How to streamline a growing brand

From sodas and supplements to skincare and apparel, the majority of new brands launch with high aspirations for growth. For many, this means steadily adding new lines as they react to shifting customer needs, introducing new innovations and different flavour profiles. But over time, that growth can tip into an overly complicated or disjointed brand identity. Consistent tweaks to a brand to accommodate new ingredients or attract a wider audience – such as
adding a different colourway or photographic style, or perhaps a sub-brand with an alternative look and feel – often go unchecked. This can result in once-powerful identities becoming diluted in strength and standout. Death by a thousand design cuts.

Today’s consumers don’t always have the time or patience to try and understand a brand in the
moment. Whether online or in store, they shop fast, and when things feel confusing, they’re in danger of simply choosing a more accessible option. This presents a challenge for growing businesses: How do you streamline a complicated product range and make it instantly accessible for busy shoppers?

Start with the big idea
At the centre of any successful brand is a single big idea. One simple, instantly-understandable
concept that holds everything together, from design to comms to product strategy – acting as an
anchor by which the brand begins to grow and evolve. Look at Ben & Jerry’s. Its idea of ‘Peace, Love and Ice Cream’ holds upward of 50 diverse flavours in check, can be picked up in social campaigns that reinforce social and environment activism, and yet is flexible enough to allow that undeniably playful and quirky brand personality to shine through on pack. A natural catalyst for creative ideas that capture the imagination of consumers, Ben & Jerry’s is a classic example of how a strong repeated idea can turn a shelf staple into an FMCG icon.

Build a distinctive identity
Once this central idea is cemented, the eternal balancing act begins. Too much difference between ranges can be confusing and off-putting for consumers; likewise, too much similarity can be problematic. Pringles has found a great balance. Its tall tubes stand in defiance against competing crisp packets, using colour and depth to define between ‘favourite’, ‘hot’ and ‘on the go’ ranges. Coupled with an instantly recognisable logo with memorable nostalgia cues (the moustached mascot Julius Pringles), the brand owns a coveted niche in the snacking category; with baked-in flexibility that allows it to play online, instore and out through activation.

Introduce a clear and accessible range architecture
Even the most devoted brand loyalists can lose their way when product ranges become too broad and unwieldy. Confusion about the similarities and differences within a range can move them from emotional decision making – led by ‘this looks great’ or ‘this feeds my desires’ – to more rational decision making – ‘how much does this cost?’ and ‘how does it compare to other options?’. Introducing a clear and accessible range architecture is crucial in bringing order to an expansive portfolio. Brands like superfood blend specialist Spacegoods do this well, employing vibrant ombre shades to clearly differentiate between products, while keeping only the most critical information – flavour, ingredients, benefits – on pack to reduce clutter and chaos. When tiering is led by clarity and accessibility, it becomes instinctual, helping keep consumers in the emotional space.

It’s never too late
A change in direction takes bravery for any brand. But for established, complex organisations with broad product portfolios, refocusing core assets can feel a mammoth task. What it requires is a shift in mindset: this is not a challenge, but an opportunity to drive reappraisal from lapsed consumers and reinvigorate growth. Premium dessert brand Gü recently brought order to a disparate portfolio with a packaging system that heros geometric layouts, expressive photography, colourful tabs and a ‘less is more’ sensibility. In leaning into its enviable level of recognition with several core brand assets, Gü reclaimed its distinctive essence with a flexible new system and more solid foundation for future growth.

Hold the line
Once this foundation is set, hold the line. One of the biggest risks for a growing brand is founders and marketeers getting bored. Reinventing the wheel for every innovation can be tempting but repetition is a virtue, so choose your rebranding moment carefully. It’s easy to imagine that everyone knows your brand as well as you do, but unless you’re a Coca-Cola or Google (and even then), it’s unlikely this is the case. You have to give consumers time to get to know you before you move on. That’s not to say test and learn isn’t important, but it’s also important to
separate the data from your feelings. It can (understandably) feel emotionally, logistically and frankly financially easier to just keep going with a dysfunctional range architecture than to do the dispassionate self-reflection that a portfolio shift requires. But the results speak for themselves. After stripping back the chaotic variety of fruit drinks brand innocent’s range and introducing a new set of key assets, 94% of people felt the drinks were more cohesive on shelf and purchase intent rose to an impressive 86%. Worth the risk indeed.