Entering a new category is one of the riskiest moves a brand can make. For Original Source, a brand built on bold colour and vivid fragrance, stepping into men’s fitness was not simply a line extension, it was a category shift that required a new kind of credibility.
The new range had to earn its place on shelf among established sports and grooming products, connect with a male audience sceptical of anything overcomplicated or overpromised, and do all of that while remaining unmistakably Original Source.
The brief was clear: create a packaging system that positions Workout Recovery as a post-workout ritual, not just another product men pick up occasionally and forget about.
Generally, men want to know what a product does – and fast. They are not interested in decoding claims or parsing ingredient lists. If the benefit is not immediately obvious, the product is already losing.
That insight became the organising principle for the Workout Recovery range. Benefit-first communication shaped every design decision, from hierarchy to typography to colour, each filtered through a single question: does this make the product easier to trust and choose?
The resulting system is built around three principles:
Clarity. The primary benefit is the first thing you read. There is no ambiguity about what the product does or who it is for.
Impact. Original Source has always used bold colour and confident design. The Workout Recovery range carries that forward with a purposeful, clean, and modern aesthetic, making the product stand out without feeling out of place.
Brand coherence. This is a new range, but not a new brand. The design system connects back to Original Source’s existing identity, which matters for both retailer confidence and consumer trust. Shoppers should be able to see this and know immediately where it comes from.
The range launched in Boots stores across the UK and immediately made an impact. Near-cleared shelves in the first week are a strong early signal that the packaging is doing its job: stopping shoppers, communicating clearly, and converting interest into purchase.
The launch was supported by a major partnership with HYROX London, one of the fastest-growing fitness events in the world, including a projection onto London’s Marble Arch. That kind of activation amplifies the creative work and reinforces the positioning in the right cultural context.
Good packaging alone doesn’t earn you a place in a new category. What does is a clear strategic position, a design system built to address the right audience and communicate the value at shelf speed, and the discipline to test and refine all details before anything goes to production.
