S&M grinds out a more refined look

Smith & Milton begins brewing up fresh ideas next month for Kaffehuset Friele, Norway’s biggest coffee brand, in order to filter more personality into the product offer.

The family-owned business, founded in 1799, is one of Norway’s most established brands, says Smith & Milton creative director Nik Bedford, but ‘it’s looked the same for about the past 20 years’.

The brief is to review the brand in its entirety, which includes the identity, packaging and the way that it ‘comes to life’ in a retail context, since Friele also runs a small chain of coffee bars.

According to Bedford, the group will be looking at the product portfolio (existing design pictured), ‘which is a little bit of a mess at the moment’, and advising on segmentation strategies.

‘It’s really just a separate collection of products at present,’ he adds. ‘We’ll look to develop a more lifestyle positioning and see how far the brand can go. It’s got great potential [because] it only does ground coffee – it’s the real stuff.’

The work was motivated by the prospect of international brands providing stiff competition, Bedford explains. He sees a ‘massive threat’ from Starbucks. Although the company is not yet in Norway, ‘it’s only a matter of time,’ he adds.

Smith & Milton won the project following a three- way pitch last month, involving one Scandinavian group and another UK consultancy.