CASE STUDY
BUILDING A BRAND FROM THE GROUND UP
01 THE CHALLENGE
Jesse Gagnon, is a brewer’s brewer. With over a decade of experience in the craft beer industry, Jesse’s taste-making status, depth of spirit, and larger-than-life laugh have made him a well-respected personality at breweries like Mother’s and Ozark Beer Company. But as much as Jesse enjoyed brewing for the best craft brewers in the region, he and his wife Ashlyn nursed a dream. Their vision? Create the first family-run, old-world styled farmhouse brewery serving world-class beer in an atmosphere that celebrates the environment, tradition, craft, and people of the Ozarks. Bringing their vision to life was Throughline’s challenge.
02 OUR APPROACH
We wanted to identify the brewery’s unique throughline—the story that would run through every decision they made. In collaboration with the Gagnons, we explored their mission, vision, values, product offerings, and ten-year strategy. After identifying their archetypal narrative, we developed a brand compass to guide every decision as they prepared to launch their brewery. When taken together, these things formed their throughline, the story that informed their naming convention, logo, and even their architectural and landscaping decisions.
03 THE SOLUTION
With their throughline in place, we chose a name that represented their desire for tradition, excellence, and hospitality—Orthodox Farmhouse Brewery. We designed an iconic logo that incorporated the flora of the Ozarks together with a traditional wheelbarrow, the wheelbarrow you now find on every piece of Orthodox merchandise. The throughline informed entire brand experience, with an experience curated to convey a sense of traditional hospitality in a family farm environment.
In April of 2023, The Gagnons opened the doors of Orthodox Farmhouse Brewery, where a community gathers to enjoy world-class beer brewed in a small-farm setting. As Orthodox continues to expand their operations, a community gathers to enjoy world-class beer in a setting that’s like no other in region.
“Throughline helped us capture our vision and bring our brand story to life. Now, we share that story—the return to the agrarian and community roots brewing—with every beer we pour, every person we hire, every merchandising decision we make, and every plant we put in the ground.”
— Jesse Gagnon, Orthodox Farmhouse Brewery
Special Thanks
Orthodox Logo Design: Andrew Geppelt
Photo of Musicians: Hayely Piatt