Kahlua is the brand of the top selling coffee liquor in the world. It was first produced in 1936 in Mexico. It has even earned the place of the second largest single liqueur brand worldwide. Now the brand is owned by Pernod Ricard group.
Meaning and history
Kahlua is the name of the world’s most popular coffee liquor brand and the eighth largest liquor brand in the world. The brand was established in the middle of the 20th century. Its history dates back to 1936 in Yucatan, Mexico, when an enterprising Mexican, Pedro Domecq, decided to realize his long-held dream: to produce a coffee drink that would contain alcohol.
The liqueur was given the name Kahlúa, which goes back to the name of the Mesoamerican peoples who came to the Mexican valley at the beginning of the 13th century.According to another version, the name “Kahlua” comes from the ancient Arabic language and means “coffee” in slang.
The unique aroma and taste of Kahlua coffee liqueur were awarded a silver medal in 2008 at the International Wine and Spirits Competition and two silver medals at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, 2006, and International Wine and Spirits Competition, 2007.
What is Kahlua?
Kahlua is the name of the world’s best-selling coffee liquor brand, which was established in Mexico in the middle of the 1930s. Today the liquor, owned by the famous Pernod Ricard Group, is an essential component of the most popular cocktails, served in the best bars across the globe.
Before 2021
The original Kahlua logo is a red wordmark with soft sans-serif letters. These had rounded edges, extended bars and somewhat mismatched proportions. In addition, all of these were given a fat yellow outline with an additional thin, red frame.
2021 – Today
The word Kahlua is an ancient Arabic slang for coffee. However The Kahlua logo design is based on Mayan and Aztec elements.
One of the world’s most recognizable beverage logo wordmarks, it’s’ thick rounded lettering is executed in bright red and yellow eye-catching palette.
The Kahlua emblem is just one red letter K in a red-framed circle on a black background. The simplicity and absence of unnecessary details on the emblem is balanced by illustrations of the Mexican landscape and topography on the label.
The Kahlua logo reflects pleasures contained within every famous liquor’s bottle, shows the beverage roots and definitely makes the Kahlua bottle stand out on the shelf.
Font and Color
The bold fancy lettering from the primary Kahlua logo is set in a custom designer typeface, with the heavy letters looking light and playful due to their interesting disposition and some unique features in the contours. The closest fonts to the one, used in this insignia, are, probably, FF Tokyo Std Two Solid Regular, or Friday Freak PB Regular, but with some modifications.
As for the color palette of the Kahlua visual identity, it is based on a deep and chic shade of red, with a small chocolate-brown emblem. The colors look warm and expensive, evoking a sense of high quality and excellence, adding a soft touch to the bold image of the brand.