The renewal of our brand identity was a result of a cross-team collaboration 💚

Cross-team collaboration might just be the right call when it comes to big projects. That was certainly the case with this brand renewal.

The project was initially started by our talented Art Director, Tarsila Tenorio, who played a crucial role up until the first workshop presentations before going on parental leave. Now, you get to hear more about the experiences of this project and the cross-team collaboration from these three masterminds: Henni Sulonen, Johanna Hauru, and Liisa-Lotta Laulainen.

Art Director Henni joined us in 2018, initially handling various marketing tasks before becoming Art Director in 2021. “I’m responsible for the visual side, so almost everything related to how Foodello–Fiksuruoka looks. I am specialized in visual design, so I enjoyed shifting my focus from day-to-day marketing tasks to shaping the bigger picture of our brand”, Henni says.

Copywriter Johanna hopped on board in 2020 when our team was still small. She wore many hats but eventually got to focus on her passion for copywriting. “As we grew and our team got bigger, I was able to focus more on what I loved: copywriting. The brand renewal is a great example of how I’ve been able to make an impact,” Johanna explains.

Product Designer Liisa-Lotta Laulainen joined our team in 2022. “I am responsible for the visual layout and usability of the store”, she says. Liisa-Lotta is no stranger to collaborative work. To make her designs come to life, she collaborates closely with developers. “I strive to make smart design that not only looks good and meets users' needs but is also fun and reasonable to execute”, she explains.

Renewing our brand didn’t happen overnight. The project spanned over a year, with multiple brainstorming sessions, a lot of testing and iterating, analyzing data, and collaboration with different teams.

“I am the most proud that we managed to do the whole brand renewal in-house. The brand is exactly what we wanted, crafted with expertise from our cross-functional team.” – Henni

Why the brand renewal?

There were a few big reasons why our brand needed an update.

First, clarity was essential. “We had too many different materials and options, which didn’t work as our team grew,” notes Henni.

Our brand also needed to connect better with our main audience, women over 35. “The old brand was fun and lighthearted but didn’t resonate with them,” Henni explains. The tone of voice was a bit complex too. “The witty style suited a smaller team, but as we expanded internationally, it became harder to manage,” Johanna says.

Moreover, new accessibility laws required changes. “For example, our old green brand color didn’t meet the standards anymore. It is important that we use colors that are easy to read for everyone,” Henni says. Liisa-Lotta emphasizes: “Our site needed better color contrast and clearer text to meet these standards. We’re focusing on making our visual identity more accessible, ensuring elements like buttons and videos are clear and functional.”

5 steps of the brand renewal process

#1 Dreaming big and imagining the future

The brand renewal was a collaborative effort from the start, with Liisa-Lotta, Henni, and Johanna all bringing their best expertise to the table. Liisa-Lotta, with her consultant background, inspired the team to create great processes and timelines. “It was so nice to collaborate with the brand team and to test and refine our ideas,” she says.

The creative process kicked off with everyone developing their ideas of what the brand could be. “Thinking outside the box and coming up with creative ideas of what it could be. What has changed in the essence of our company since our last brand update?” Henni says.

Johanna had some help with the brand's voice and personality from the Head of Brand Jussi Pekkala. Jussi played a major role in determining Fiksuruoka-Foodello's brand positioning while also keeping the big picture coherent. Tarsila, Henni and Liisa-Lotta concentrated on the visual aspects. Together, they leveraged insights from both the brand and product team to define the brand's positioning and ensure it resonated with our target audience.

#2 Bringing ideas together

Once individual brainstorming was complete, Henni, Tarsila, Johanna and Liisa-Lotta gathered for a workshop. They rented a different space to ensure fresh ideas flowed. “We worked on creating lines and proposals, and we spent three days considering what worked, what could be combined, and what needed modification”, Liisa-Lotta says.

Henni adds: “In the workshop, everyone presented their ideas, and all the ideas were printed on the wall. What is good? What should we leave out? By discussing and presenting different concepts, we were able to narrow down the potential directions on what to develop more.”

