The assignment
“How should the Friele coffee brand position itself to deal with a coffee market undergoing rapid development?”
– This was roughly how the assignment facing us was formulated.
Same old - brand new
Friele, Norway’s oldest and best-known coffee brand, asked us to create a balanced, comprehensive and stylish upgrade to the company’s visual identity. In April 2015, Knowit and Friele’s project won the Norwegian Design Council Award for Design Excellence.
3 Processes
We divided the work into three processes:
- Facilitate the creation of a strategy aimed at changing Friele’s portfolio strategy in its entirety
- Adjust aspects of the company’s visual identity
- Simplify and strengthen the product line
Market challenges
Through our analysis we knew the importance of getting to grips with the following critical market trends:
- Sales figures for the traditional coffee segment are decreasing. It is time to reevaluate Friele’s customer segment.
- The market is dominated by coffee producers owned by the biggest national supermarket chains. Friele on the other hand, is independent.
- As a competitor to the supermarket chains own brands, they need to demand their place. They must be distinct and innovative – and sought after by customers in stores.
Things we focused on
- Neither the taste of coffee, nor situations we drink it in are uniform. Every segment needs a specialised product.
- The design process mainly revolved around choice and knowledge. Each product line needs a mix of roast, colour and information.
- Use the sides of packaging to reinforce the design and communicate the variation in each product line.
- Invent new ways to open and seal coffee packaging.
- Allow each product line to develop its own identity and personality. Allow it to fulfil its potential.
Solution
This updating of Friele’s visual identity, and the new packaging for Norway’s best selling coffee, places Friele in a position to tackle the constantly shifting coffee market over the coming years.
