Cheryl Hunter (shelflife at marklives.com)’s weekly pick of all things new — product, packaging, design, insight, food, décor and more!
- Books for Africa at Ndalo
- A makeover for Amarula
- Anura redesign goes Inhouse
Publishing for Africa
Ndalo Media has launched a book division, Ndalo Media Books, which aims to be a “proudly African” publisher of books and educational tools for corporates, schools, educational institutions and government to empower their workforce, stakeholders and students, and to provide a platform for African writers.
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Ndalo Media was founded by businesswoman, Khanyi Dhlomo, in 2007. The group has four existing business units: print publishing, digital publishing, content marketing and events.
The new division was unveiled with the launch of Personal Brand Intelligence (PBQ), an exploration of how a personal brand may evolve to influence society, by author, columnist and public speaker, Timothy Maurice Webster (@timothymaurice). He says the book is the thinking person’s guide to positioning themselves and growing their influence. Targeted at millennials and older, upwardly-mobile individuals, #PBQ is a “guide to unlocking the power of your personal brand influence”.
The book is available online and will be available at selected Exclusive Books and CNA stores from 1 July 2016.
www.destinyconnect.com • Facebook • Twitter
Jumbo Jabulani for Amarula
Distell’s Amarula Cream, made from the marula fruit that annually attracts elephants from afar to feast on the harvest, has launched a redesigned ‘Jabulani’ bottle that is meant to speak directly to its social responsibility strategy.
The bottle, which features new curves and design elements — including the shape of an African elephant etched into the glass — has been named Jabulani (“rejoice”) in celebration of an orphaned elephant who was successfully reintroduced into the wild by South African conservationists.
According to Distell’s Amarula global general manager, Dino D’Araujo, the new bottle design celebrates the brand’s most prolific icon, the African elephant, in a more evocative way: “The African elephant has always been closely associated with the brand and, together with our designers, we were delighted to be able to incorporate the shape of the elephant directly onto the glass.”
The bottle was designed through a local-global partnership over the course of a year, incorporating Distell engineers, local designer Kevin Far of FVDV and international designers Robbielant.
The TVC is by FCB Cape Town.
Click to view slideshow.“In addition to upping the aesthetic elements of our packaging, the bottle also reflects our ongoing commitment to elephant conservation. Since 2002, the Amarula Trust has helped conservationists study elephant behaviour and use the learnings to protect elephants within South Africa’s borders. This year, we are extending our support into the rest of Africa, thanks to a partnership with Wildlife Direct and its Kenyan CEO, Dr Paula Kahumbu. Our objective is simple — to make sure that, for generations to come, we continue to meet the elephants beneath the marula trees.”
The Jabulani bottle has been launched exclusively to travel retail channels worldwide during June and a phased rollout into various domestic markets, including SA, Europe and the Americas, will follow later this year and will be available in 50 ml, 200ml, 350ml, 375ml, 700ml, 750ml, 1000ml and 1140ml.
www.amarula.com • farrvandervlist.co.za • Facebook • Twitter
Reinventing with Inhouse
Inhouse Brand Architects has designed a new venue for Paarl wine farm, Anura Vineyards, keeping the style of the existing restaurant and connecting it with the events space. The aim is to showcase how a contemporary aesthetic may still stay true to wine farm culture and traditions.
Click to view slideshow.Creative director, Aidan Hart, says the venue is set to host a wide range of events, including weddings, launches and conferences, this it was essential to choose a stylish and inclusive aesthetic to form a neutral backdrop for any function. Neutral colours, he says, contrast the venue’s high ceilings (clad in Oregon pine) and light-colour porcelain tiles were selected for the flooring, along with a weathered-plaster paint finish, to complement the wooden hues and establish a modern space that is intended to hint at a conventional farmhouse.
Floor-to-ceiling glass windows frame the outdoor vistas and steel-pendant feature lights provide lighting. Inspired by the craft of barrel-making, the adjoining Cooper’s Bar is supposed to convey a sense of the wine farm’s heritage, with dozens of refurbished barrels used in the design.
inhouse.ws • Facebook • Twitter • www.anura.co.za • Facebook • Twitter
Shelf Life is MarkLives.com’s weekly column covering all things new. Notify us of yours at shelflife at marklives dot com. Want to sponsor Shelf Life? Contact us here.
Cheryl Hunter (@cherylhunter) has written for the South African media, marketing and advertising industries for more than 15 years. A former editor of M&M in Independent Newspapers and contributor to Bizcommunity, AdFocus, AdReview and the Ad Annual, she has also produced for various television networks and currently consults on communication strategy and media liaison.
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