Brand Style Guide · v1.0
Staple Performance Nutrition.
The working source of truth for the brand. Who we are, how we sound, how we look, how we apply. Treat it as living.
01 — Foundation
What the brand is.
Before color, before type, before logos: this is the brand. Get the foundation right and the rest follows.
Essence
Staple makes the fuel for sustainable performance.
Fuel: protein, fiber, the foundation of recovery. Sustainable: built for the long arc, not the next eight-week cycle. Performance: outcome-driven, not cosmetic. We make products that earn a permanent place in daily training.
Audience
The Functional Bodybuilding athlete.
Primary. CrossFit defector or graduate. 28–48, employed, household income $100K+, trains 4–6 days a week, lifts and conditions. Already follows Marcus Filly's Staple training program or its content adjacents. Has tried multiple proteins. Knows what creatine does. Doesn't know how much fiber they get and assumes it's enough.
Secondary. The CrossFit-adjacent training enthusiast. Same age, same income, similar values, found us through Marcus's content or word of mouth.
Tertiary. The "smart eater" — reads labels, distrusts the supplement aisle, wants a brand they can recommend to their parents without embarrassment.
Relationship to FBB and the Staple training program
A sibling brand, not a sub-brand.
Staple Performance Nutrition is the nutrition extension of the Staple training program. The training program (Marcus Filly's flagship subscription within Functional Bodybuilding) earns the brand its trust. The nutrition company carries that trust into a new category: what you put in your body to fuel the program you already follow.
Three rules:
- Staple Nutrition is not a sub-brand of FBB. It is a sibling brand sharing audience and worldview.
- The visual identity is adjacent and complementary, not identical. Same audience would buy both; each stands on its own.
- Marcus is the trusted endorser (or founder, pending his call). The brand has its own voice; he amplifies it.
Archetype
The Coach.
A variant of the Mentor / Sage with a specific twist: this coach is calm, knowledgeable, slightly skeptical of trends, and respects the athlete's intelligence. The coach has done the work, has done the research, doesn't need to shout, and won't sell you something you don't need.
We are not: The Hero (supplement brands; "unleash your potential"). The Outlaw (CrossFit-bro brands; "make it hurt"). The Innocent (clean-eating brands; "natural and pure"). The Magician (biohacking brands; "transform overnight").
Positioning statement
The fuel for the long arc.
Core values
Five things we hold.
- Considered over reactive. Every ingredient, dose, and claim is weighed. No fashion ingredients. No fairy-dust sprinkles.
- Honest about trade-offs. We tell you what each product does and what it doesn't. We don't promise transformation.
- Physiology, not hype. Our story is the gut, the microbiome, absorption, recovery. We don't lean on "explosive" or "elite."
- Built for the long arc. Products that earn a permanent place in the daily routine, not a six-week cycle.
- Quiet confidence. We don't shout. We don't need to.
02 — Voice
How we sound.
The voice is the brand made of words. Five attributes, shown side by side: what we sound like, and what we don't.
Voice attributes
Five attributes in pairs.
Considered
"Six grams of prebiotic fiber per serving. Enough to call it an Excellent Source. Not enough to bother your stomach."
"Maximum gut-fueling fiber explosion in every scoop."
Honest
"Whey isolate digests fast. Milk protein digests slow. We use both because training takes both."
"The ultimate complete protein matrix engineered for total performance."
Grounded
"Fiber feeds the bacteria that make short-chain fatty acids. SCFAs fuel the cells that absorb your protein. That's the connection."
"Unlock your gut's hidden potential and supercharge your gains."
Confident
"This is the right dose. Here's why."
"We're the only brand brave enough to do what no one else dares."
Warm
"Most athletes get half the fiber they need. We get it. We made the easy fix."
"Your fiber intake is dangerously suboptimal."
Tone matrix
The voice shifts by context.
| Context | Tone direction |
|---|---|
| Hero homepage | Confident, declarative, editorial. "Performance starts in the gut." |
| Product pages | Specific, evidence-grounded, calmly authoritative |
| Packaging back panel | Plain talk. Educational. No marketing speak. |
| Email — welcome | Personal, slightly informal, "glad you're here" warmth |
| Email — transactional | Crisp, useful, no fluff |
| Social — IG / TikTok | Conversational, occasional dry humor, never bro |
| Customer support | Human, accommodating, problem-solving |
| Investor / partner | Strategic, number-dense, no marketing speak |
Vocabulary
The words we use.
fiber · microbiome · absorption · recovery · daily · ritual · foundation · considered · grounded · whole · complete · sustained · performance digestion · prebiotic · short-chain fatty acids · the long arc · the long game · honest dose · real food first
optimize · supplement · clean · functional
Why careful: "supplement" — we are a nutrition company. "clean" — overused. "functional" — shared with FBB, use deliberately. "optimize" — only in narrow technical contexts.
gains · jacked · shred · pump · explosive · ultra · hyper · max · mega · supercharge · unlock · unleash · biohack · proprietary blend · synergistic · clinical-grade · elite athlete · bioavailable
Exception: "the stack" is ours when capitalized, referring to our two-product system. Never used generically.