#3 Presenting new ideas to the team and gathering feedback

When it comes to building a brand, it's super important to get the whole team involved right from the start. "We want it to look and feel like us, so bringing everyone in early is key”, Henni says. “

Very early on, Henni, Johanna and Liisa-Lotta shared their ideas with the leadership team and asked for feedback. “In the workshop phase, we were able to narrow it down to five different visual lines to present”, Liisa-Lotta says. But to get to the next step, getting feedback helped them find the direction that everyone felt was true to the brand and something everyone loved.

Very early on, Henni, Johanna, and Liisa-Lotta shared their ideas with the leadership team and asked for feedback. “We started with six visual lines in the workshop, narrowed them to four, and then, with Lead Designer Katja Tallberg and Jussi's help, down to three,” Liisa-Lotta explains. This process ensured the direction was true to the brand. After considering if the change was too drastic, they visualized the "smallest possible change," but it wasn't enough. In the end, they combined their ideas into one final version to move forward with.

As things became clearer, they began showing the new brand and materials to the whole Foodello–Fiksuruoka team. Johanna explains: "Even though the brand renewal wasn't completely finished, it was important to start the change process and get everyone familiar with how we look and sound. And hear their opinion as well!"

#4 A lot of testing to find the sweet spot

Testing was super important in shaping the new brand. "You can test anything! Especially on the visual side," Henni shared. They updated old materials with the new look to see what worked best.

As they worked hard on the brand, the team realized that something wasn't quite there. It was the brand personality, which is the human traits a brand shows to connect with its audience. ''When we took a step back to better define our brand personality, things started to fall into place'', Johanna says.

Towards the end, they even tested the new visual style with customers with the help of Lead Designer Katja from the product team. "The feedback we got was great. Customers thought the new look was better. The brand stayed recognizable but became better and more in tune with what people wanted," Henni said.

Liisa-Lotta highlights the positive reception: “Typically, brand renewals can initially face some backlash, but even among our current customers, the majority preferred the new look. It was wonderful to see how warmly and positively it was received.”

"The key in our brand renewal was that we didn’t want a revolution, just an evolution.” – Johanna

Johanna added, "The key in our brand renewal was that we didn’t want a revolution, just an evolution.” Through all this testing, they found that sweet spot where the brand felt familiar – but fresh.

#5 Bringing the fresh, yet familiar brand identity to life

The last step was bringing the new identity to life. While some parts, like updating older web pages, are still in progress, the major changes are done. "Now that the brand is clearer and more unified, it's easier to create new materials," Henni says.

The brand renewal has made the brand team’s work more enjoyable and the new brand has been warmly received both inside and outside the company. "People generally like how it looks. I've noticed that with a more compact brand, it's easier for everyone in our team to create new content," Johanna says.

Greatest lessons?

So, what's the biggest takeaway from the brand renewal project? You've got to do your groundwork – and do it well.

Looking back, Henni, Johanna, and Liisa-Lotta agree that doing proper groundwork was key. “Thorough preparation and data are essential for brand work,” Johanna says.

Liisa-Lotta adds, “Having a structured process and clear goals from the start was crucial. It helped us navigate the many stages of this project.”

Feedback was another game-changer. "Feedback is key. It's about how well you can break things down for people. Introduce the brand changes gradually,” Johanna explains.

Liisa-Lotta emphasizes the importance of collaboration: “Working across teams and testing ideas was invaluable. It was rewarding to see how our efforts were received positively.”

And then there’s patience. Lots of it. "These creative projects take time, and you’ve got to let them marinate. It’s a long journey, but trusting that it’ll all come together in the end is key,” Henni says.

What about the greatest lesson for you personally, Henni, Johanna, and Liisa-Lotta?

Henni sums it up: “We’ve learned to trust our instincts and skills even more and can confidently explain why we do what we do.” Liisa-Lotta adds, “And, seeing our work embraced so warmly was proof that thoughtful design and teamwork really pay off.” 💚