Close
February, 2018Sometimes, a brand can have a strong presence in its consumer’s world that the consumer forgets to look it as a brand and more as an experience or a memory. Nutella is one long-standing brand that has transformed from a simple jar of chocolate to a breakfast staple for many. Undeniably, a guilty pleasure for most, the Nutella jar is associated with countless recipes, desserts or just dunking into the smooth chocolate with a spoon for a mouthful scoop. This is one brand that has managed to etch its taste in our brain, and has given a name and association to chocolate.
Nutella is one long-standing brand that has transformed from a simple jar of chocolate to a breakfast staple for many. Undeniably, a guilty pleasure for most, the Nutella jar is associated with countless recipes, desserts or just dunking into the smooth chocolate with a spoon for a mouthful scoop. This is one brand that has managed to etch its taste in our brain, and has given a name and association to chocolate.
For many, a chocolate is a chocolate, but if you try to recall any one taste of chocolate, you will be battling in your mind for the different brands and variants. A chocolate could be rich, dark, creamy, salty, various degrees of sweet or bitter. Nutella has the distinct flavour of hazelnut that makes us instantly recognise the brand whether we have just bitten into a pancake, or a Ferrero chocolate. This marks Nutella as a brilliant example of ingredient branding where a café can simply have an assured sale when it places a dish with Nutella’s name on its menu. Many dessert brands riding on the trust and quality factor of Nutella brand get more leverage and in return take their brand to the top quicker.
The underlying form of the hazelnut spread – which would later be called Nutella – was started and concocted during the 1940s by Pietro Ferrero, a pâtissier and author of the Italian organization Ferrero.
At the time, there was an extreme deficiency of cocoa bean supply because of World War II rationing policy. So as to conquer this lack, Ferrero chose to supplant cocoa beans with hazelnuts, which were plenteous in the Piedmont area in northwest Italy so as to make a spread with a taste comparative as a chocolate spread. The first form of Nutella was classified "Pasta Gianduja". Pasta in Italian means spread and Gianduja is the name of a famous street carnival character in the locale. Gianduja's figure additionally showed up on the first advertisements for the product. Pasta Gianduja was at first strong and was promoted as loaves enclosed by tinfoil with the goal that moms could put them between two cuts of bread to make sandwiches. Nonetheless, numerous youngsters discarded the bread and ate just the Pasta Gianduja portion. Subsequently, Ferrero adjusted the products texture into a spread sold in containers with the goal that it could be spread on bread. In the years that followed, the products name was changed to Supercrema Gianduja and since 1964 it was called Nutella.
Nutella achieved success from the day of its launch, which prompted Italian food stores to offer a service known as “The Smearing”. Italian children went to the local store holding a slice of bread for the storekeeper to dip a knife in the large jar of Nutella on the counter and sell them a “smearing” of Nutella on the slice of bread in their hand. Nowadays, the brand is sold in over 75 countries around the world and ranked as the number one spread in Europe. In recent years, its popularity has been increasing in the developing nations worldwide.
The evolution of Nutella continues in the present day market as well. In India, in the year 2015, Nutella started a month long campaign that allowed Indian consumers to buy a personalized Nutella jar with their own names and content printed in it. This was done at select stores with on spot printing to build a stronger bond between consumers and the brand. In one move, Nutella converted hundreds of thousands of consumers into Nutella Brand Ambassadors.
The series of Nutella recipes is not something we are unaware of. Apart from restaurants whipping up their own unique creations with Nutella, the brand themselves promote a series on their webpage called “Recipes with NUTELLA”, featuring a choice of diverse dishes through which Nutella can be consumed. It takes away from Nutella being solely a bread spread, and becoming an ingredient for numerous preparations.
We applaud the smearing success of Nutella as a brand, the one which has its own day! Happy World Nutella Day!
