Purple Creative Elevates Three Barrels with New XO Design

​Purple Creative have recently created the packaging for the new Three Barrels XO, which stands for ‘Extra Old’, a premium line extension for the brand.

As the UK’s best-selling French brandy, the aim of the new XO variant was to build a range offering that included an elevated expression. This will give loyal drinkers the opportunity to trade up for special occasions and give cognac drinkers a chance to discover a great quality brandy as an alternative.

“We’ve really raised the bar with Three Barrels XO, selecting three extra-special brandies from three continents. Each brandy is matured for longer in carefully chosen oak barrels for a deeper, more indulgent flavour – it’s delicious, approachable and a really exciting innovation for the brandy category. It can be savoured neat or enjoyed as part of a cocktail. Perfect for those extra-special dining occasions.” commented Sven Rutherford, senior brand manager, Three Barrels Brandy

When it came to design, Purple’s role was not only to create as much on-shelf stand-out as possible but also to capture all the extra craft elements that have gone into the brandy itself.

“This has been a rare opportunity to bring a new chapter of a well-established and well-loved brand to life in a relevant and respectful way. Crucially, the bottle remains the same, the challenge was to match the liquid’s quality with the designs on the label and new secondary pack. One of the key ways we did this was through the shield icon. Research told us it was a strong and recognisable visual equity for V.S.O.P., so we allowed the XO to express its personality by inverting the shield, delivering a unique and premium aesthetic. And we continued to leverage this distinctive brand asset on the secondary pack, using the shield at scale.” said Alison Coggan, group design director, Purple Creative

Inspired by the journey of the blend, with each aged brandy carefully sourced from the continents of Europe, South America or Africa, Purple brought the story to life using cartographic longitude and latitude lines from old maps. The overall design is minimal yet storytelling, modern yet rooted in tradition, every element beautifully constructed and considered.

The design employed a range of premium printing techniques, one of the more distinctive being a perforated edge on the shield to evoke a sense of craft and travel. Chris Wormall, who had previously redefined the Three Barrels brand icon, created bespoke illustrations for the secondary pack to depict the new indulgent tasting notes.

Three Barrels XO will initially launch in Tesco from April 2025, before being rolled out to most major grocers by the end of the year.