River Valley Hemp Co. was a small, family-farm grown CBD brand wanting to re-enter the CBD marketplace—and make a big splash in doing so. The problem was, lots of other brands were already there. To differentiate themselves from shady, questionably sourced gas station products and run-of-the-mill grocery store brands, River Valley needed a new name, presence and purpose that would stand out from the crowd and instill consumer confidence.

Made with hemp grown and processed by hand on a fourth-generation family farm, River Valley already had an advantage over brands whose products came from corporate farms and factories—and we knew we needed to find a way bring this key differentiator to the forefront. To highlight the honesty and transparency innately present in the brand, we explored and vetted hundreds of possible names, landing on one standout option quite literally rooted in truth: Verist.

To determine how the Verist brand would come to life in the world, we crafted and tested several conceptual and product line approaches with our target audience to find out what would most effectively motivate them to purchase. In the end, the data showed we needed to build the brand on a hybrid of two approaches that had both performed well: showcasing the brand’s history as a family farm while elevating the ways high-quality CBD helps make life more fun.

This project included strategic research, brand strategy, naming and concept testing.