Naming conventions
How we name things.
- Brand name: Staple
- Brand descriptor: Performance Nutrition (used contextually, not always)
- Full legal name: Staple Performance Nutrition (formal contexts; rarely used in marketing)
- Product names: Functional Fiber Protein · Daily Fiber Stick Pack (working — final naming open)
- SKU naming: Flavor first, product last. "Chocolate Functional Fiber Protein." "Mixed Berry Daily Fiber."
- Subscription tiers (proposed): Just Protein · Just Fiber · The Stack
Sample copy
The voice rendered.
Performance Nutrition
Performance starts in the gut.
Most athletes obsess over what goes in. We obsess over what gets absorbed.
The Stack
Thirty grams of fiber a day, built into your training day.
Most athletes obsess over what goes in. We obsess over what gets absorbed. Fiber feeds the gut bacteria that produce short-chain fatty acids. SCFAs fuel the cells that line your gut. Those cells absorb the protein you're paying for. The chain is simple. It just isn't talked about.
Twenty-five grams of protein. Six grams of prebiotic fiber. One scoop, twice the work.
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03 — Color
How we look.
A neutral foundation. One distinctive green accent. A warm secondary for moments where green is too cool. That's it. The discipline is the design.
Core neutrals
The foundation.
Brand accent
Staple Green.
The single distinctive color that signals nutrition, performance, longevity. Used for: logo accents, CTAs, links, key data callouts.
Warm secondary
Staple Clay.
Used sparingly. For chocolate SKU packaging, warm photography overlays, moments where green would feel cold. Never primary.
System colors
For UI states.
Usage rules
What we don't do.
- Don't gradient the green. Staple Green is solid. Never blended.
- Don't tint photography green. Photography stays natural; green is for type and UI only.
- Don't pair Clay and Green on the same surface. Temperature opposites — each owns its moment.
- Pure White is restricted to product surfaces and supplement facts panels. Warm White is the default.
04 — Typography
The type system.
A display serif. A workhorse sans. A mono accent. Three typefaces, defined relationships.
Hero headlines, product names, pull quotes, editorial moments. Classical letterforms with no quirky terminals. Italic is a signature. Use Instrument Serif Italic liberally for emphasis within serif headlines.
Weights available: Regular (400), Italic. One weight by design — embrace the constraint.
Body copy, UI labels, packaging back panels, technical content. Workhorse modern sans, optimized for screens, designed for legibility. Pairs cleanly with serif headlines.
Weights: 400 Regular · 500 Medium · 600 Semibold · 700 Bold. Default body: 16–17px / 1.6 line-height on web.
Eyebrows, data labels, supplement facts panel values, technical contexts. Used as accent, never primary.
Weights: 400 Regular · 500 Medium.
Eyebrow style: uppercase, letter-spaced 0.1–0.14em, ~12px, accent color.
Type pairings
How the three work together.
02 — The product line
Two products. One thesis.
A protein with fiber baked in. A fiber stick pack that completes the daily quota. Together they cover training, recovery, and everyday digestion.
The hero. 25g protein + 6g prebiotic fiber per scoop.
05 — Imagery
What we show.
Photography does the heaviest lifting of the brand. Get it right and the brand is 80% there. Documentary, not stylized.
Photography
Real athletes, real food, real moments.
- → Real athletes — FBB community members when possible
- → Real food — Greek yogurt, oatmeal, smoothies in real glassware
- → Real environments — home kitchens, hotel kitchens, gym kitchens
- → Hands and ritual — pouring, stirring, sipping
- → Warm natural window light, slightly desaturated
- → Negative space — empty counter, empty wall behind
- → Close-up to medium framing — see the steam on coffee
- → Slight film grain acceptable
- ✗ Stock supplement shots (scoop floating, white bg, sparkles)
- ✗ Glossy gym imagery (sweat, flexing, locker rooms)
- ✗ Lab / clinical imagery (test tubes, lab coats, pipettes)
- ✗ Hyper-styled fruit explosions (the AG1 aesthetic)
- ✗ Bodies posed for aesthetic display
- ✗ Models with branded shakers in the gym
- ✗ HDR, saturation push, orange-and-teal grading
- ✗ Brightly colored "lifestyle" influencer aesthetics
Color grading: warm white balance (5200–5800K), slight green/yellow lift in shadows, crushed highlights, no blown-out whites.
