Swirl

Vegan ice cream like you’ve never seen it.

A fridge full of Swirl icecream. On the right, the hand and profile of someone taking on of the ice cream pot.

A Streetwear-Inspired
Ice Cream Brand.

The Context

Swirl is a family business. Early on in Wedge’s history, they sought our expertise and vision to evolve the vegan ice cream brand from start up to scale up. Made with seasonal ingredients, this plant based product needed an identity and packaging that reflected its quality, justified its premium price, and transcended the category.

The Insight

At the time, plant based category aesthetics were granola: kraft paper and natural colors. Through our research process of Cultural Foraging™, we looked beyond the category and found inspiration in the founders’ love of streetwear: KITH, bold marks, black and white. It was vegan ice cream that didn’t look “vegan,” but just happened to be.

The Big Idea & Success

All the character was in the name. We drew it thick, smooth, and curvaceous—turning Swirl into a signature you could almost taste. Colorful fruit stickers nod to the growers behind each flavor and keep the system ready for whatever’s in season. Like the streetwear brands that inspired it, this ice cream, would be released in drops.

In a full-circle moment, the new expression helped Swirl enter the cultural zeitgeist, with invitations to collaborate with KITH Treats, SSENSE, and a number of notable chefs.

"KITH Treats and Erewhon hit us up. ‍For a while there, it was crazy."

Charles DeluvioFounder

Disciplines

  • Visual Identity System
  • Packaging Design System
  • Packaging Production

Awards

D&AD, Wood Pencil
ADCC, Gold, Packaging Design
Idea, Gold, Packaging Design
Idea, Gold, Brand Design

Team

Design Director: Justin Lortie
Creative Director: Sarah Di Domenico
Design Lead: Ariane Leblanc
Designer: Noé St-Onge, Philippe Dionne Bussières, Samuel Larocque
Project Coordinator: Shanel Lessard

Collaborators

Photography: Lian Benoit

Other projects