something that needed to be invented — it needed to be amplified. The brand already had a compelling story in its name, its provenance, and its product. The opportunity was to bring those qualities forward in a more contemporary and emotionally engaging way. We recognised that younger coffee audiences are drawn not just to quality, but to brands that feel distinctive, aspirational, and immersive. For Jamaica Blue, that meant moving beyond functional café messaging and leaning into something richer: the sense of escape, elevation, and craftsmanship already embedded in the brand. The goal wasn’t to reposition Jamaica Blue as something entirely new.It was to help customers see more clearly what had always made it special.

Our approach was to develop a refreshed creative direction that could reframe Jamaica Blue as a premium, specialty coffee-led experience while still feeling true to the brand people already knew. That meant building a concept system that could do three things at once:

• Reinforce the quality and provenance of the coffee
• Capture the brand’s relaxed, escapist atmosphere
• Appeal to a younger audience through more contemporary language and visual cues

Rather than jumping straight into execution, we began with messaging and creative territory — identifying the ideas that could best carry the brand forward across storefronts and broader customer touchpoints.

We developed two distinct creative concepts and tagline directions, each supported by visual research and design thinking. This gave the brand room to explore different ways of expressing its personality while staying anchored in what customers already value about the Jamaica Blue experience. The final direction drew inspiration from the Jamaica Blue Mountains, where the brand sources its coffee beans. From that came the central line: “Coffee from a higher place.” This tagline gave the brand a more elevated point of view. It suggested premium quality and provenance, while also tapping into a feeling of escape — something that aligned naturally with Jamaica Blue’s calm, restorative café atmosphere. Visually, the direction centred on rich coffee imagery and mountain-inspired references that evoked both indulgence and retreat. Cups of coffee became a focal point, helping communicate quality in an immediate and sensory way, while the wider design language reinforced the idea that Jamaica Blue offers more than just a product — it offers a moment to pause and recharge. Importantly, the work also retained enough familiarity to ensure existing customers would still recognise the brand they knew.