From Shelf To Sip: Pura Unveils Its Full Portfolio In A Modern Refreshment Showcase

 From heritage icons to next-gen innovators, the world’s most resilient brands have continuously evolved - redefining their identity and brand narrative to stay relevant in an ever-shifting marketplace.

A new Modern Refreshment category is emerging, with clean ingredients supported by real cane sugar forming a sub-category that has grown by more than 50%, delivering $203 million in revenue and taking the category from $400 million to $603 million in just 12 months (Circana/IRI data: 52W ending 29 December 2024). Consumers are voting with their wallets.

PURA Beverages, the global Modern Refreshment beverage company, is no exception. With its latest back to the future refresh, PURA embraces change with intent - aligning its look, feel, and retail presence to meet the demands of today’s health-conscious, ingredient-savvy consumer.

With a ceremonial turn of the key, PURA Beverages quite literally unlocked the door to its new approach to Modern Refreshment on Friday, 18 July, at an exclusive brand showcase held at the Checkers Head Office in Johannesburg. Hosted by comedian Chris Forrest and attended by senior retail stakeholders, the event marked the official unveiling of PURA’s refreshed packaging - underpinning its innovative brand positioning developed almost a decade ago, and brought to life through its PURA Soda, PURA Kids and PURA Hydrate product ranges. Modern Refreshment wears many hats, and we’ve aligned to all occasions, creating new formats and disrupting the old.

The moment of “unlocking” was both literal and symbolic: a branded PURA installation stood at the venue entrance, where PURA CEO Greig Jansen revealed the newly reimagined brand world - one that both aligns with and leads the Modern Refreshment movement. Inside, bold visuals, fruit-forward flavour messaging, and newly designed packs created a retail-first, immersive experience,  highlighting the brand’s commitment to leading category evolution in a competitive and fast-changing FMCG environment.

“Relevance requires reinvention,” said Greig Jansen, addressing attendees. “This renovation isn’t just about changing how we look - it’s about strengthening how we position Modern Refreshment and its benefits, how we communicate with shoppers, and how we partner with retailer leaders like Checkers to drive meaningful category growth, differentiation and innovation.”

A New Look for a New Shelf Era

Inspired by a continuous focus on the shopper, the new packaging system across PURA Soda and PURA Kids features cleaner layouts, stronger colour blocking, and refined flavour cues - all purposefully designed to increase standout, support shopper navigation, dwell time at shelf, and signpost the Modern Refreshment category.

Feedback from Checkers’ retail and category teams on the day was overwhelmingly positive, with many praising the clarity of design, the confidence of execution, and the alignment with evolving shopper trends.

Local Humour Meets Global Vision

Comedian Chris Forrest brought a touch of local humour to the occasion, keeping the event energetic while underpinning PURA’s South African passion. Guests were treated to tastings, insight-led product storytelling, and a behind-the-scenes look at the strategy behind the redesign - developed in partnership with US design studios and informed by consumer insight and direct retail feedback.

“As the Modern Refreshment category grows, disruptor brands like PURA need to work harder to cut through shelf clutter and signal both quality and personality,” said Greig. “This renovation was a retail-first move - designed not only to impress, but to convert.”

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