Reference shoots: Bellway (warm/considered tone) · Seed DS-01 (clinical/premium balance) · not AG1 (saturated/hyper-styled is what we avoid).
Iconography
Used sparingly.
- Style: Outlined, 1.5px stroke, rounded line caps
- Reference systems: Lucide · Feather · Phosphor (regular variant)
- Avoid: Filled icons · fitness clichés (dumbbells, muscles, biceps) · supplement clichés (pill capsules, droppers, beakers) · wellness clichés (leaves, hearts, stars)
Graphic devices
Three signature elements.
Sections numbered "01 —", "02 —", etc., in JetBrains Mono, uppercase, accent color. A signature device borrowed from editorial design.
The only graphic flourish in the system. Instrument Serif italic, 3px Staple Green left border.
Thin horizontal rules in Stone for section dividers and metadata separators. No drop shadows. No gradients except the warm-white-to-stone fade on hero sections.
06 — Application
How it all comes together.
From the 8-point grid to the inside of a stick-pack box, the brand applies consistently.
Layout principles
The page is a system.
- Eight-point baseline grid. All spacing in increments of 8px (8, 16, 24, 32, 40, 48, 64, 80, 96).
- Single-column reading flow. Long-form content in a 720–760px column. Generous line length.
- Generous section padding. 80–120px vertical between sections on desktop.
- Breathable margins. Mobile 24px; desktop centered on max-width.
- Asymmetric marketing pages allowed. Homepage / campaign pages can break the grid — but with editorial pacing.
Packaging
The product is the brand made physical.
Hero protein tub
- HDPE recyclable. Full wrap or front + back label.
- Front: wordmark top-third (Instrument Serif). Product name middle. Flavor + net weight bottom.
- Chocolate SKU uses Staple Clay accent. Vanilla SKU stays in neutral palette.
- Back: story (one short paragraph), supplement facts (Inter + JetBrains Mono), allergen, lot, barcode, expiration.
- Scoop matched to formula density (35–38g); color matches brand neutrals.
Stick pack
- Foil-laminated paper feel (sustainability + premium tactile).
- Front: wordmark, product line, flavor, fiber dose callout.
- Back: story (single sentence), facts panel, ingredients, allergen, lot.
- Box (30-count): matches tub aesthetic; inside-lid note for the daily moment of opening.
Digital · Social · Email
Brand on every surface.
- Website: Editorial pacing. Sticky nav with anchor links. Subscription as default purchase. Photography hero on homepage; minimal hero on product pages.
- Instagram: Documentary photography. Recipe videos. Training cuts. Captions in voice — short paragraphs, no hashtag stuffing.
- TikTok: Marcus's voice or community-driven. Same tonal rules.
- YouTube: Long-form education. "How fiber actually works" as a recurring series direction.
- Email — Welcome: Personal first email. Warm, useful, never salesy.
- Email — Educational: One per week max during onboarding. One per month after. Each email teaches something specific.
- Email — Transactional: Crisp. No fluff.
- Email — Win-back: Honest. "We noticed you paused — anything we can fix?" Don't beg.
Guardrails
What we don't do.
Don't shout. No all-caps headlines except JetBrains Mono eyebrows and the rare hero moment.
Don't gradient. Solid colors only.
Don't decorate. No flourishes, swooshes, badges, or stamps.
Don't bro. No "gains," "shred," "pump," "explosive." Ever.
Don't lie about doses. If a product has 3g of psyllium, say 3g — never "clinical dose."
Don't manufacture urgency. No countdown timers. No "limited time." No fake scarcity.
Don't promise transformation. We promise daily improvement, not before-and-afters.
Don't gatekeep. The brand is for anyone who trains, not a tier of "elite."
Don't fake science. Cite real studies, real claims, real thresholds. The audience reads labels.
Open questions
Where we still need decisions.
01Final brand name
Staple · Staple Performance Nutrition · Staple Nutrition · something else? Naming overlap with the Staple training program needs Marcus's confirmation — is it an asset or does it cause confusion?
02Logo / wordmark
Direction is set; execution is open. Recommend three exploratory rounds with a designer.
03Tagline
"Performance starts in the gut." is the working candidate. Alternatives: "Built for the long arc." · "The fuel for the long game." · No tagline at all.
04Mascot / symbol element
Do we want a secondary mark (icon-like) beyond the wordmark?
05Photography lead
Studio partner for launch photography to be selected.
06Packaging finalization
Material, finish, label design, scoop color — open until design partner is engaged.