When it comes to Hip Hop music, it’s all about the beats. But when it comes to Hip Hop merchandise, it’s all about the branding.

With more than 40 million albums sold worldwide, Grammy Award winner Nelly had the beats part down. But as he prepared to launch Pimp Juice, the energy drink he hoped would keep Hip Hoppers popping all night long, he knew how much the branding would matter. That’s why he and his team at Fillmore Street Brewery turned to Project 13 for brand guidance.

We let it loose, with a streetwise logo and iconic gold and silver packaging that matched Nelly’s style and spoke the visual language of his target audience. Pimp Juice quickly raced to the front of the pack in a rapidly-expanding segment and earned the title “#1 Hip Hop Energy Drink.”

The internationally-recognized brand now enjoys growing success in Europe, Africa, and Australia, as well as its home base of North America. Project 13 also helped Pimp Juice extend the brand by adding an “Extra Strength Formula,” the exotic “Pimp Juice Purple,” and a lighter alternative, “PJ Tight.”

"I felt like we had a cool product, and hooking up with those guys over at Project 13 was a blessing, they came up with some cool ideas we liked, and ran with it. It was a perfect match."     – Nelly