Merch Launch: Put Your Honey Where Your Mouth Is

Hive Mind: Mead and Brew Co
PhotographyBrand Strategy

Merch Launch: Put Your Honey Where Your Mouth Is

Hive Mind: Mead and Brew Co's Brief

Hive Mind: Mead and Brew Co. are a speciality drinks producer hailing from the Wye Valley. Their multi-award-winning traditional and sparkling mead is sold worldwide and has won nine Great Taste Awards.

Hicks2: Web+Creative Studio partnered with Hive Mind in early 2024 for six months of our Web+Creative service, which included video production, product photography, graphic design and brand strategy.

Looking to diversify their product offering, Hive Mind launched a short run of t-shirts in collaboration with Ollie Spicer, an illustrator with over 250k followers on Instagram.

Hicks2's Response

For Hive Mind's limited-edition t-shirt collaboration with illustrator Ollie Spicer, we executed a studio shoot that emphasised both the boldness of the design and its connection to Hive Mind's core identity. Beekeeping suits and mead bottles were used to contextualise the collection, while clean backdrops ensured the focus remained on the product.

Careful attention was given to lighting setups, using soft, diffused light to enhance the vibrant colours of the garments while maintaining consistency across shots. By incorporating a mix of flat-lay product shots and styled setups, we created a versatile suite of assets optimised for Hive Mind's e-commerce, social media, and marketing campaigns. The result is a set of visuals that blends storytelling with commercial appeal, supporting the launch across multiple platforms.

Hive Mind’s new t-shirts came in four core colours: pink, yellow, blue and black.

Not all heroes wear capes, because quite frankly, they’re terrible at keeping out bees.

What did we do?

Product Photography

We took Hive Mind through a thoroughly planned studio shoot process, starting with pre-production planning to define a shot list, props, and lighting setups. On shoot day, we executed a mix of flat-lay, on-hanger, and styled shots, ensuring the images reflected the brand's identity while highlighting the bold t-shirt designs. Post-production focused on precise colour correction and preparation of assets for e-commerce and digital campaigns.

Brand Strategy

The difference between impactful and forgettable brand imagery is intention.

Hicks2 helped define Hive Mind's brand strategy by aligning their visual identity with their core values of sustainability and local pride. Through monthly content updates and strategically planned photoshoots, we positioned Hive Mind as a brand that embodies the essence of the bees themselves.

Web+Creative Partnership

Hicks2's Web+Creative partnership is an all-in-one service that gives challenger brands and established businesses the resources they need to thrive online.

Including extensive creative services, a dedicated creative director, and immediate access to a team of web professionals, this partnership ensures your brand can maintain impeccable output all year round.

Client

Hive Mind: Mead and Brew Co

Sector

Food & Drink

Location

Cardiff, UK

Creative Director

Jake Hicks

Disciplines

Photography

Brand Strategy