FATCO Skincare Rebrand Case Study

Rebrand Deliverables

Brand Strategy
Product Naming
Brand Identity System
Brand Guideline
Brand & Product Stories
Messaging & Content Rack
Packaging Design
Website Design
Website Build
Social Media Assets
Stationery
Retail Sales Deck
Product & Lifestyle Photography
Renders
Expo Booth Experience
Promotional Items
Office/Store Styling

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The Opportunity

Fat Face (now FATCO) was a farmers market success story ready for its next chapter—but it wasn't retail-ready yet. The founder had built something special: a fierce, unapologetic brand rooted in a "nose-to-tail" philosophy that turned grass-fed tallow into clean, nutrient-rich skincare. When she couldn't find products on shelf that aligned with her values, she made her own—proving that "real food for your skin" could resonate. The challenge was taking that authenticity and bold spirit from the farmer’s market to the national shelf.

The Challenge

FATCO faced a two-part challenge rooted in both product and brand identity:‍

Introduce tallow, an unfamiliar ingredient, to a broad consumer base.
Capture the founder’s bold, unapologetic personality — moving beyond a homemade “farmers market” look to something polished and retail-ready.

The goals were:‍

Named the product "FATCO" to highlight the base ingredient, tallow, in a trademarkable way. The short, memorable name stands out clearly on small packages.
To make tallow accessible, educational, and framed in a trustworthy, fun way.
To refine FATCO’s voice — confident, smart, proudly unconventional — and lean into the name (“fat” as a friend), rather than soften it.
To elevate the visual identity for packaging, website, social media, and retail, while preserving the brand’s authentic, “farm-rooted” origins.
To shift perception from artisanal to mass-retail, without losing the brand’s soul.

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How Shelf strategically positioned the brand voice:

The rebrand elevated FATCO into a premium, retail-ready skincare line that felt both apothecary and approachable. While most skincare hides behind clinical white packaging, we chose bold apothecary blue bottles with color-blocked labels to cut through the sea of pastels. Beyond packaging, we created a tone of voice that was hilariously direct—making rubbing beef fat on your face feel not just normal, but smart. FATCO wasn't only sustainable and transparent in ingredients; it was honest and witty in every word, creating a brand experience that hooked you the minute you read the label. We cast vibrant, healthy models who lived and breathed the paleo lifestyle, making the brand feel as real as its ingredients. A decade later, the identity still stands strong—proof that authenticity doesn't need constant reinvention.