With functional drinks flooding shelves, Mother Design has created a brand identity for Fhirst that rejects wellness minimalism in favour of maximalist energy, nostalgic typography, and unapologetic playfulness.
This week was the official launch of Fhirst, a probiotic “Superfunktional Soda” created by Catherine and Steven Van Middelem, with brand identity by Mother Design. Positioned as the healthiest and most uncompromising soda on the market, Fhirst arrives after four years of research into probiotic micro-encapsulation technology and its link to long-term mental wellbeing.
We’ve seen the category blow up in recent years, with minimalist kombucha bottles here and pared-back prebiotic cans there. However, Fhirst is making its debut with a visual identity that refuses to blend in.
Partnering with Mother Design in the US, the founders set out to create a brand that felt as radical as its science-backed claims, culminating in something loud, layered, and intentionally wild. Essentially, nothing compares to the functional drinks sitting next to it in the fridge.
Described by Mother Design as an “absolutely wild expression of joy”, the new identity combines Big Soda energy with nostalgic cues from 1990s health food stores. Bright gradients, irreverent typography, and animal mascots all collide to give Fhirst a personality that stands out.
For Mother Design, their brief was to steer as far away as possible from the stripped-back, neutral aesthetic that has come to dominate the functional drinks category. Mark Sloan, head of design at Mother Design, says: “Our starting point was to strategically reposition Fhirst as the world’s first Superfunktional Soda™: scientifically designed to boost your mood in the long run, it’s soda for those who won’t settle for ordinary.
“From the jump, the founders, Steven and Catherine, understood that to truly break out of the sea of sameness that sits on refrigerated shelves everywhere, we had to do something different. Their joyful and dare-to-be-different attitude is what allowed us to make brave moves.”
Mark explains that the identity takes its cues from Fhirst’s scientific backbone – a probiotic-powered drink designed to support mood – but avoids the minimalist tropes so common in health and wellness branding. Instead, Mother Design created a system that is deliberately maximalist, loud, joyful and unapologetic, fusing credibility with playful energy to ensure the brand is both scientifically grounded and visually unforgettable.
Embracing joy was a deliberate design choice that stemmed from Fhirst’s ambition to be unique in the space, emphasising both mood enhancement and science. Mark adds: “Most functional sodas and health beverages lean on clean, minimalist aesthetics to signal credibility and purity, but that language has become so common that it no longer feels distinctive or fun.”
This thinking is evident throughout the entire system, where bright gradients clash with nostalgic fonts. Illustrated animals, such as an eagle, butterfly, dolphin, and horse, race across cans as mascots of freedom, while flavour names such as Orange Cola Joyride and Dr. Cherry Happy Place serve both as descriptors and as mood cues.
Typography also plays a central role in bringing that feeling to life. The main Fhirst wordmark references the Motter Regatta typeface by Austrian designer Othmar Motter, balancing “timeless charm with expressive energy”, but the real twist lies in the supporting typefaces.
Mark says: “Our secondary typefaces include many globally familiar fonts accessible to the public and small business owners alike.
“These typefaces (Papyrus, Frankfurter, Blackmoor, and Beesknees, among others) are reminiscent of bygone 90’s health-food store signage; overused-to-the-point-of-camp, yet classic, and intended to withstand the test of time.”
Rather than shy away from kitsch, the design leans into it. Each flavour is paired with its own typographic treatment, giving “individual character and playfulness” that harks back to the eclectic charm of independent grocers while simultaneously poking fun at design snobbery (which we love).
If the visuals are maximalist, the verbal identity is no less daring. Betsy Dickerson, copy lead at Mother Design, says: “We heard from our client that there seemed to be a general consumer fatigue from nutritional ‘lecturing’.
“Soda should be about fun, indulgence, and the joy of small moments; that Fhirst is a good, honest, scientifically backed beverage ought to present as a delightful, welcomed surprise.”
The tone of voice deliberately avoids the jargon-heavy claims of some competitors.
“Communicating ingredients, functional benefits, and positive physical outcomes, therefore, became an exercise in saying-it-without-saying-it,” Betsy explains. “We created a voice for Fhirst just as punchy, playful, and irreverent as its design.”
Front-of-pack slogans like ‘Wildly Good Soda!’ and ‘It’s Good to be Alive!’ align with the brand’s probiotic ‘living’ qualities without straying into pseudo-scientific overpromising. Meanwhile, flavour names like Pineapple Yuzuphoria or Good Time Lemon Lime also bring joy to the table, making the functional benefit feel like a natural side effect of having a good time.
At first glance, the brand system might look chaotic, but Mother Design insists that the eclecticism is tightly controlled. Each flavour follows a structured colour universe of one gradient, one bright colour, and one darker tone. Typography, illustration, and photography are carefully layered to ensure recognisability across cans, digital platforms, and point-of-sale displays.
The colour palette is especially bold, and the high-contrast primary gradient is supported by two signature hues: Fhirst cyan and Fhirst purple. Again, it was designed to stand out in fridges dominated by pastels and neutrals.
With functional sodas becoming increasingly indistinguishable, the goal for both the founders and Mother Design was to create something that couldn’t be ignored. For Catherine and Steven, who have spent years perfecting the formula behind Fhirst’s probiotics, the design serves as an invitation to reframe how people think about health drinks altogether, making them less of a chore and more of a celebration.
Whether the soda can carve out lasting space among the kombuchas and prebiotic pops remains to be seen, but we’re definitely here for a bit of joy, fizz and maximalism in our fridges.
