Our brand expert discusses the Dale Farm rebrand

Birnie Consultancy’s Communication & Digital Manager Ashley Hassin has over 15 years’ experience in Marketing, Graphic Design and Brand Development and continues to use his skills in the Agri-food industry.

Like many people in Northern Ireland, I grew up with Dale Farm. Their honeycomb ice cream is the best on the market - I could absolutely demolish a litre tub by myself, so when I saw their rebrand I was a little taken aback.

In the world of branding, a rebrand is a double-edged sword which is even more true for a agri-food company like Dale Farm who have spent years building up a recognisable brand. Sure, you get an immediate pay-off with headlines and renewed interest from the general public but you’re sacrificing much of what you’ve gained with your previous brand. This is why many companies go for ‘brand evolution’ as opposed for a completely new look.

So why do it? After consumer research, the results showed that after 50 years consumers felt it was time for a refresh. Dale Farm have ambitions over the next three years to grow their market share in both new and existing markets, so now was the ideal time to launch their rebrand.

To be honest, when I first saw their new branding, I didn’t like it. It felt like a very extreme change from the original. But then, like all good rebrands should, it started to grow on me.

Seeing just the logo from a rebrand can be deceiving. When you start to see how it’s going to be used on the products, you start to understand the thinking behind it, and the vision starts to make itself clear.

Dale Farm wanted a fresh new image that would invigorate the brand and make it stand out in new markets, and they’ve definitely achieved it. The use of bold colours will make their products stand out and they’ve managed to create a typeface that is clear and readable but has just enough angles here and there to make it seem fun.

Dale Farm is the largest farmer-owned dairy co-operative in the UK, and the hand drawn style of imagery seeks to reflect this - fantastic food produced by real people on your doorstep. They’ve also added messaging (100% owned by local farmers) to reflect this.

Is the Dale Farm rebrand a success? Time will tell. From a brand point of view, what they’ve created makes a strong statement and should last the test of time, but a rebrands success or failure lies with the consumer, and their reaction in the marketplace.

Important note: Birnie Consultancy is an independent consultancy not affiliated with Dale Farm, and as such has not been paid for this post.