Partner
With 15+ years of spatial design experience, Sveta leads the team that helps extend brands to three-dimensional spaces. She has the ability to visualise intangible attributes such as brand positioning and translate them to materials, finishes and furniture in every space. Her belief is simple – ‘every detail in retail design has to reflect the brand.’ Over the years she has worked with some of the biggest brands in the hospitality and retail industry. At ABND, she is pivotal in projects that require branded interior design, retail design, way-finding and signage systems. Sveta is as defined and disciplined in dance as she is in her work!
March 1, 2018
The pioneer of liberal education in India, Pune based FLAME University is creating waves in liberating young minds. Over the years, the institution has built a reputation for itself that is significant enough to reckon with. Built on the methodology of psychologist Howard Gardner’s ‘multiple intelligence,’ there is a renewed focus on interdisciplinary learning. A vast array of options lies for students as there are over 250 unique major-minor combinations to choose from here. While you can major in subjects like Economics, Psychology, International Studies, Environmental Studies and Journalism, you can also graduate in Dance, Music, Theatre and Design. At FLAME, you could also do a BSc in Applied Mathematics and BBA degrees in Finance, Marketing, Communications Management, HRM, Operations and Entrepreneurship.
At a time when private players are still not trusted in the field of higher education, FLAME University is still a clear preference for young minds, owing to its unique approach. The string of collaborations it has made makes it an institution of excellence which stands out. Renowned foreign universities including Nuffield College, York University of Canada, and Wellesley College, Babson Collaborative and other institutes of repute have tied up with FLAME University.
At ABND, FLAME University was given a rejuvenated identity. Several competing institutions offered Liberal Education as part of the curriculum as well. In an attempt to set themselves apart from the clutter, FLAME University needed to rebrand themselves by giving Liberal Education a new way of expression we proposed for them – ‘Diversity of the Mind.’ To know more on how this reputed institute was envisioned anew and given a dynamic visual identity. To know more Click Here
Founder-Partner
Kunal says, “I’ve no specific talent, I’m merely inquisitive.” While his past experiences include product design, retail branding, packaging and design for manufacturing his true passion lies in branding and strategy. He’s the go-to person whenever the crafting needs finesse or the creation needs a fresh perspective. A certain sixth sense guides him in business and branding, honing the skill through experience. Kunal is also a guest lecturer and visiting faculty at a college in Mumbai, teaching branding to young bright minds.
February 27, 2018
Coming into view, the emerging logistics company, Grab, have recently received heavy government investment backing from Small Industries Development Bank of India’s wholly owned subsidiary, SIDBI Venture Capital Limited. Pratish Sanghvi, the co-founder of Grab, said that this funding of $1.5million is detrimental to their growth as the company is currently working on a crowdsourcing distribution model. SIDBI has joined a list of their big investors including Aramex, Zomato, Sixth Sense Ventures and Oliphans Capital. In spite of the hyperlocal delivery space being overcrowded, Grab was a prominent player for SIDBI to consider because of its sector-agnostic approach and its high chances of being EBITDA positive.
Providing hyperlocal and intracity logistics services to businesses including restaurants, food tech platforms, pharmacies and banks, Grab was once only doing food deliveries, being known as Grab-A- Grub. ABND had worked on the brand’s identity when they wanted to expand from being a food delivery startup to an all-encompassing hyperlocal logistics company. Changing from Grab-A- Grub to Grab, their rebranding made for a more sharper and agile brand. To know more Click Here
February 22, 2018
Thursdays at ABND just got chocolaty! Each of us brought our favourite chocolate to office. There was a huge goblet brimming over with chocolates of all kinds, apart from our favourite ones too. In a game of passing the parcel, the rubik’s cube filling in for the parcel in the last moment, the chocolates were exchanged amongst the chocoholics! What you got to pick in the lottery became your chocolate.The twist in the story came with the fact that the last person to pick her own chocolate in the lottery, got a chance to win the entire Goblet of Chocolates! Poornima won the Goblet. Following that we quirked it up by trading some of our chocolates with the Goblet Queen. It was a fun trade off. There were some toothaches after, but it was a happy sugar rush.
