WHITE
LABEL
MATE
Full Digital Strategy · Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn-based yerba mate brand inspired by the German Club-Mate. We built a full go-to-market digital strategy across paid social and search channels to drive awareness, traffic, and eventual sales for their new can launch.
The Brand
Caffeinated
cool for
the club.
White Label Yerba Mate is a Brooklyn-based beverage company producing a yerba mate soda inspired by the German Club-Mate. The brand targets nightlife culture, creative professionals, and health-conscious socialites who want functional energy without the crash.
When they came to VHS Digital, the cans were in final product testing and local market validation was underway. Our brief was to build the full second-stage strategy: take the brand across social and search channels and drive awareness, traffic, and eventually direct-to-consumer sales.
Overall Goals
Increase traffic and online sales across social and search platforms via a full direct-to-consumer strategy with tracked sales attribution.
Build awareness and demand for White Label's online presence through refreshed creative content, bringing in designers and creators.
Audience Strategy
Three audiences.
One brand.
We identified three distinct but complementary audience segments for White Label. Each has a different relationship with the product, but all share a desire for functional, stylish, culturally aware energy.
Late-night tastemakers driven by aesthetic, community, and counterculture. Already aware of Club-Mate or adjacent demographics. They want a stylish, energizing can that signals cultural taste without compromising their health.
Grinding odd hours, needing functional fuel without sugar crashes or coffee anxiety. White Label helps them focus, regulate anxiety, and keep going through intense creative sprints.
Kombucha drinkers turned adaptogen evangelists who love to socialize but protect their wellness routine. They want a stylish, functional substitute for alcohol that keeps them present and balanced.
Platform Strategy
Right channel.
Right message.
We proposed a three-platform approach, each serving a distinct role in the funnel from awareness through to purchase intent. Budget allocation was structured to maximise reach while protecting conversion efficiency.
Meta's interest targeting reaches niche audiences including underground music, wellness trends, and creative professions. Retargeting captures anyone who has visited the site, watched video content, or engaged on social.
Where Gen Z and Millennial early adopters discover new brands. Behaviour shifts and lifestyle trends start here. Perfect for sober-curious, health-conscious, and aesthetic-driven users.
Users searching for "ashwagandha drinks," "coffee alternative," or "functional energy drink" are already primed. Branded search, ingredient-based terms, and shopping campaigns with product visuals.
Creative Direction
Fuel the night.
Naturally.
The creative direction centres on a nightlife and club scene aesthetic. White Label occupies a unique space: caffeinated, cool, and culturally embedded. No other brand is fully owning "energised cool for the club" in the US market.
Visual identity uses neon accents against dark backgrounds, bold sans-serif typography readable in low-light environments, and dynamic nightlife imagery featuring DJs, dancers, and social moments.
Clean, stylised product shots and short video content placing the can in editorial nightlife settings.
Competitive advantage content: "Stay energized without the crash." Calls out the cultural gap left by chill-focused competitors.
People-focused UGC featuring nightlife creators and micro-influencers who authentically live the subculture.
Specialising in club culture and nightlife event graphics, Anita's aesthetic is a direct match for White Label's target positioning.
Competitive Landscape
Nobody owns
"caffeinated cool."
White Label has a rare competitive advantage: it combines caffeine-forward functional energy with a nightlife-first brand aesthetic. Most competitors position around calm or chill. The gap is wide open.
White Label by night."
Strategic Playbook
How we'd
win the market.
Their users want clean, natural energy but get left out of cultural conversations. The opportunity is to show them energy can be aesthetic, ritualistic, and cool. Not just fuel.
These users want a vibe, community, and aesthetic but their drinks sedate rather than energise. White Label offers the same social ritual with a functional twist: awake, focused, and social.
What We Built
The full
strategy deck.
The strategy was delivered as a comprehensive, turnkey go-to-market playbook ready for immediate execution. Every element below was built and handed off to the White Label team.
Three fully developed audience personas with occasions, core values, and why they drink White Label.
Per-platform strategy across Meta, TikTok, and Google with budget allocation rationale and targeting frameworks.
Full visual identity brief, content format breakdowns, tagline, and creator recommendations.
8-brand competitive analysis identifying positioning gaps and specific strategies to capture competitor audiences.
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