Our work for Glanbia

Glanbia brand identity

01 September 1999

A naming and brand development project for Glanbia, an international dairy and meat product plc operating in twenty-three countries, which included implementation across a full range of corporate and collateral material, and the development of brand management tools.

Background
The 1997 merger of Avonmore Foods and Waterford Foods created the Avonmore Waterford Group, an international business with €4 billion (Stg£2.5 billion) turnover, which was the fourth largest dairy company in the European Union, a leading presence in the UK prepared meats business and a significant fresh milk supplier in the UK and Ireland. An entirely new organisation had been created and this required a new identity to reflect new competencies and standards. BFK, working initially in partnership with London design agency Corporate Edge, were engaged to develop a name and corporate brand for the new company. The objective was to enhance the company's profile and to produce a single corporate masterbrand for its many subsidiaries.

Consultancy
The remit was the development of the masterbrand strategy including naming, design, marketing, intellectual property protection, legal procedures, implementation and project management. The values, vision and personality of the new organisation were defined. A fundamental requirement for the name was its ability to work cross-culturally, that is, uniformly to support the corporate presence in many geographic and culturally different markets. Research was carried out in 23 countries and the eventual solution was protected internationally.

Creative solution
The chosen name was Glanbia. This is a derivation of two Gaelic words - glan, meaning pure, and bia, meaning food. Glanbia is usable internationally and is easy to pronounce in all major languages. The name promotes a healthy image and natural environment and underpins the Group's fundamental commitment to the highest standards of food quality and safety. A new brand mark was developed. With warm yellow and radiant orange spheres, the brand mark represents the energy of the sun as a source of life. The cool purity of the blue used in the name Glanbia represents clear fresh water - another prerequisite for life and growth. The result is an image reflective of Glanbia's values - offering the best food values under the sun.

Development and implementation

BFK, working alone with Avonmore Waterford Group management, developed a complete corporate masterbrand system and applied the new identity across a full range of corporate and collateral material: stationery, signage, uniforms, vehicle liveries, etc. This major identity application covered all 23 countries in which Glanbia operated, including the United States. Implementation culminated in the production of a brand management toolkit - a complete corporate identity manual and applications guidelines system which ensures the continuity and consistency of masterbrand application globally.

Evaluation
The Glanbia identity has proved successful. Every corporate branded item was redesigned to incorporate the new masterbrand and livery, from an extensive fleet of vehicles right down to the staff security cards. All key audiences warmly embraced it. There is strong employee buy-in. Nine years later the brand mark and corporate identity continue to represent the vision, values, core messages and personality of Glanbia plc to all stakeholder groups. Glanbia now rank among the world's leading dairy businesses, with strong international market positions in cheese and nutritional dairy ingredients. The Glanbia masterbrand is playing its part in contributing to growing corporate value.