Grolsch is one of the beer brands, owned by Asahi Group Holdings, founded in Netherlands in 1615 by Willem Neerfeldt. As of February 2006, Grolsch was the second largest brewer in the Netherlands.
The distinctive feature of Grolsch products, the flip-top lid with metal holder and rubber ring, is familiar to millions of people around the world. After all, Grolsch is the oldest and largest brewery in the Netherlands and its products are sold in more than 60 countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, and Europe.
The Grolsch brewery was founded by Willem Nerfeldt in Grunlo in 1615 as a small family business. In the first years of its existence, Grolsch was one of the many breweries in Holland, selling its products to the surrounding residents and drinking establishments. Things began to change in the 1660s when Peter Keiper joined the family business and changed the technology of beer making. Instead of one hop variety, two were now used. It was this innovation that gave Grolsch beer its unique taste and aroma.
The company remained exclusively a family business until the end of the 19th century, but the family began to experience financial difficulties, and the business was decided to pass into the hands of Theo de Gron. It was he who changed the appearance of the bottle and began to use a special cap, thanks to which Grolsch beer differs from its competitors even today.
In 2007, the Grolsch brand was acquired by SABMiller, a brewing company from the UK. Today Grolsch is the 2nd largest beer producer in the Netherlands, supplying the international market with over 3 million hectoliters per year.
The main and the most recognizable part of the Grolsch logo is it’s wordmark. It’s fresh and energetic typeface is close to Mustardo font. The font is back-lit and has been fashioned from hand-crafted metal to make it stand out from the other beer taps on the bar. The green color of the lettering conveys the brand values of excitement, warmth, youthfulness and quality.
The Grolsch wordmark is sized and positioned so that the edges of it are always cut off in some way, no matter how you look at it.
Another element of the Grolsch logo is the red heritage mark with two hops and a swingtop, which shows the brand’s story (Grolsch is brewed using two different hops).
The color palette of the logo is very minimalistic – green typeface, red emblem and a white background. The white based color is very refreshing and differentiated yet ensures beer-cues.
The Grolsch logo design is rooted, connected to the past, showing 400 years of authenticity, but in an up-to-date interpretation.
After the redesign, the Grolsch logo gained a fancy smooth frame, made of silver lines accompanied by a bright green ribbon with thin black accents. The leaves were removed from the emblem, which now got smaller and was decorating the top part of the new banner. As for the main element of the brand’s badge, the lettering, it kept its original and recognizable style and shape.
In 2014 the composition of the Grolsch logo was simplified — the bright green lettering in the iconic cursive font was now set against a plain white background without any framing, and accompanied by a redrawn red-and-white emblem. The emblem became circular, with the new white image on a dark red background: a silhouette of the Grolsch beer bottle, with two large hops on the sides.
The redesign of 2019 has significantly changed the visual identity of the Grolsch beer brand, by making it super laconic yet keeping its recognizability. Now there is only one element on the badge, the sleek rounded cursive wordmark, which still uses the original designer typeface. But now the inscription is set in solid red, and there is no more emblem in the concept.