Kiehl’s makes a font out of pubes, Starbucks goes back to basics, and Slice soda returns from the ’80s

[ResidentialBusiness]

This week, skincare brand Kiehl’s debuted a hairy new font, Starbucks continued to roll out its feel-good nostalgia marketing, and an iconic ’80s soda was revived for the year 2025. Here’s all the branding news we’re keeping up with.

[Image: Kiehl’s]

Kiehl’s gets in on the custom type craze

The news: The skincare brand Kiehl’s just unveiled a new custom font made from an unexpected material: pubic hair. 

Big picture: The font comes as a response to the backlash that Kiehl’s received in August for an ad campaign for a new product line targeting ingrown pubic hairs. Those initial ads featured fully covered models with just a glimpse of hair peeking out from the sides of their underwear. But several stores censored or removed the campaign after public criticism.

“We were taken aback,” Steven Waldberg, SVP of brand engagement and communications for Kiehl’s, told MediaPost. “It’s not like we were showing people’s genitalia or anything.”

Now Kiehl’s is hitting back at the haters with a fuzzy custom font made entirely out of pubic hair. The new print ads, which have taken humans out of the equation altogether, feature sarcastic statements like, “Apologies, we won’t ever show pubic hair again,” and “Our photos of models with pubic hair were censored so we removed the models.”

Why it matters: We’ve seen plenty of custom brand fonts lately—from the “Other Hand font” for Cheetos to Kellogg’s logo-centric font—but we have to hand it to Kiehl’s, this one might be the most outside-the-box yet. It’s not exactly a versatile typeface, but it’s nice to see Kiehl’s refusing to back down from a challenge. 

[Illustration: FC]

Back-to-basics strategy at Starbucks

The news: Starbucks is making a wide-sweeping effort to return to its branding roots, and it seems to be paying off. 

Big picture: Since CEO Brian Niccols joined the company last September, the brand has been slowly working to incorporate the “personal touches” that were once its signature, like handwritten names on to-go cups, a free milk station, and an overall focus on craft. The back-to-basics concept at Starbucks has been gradually appearing in a larger campaign this year, with several new ads highlighting the coffee-making process and out-of-home billboards featuring a handwritten look. 

In an interview with the podcast Rapid Response, Niccols said of the changes, “We’re in the customer service business, and anybody that’s been involved with that knows the details do matter. And the reason why the details really matter for Starbucks is, frankly, those details are our point of difference. It’s how we get to another level of connection.”

Why it matters: The market seems to be responding positively to the changes so far, considering that Starbucks recently beat Wall Street’s fourth-quarter earnings expectations with $9.4 billion in revenue. The irony in all of this feel-good messaging is that Starbucks has recently taken the much-criticized step of barring noncustomers from using its restrooms, seating, and patio space. In a column for Fast Company, writer Rob Walker argued that the new code of conduct “is really just a de facto admission of what its brand is really about: The coffee giant is not really in the community space business at all. It’s a luxury brand, and it has been all along.”

[Photo: Suja Life]

Soda’s new lease on life

The news: For the second time in two months, an iconic soda of the 1980s is getting a new lease on life with a revival designed to attract a new era of soda drinkers.

Big picture: Slice soda, first launched in 1984 by PepsiCo, is set to return to shelves under the ownership of juice brand Suja Life. To tap into the wellness movement and functional beverage craze, today’s Slice will have low sugar, no high-fructose corn syrup, and plenty of gut-healthy prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics in a variety of flavors, including orange, lemon lime, classic cola, grapefruit spritz, grape, and strawberry.

Why it matters: Slice’s return is part of a larger industry trend. Just last month, energy drink company Redcon1 announced it would be bringing back the infamous Jolt Cola from the ’80s with a new functional twist. However, as Fast Company noted at the time, the new branding is pretty lackluster. Slice, on the other hand, looks just as cool as it did back in 1984. Suja Life has clearly based its new look on the OG design (rather than the clunkier ’90s version), including a typeface that’s literally sliced at the bottom, fruity icons dotting each “i,” and a diagonal label. The design has also been updated for the 21st century with brighter can colors and a trendier secondary font.

While Slice certainly looks pretty, its staying power is questionable at best. The brand has already been revived several times, including as a failed sparkling water in 2018, swiftly followed by a failed low-cal soda in 2021. It remains to be seen whether Slice’s new branding aesthetic will be enough to keep it afloat this go-round.

[Photo: Kellanova]

Snacking goes cold

The news: Eggos and Rice Krispies Treats are getting a frosty glow-up.

Big picture: The snack company Kellanova is partnering with Gold West Food Group to turn some of its most popular brands into ice cream treats. On the Eggo side, fans can expect pints of Buttery Maple, Chocolatey Chip, and Blueberry ice cream, as well as waffle sandwiches of those three flavors. For Rice Krispies fanatics, there will be a pint of “original flavor” ice cream (we can only assume this tastes like the treats themselves), as well as original, strawberry, and triple-chocolate ice cream sandwiches made with Rice Krispies Treats as the sandwich “bun.”

Why it matters: Kellanova’s new dessert play comes after a major shake-up in the company’s ownership. Back in August, Kellanova—which also owns Kellogg’s (and its three subcompanies), Pop-Tarts, Pringles, and more—was acquired for a whopping $39.5 billion by Mars, owner of M&Ms. At the time, Andrew Clarke, global president of Mars Snacking, told Fast Company that expanding the company’s snacking portfolio would be a major priority post-acquisition—and it looks like that starts in the freezer aisle.

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