The True Honey Co
In a market where honey lovers were struggling to understand which providers were the real deal, all customers wanted was the truth. The True Honey Co entered the market on a mission to be the the most authentic Manuka honey company.
User research.
The True Honey Co already had an existing brand they used in the B2B market to build partnerships with farmers and secure land for their hives. They needed to understand who their customers were and if their core brand proposition of being authentic would resonate with honey lovers.
We built an understanding of The True Honey Co’s prospective customers by spending time with them. We visited their homes and understood their honey eating habits. We built a picture of their core values and what they looked for in a honey brand.
We partnered with Marx Design to develop brand and packaging design that encapsulated The True Honey Co’s core value of ‘truth and authenticity.’
Think Packaging designed a bespoke, full recyclable, cardboard box to ensure The True Honey Co could deliver on their customers desire for honey in glass jars.
Brand strategy.
To develop a brand that would really connect with The True Honey Co’s customers - we created it with them. We ran co-design workshops with customers in both the UK and New Zealand to better understand what trust and authenticity meant to them.
Care for bees was something that was important to The True Honey Co’s customers. We developed a set of promises that talked to tangible things the company would do, like moving their hives at night and maintaining a high beekeeper to hive ratio.
We worked with The True Honey Co to develop a service for their landowners to ensure farmers could keep close track of their hives and honey production through a bespoke software platform called TrueView.
Brand development.
Brand and packaging design by Marx Design.
Cardboard engineering by Think Packaging.
Copywriting by Killer Poet.
The True Honey Co is a Best Design award winner.
Building trust with customers was at the centre of the brand development. A key part of this was the development of a bespoke box that allowed The True Honey Co to deliver its honey in glass jars - something that was important to customers.
Research found that trust in the MGO rating system for honey was low. Making a tangible commitment to not sell honey under 300 MGO (the minimum level with proven scientific benefits) was one way The True Honey Co could live up to its promises. MGO ratings also took centre stage in the design, making it really easy for customers to choose the right strength for them.
We designed a newspaper to distribute at food shows that told the story of the company and its values. These values, crafted as promises the company made, were brought to life through illustration and proudly displayed on every box of honey.
“Building our first direct to consumer brand on the solid foundation of user research just made sense. The work the team did to develop the brand strategy in such a way that it reflected our values as honey makers while connecting with customers was impressive.”
— Jim, Founder and CEO The True Honey Co
Illustration was commissioned to bring the company’s promises to their customers to life.