February 19, 2018
After back to back workshops and presentations through the weeks, the team felt like taking a break under the sun. Around the coffee table, there were some games and some lively chatter. While we had started the day all pumped up with a presentation for brand identity that went down well with the client, we ended the day on a light note at a coffee shop. From acting out the weirdest of movie names like ‘Matru ki Bijli ka Mandola’ and ‘Chameli ki shaadi’, we had great fun breaking down apparently simple ones too, when playing dumb charade. All of us had a crazy good time guessing interesting symbols and rhyming words when dissecting and decoding the films. We, at ABND, love our breaks as much as we enjoy the action!
Associate-Strategy
An experimenter at heart, Nikita’s experiences in interior design, sculpture design, advertising and branding has made her flexible to new ideas and new spaces. Nikita is a certified scuba diver. She has her own website, showcasing beautiful illustrations and paintings. Her art speaks of her love for animals and her admiration for the creatures of the sea. She loves to travel around the world and brainstorm on challenges.
Associate-Strategy
Stringing up the world with words, Sumanjari is driven by creativity, but with a purpose. Munching at her table always, she can (over)think but not on an empty stomach. She loves her coffee bittersweet and her strategies well researched. Academically inclined, she has written research papers on a wide range of topics from religion and music to branding to euthanasia. Sumanjari values spending time with her students, lecturing at a college by the weekends apart from her engagement at ABND.
Head-Creative
With a strong influence in the Applied Arts, our happy-go-lucky green haired creative lead has been a constant in team ABND right from its founding years. She is always humming a tune or two and livening up the pulse of the workspace. Ekta’s optimism and openness to new ideas fuels her creative best. Quirking it up in her attire, food and art, Ekta’s innovative at heart. She has a childish impulse of surprising others. Her love for bikes and nature deserves a special mention!
Founder-Partner
Priyanka Sachdev Shahra is a design thinker and serial entrepreneur. Her passions lie in bringing meaningful projects to life. Priyanka’s experience with entrepreneurship begun in 2010, when she cofounded ABND with Kunal Vora. Always having strongly felt for what’s environmentally and socially sustainable, she set up One With Earth in 2014 as a vehicle to support such projects. She has also been involved in an interesting venture which is a first of its kind in Singapore, an online swapping platform called Swapaholic. Priyanka manages the Singapore office of ABND.
Associate-Creative
A woman of less words and more action, this designer on the dot likes to keep it short and sweet. Having mastered in design in college, Poornima is driven by discipline and style. Zumba is a favourite pastime and she is also passionate for the cause of saving stray animals. Simplicity is what defines her spirit, whether she is designing or talking.
Associate-Creative
Debugging and resolving errors, Hitesh is the techie in the house responsible for digital and web strategies. A smooth operator, he is persistent in problem-solving. He is very passionate about solving the Rubik’s cube and we can see him at it often. We can tell that at school he must have been immersed in his science projects, which led him further to study information technology. In sports too it’s always the technique which fascinates him. The music in his ears is always loud enough for the entire office to hear!
Associate-Creative
With several years of experience in Interior Design, Deepu is the go to guy for detailing each space to the T. He lives Mies Van Der Rohe’s quote “god is in the detail”. His experience helps the team visualize design concepts from a detailed point of view, mapping it on to real spaces. A quiet and simple soul, we can always see Deepu working at his desk with complete concentration. A workaholic at heart, he is also a cricket buff and a harmonium player. He likes sticking to a rule book but won’t mind swinging to a catchy rhythm when he’s off work.
Administrator
Organized and to the point, our administrator likes keeping the house in order. Florie also has varied talents in cooking, sewing and embroidering. Diligence drives us as a team and so does it drive the person who holds the pack together. Florie is fond of country music and likes reading murder mysteries.
