ABOUT

Repositioning a century-old institution from the inside out

For a century, the Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD) has been the cornerstone of the UK food system. However, with a new CEO and a renewed sense of mission, IGD needed to transform what it stood for, not just look different.

Blackline was commissioned to deliver an end-to-end transformation: repositioning the brand, building internal capability and taking the new identity live.

The Insight: From Servant to Shaper

Rather than beginning with design, we began with people. We conducted forty one-to-one interviews across IGD’s 160-person workforce. The finding was consistent: this was an institution that knew more than it said and had more influence than it claimed.

We uncovered a powerful strategic tension: IGD was a "humble servant" of the industry when it needed to be a confident shaper.

The Strategy: Navigators & Pioneers

From this insight, we developed a dual identity built around IGD’s established authority and its future ambition:
• The Navigator: Reflecting IGD’s heritage, expertise, and trusted role as a guide.
• The Pioneer: Representing the courage to drive sustainability, resilience, and progress.

This "Navigators & Pioneers" territory informed every creative touchpoint, from a new Teal-led colour palette, chosen for its associations with resilience, to a proprietary food system animation and a data visualisation framework that elevated IGD’s experts.

The Implementation: Built to be Lived

The Blackline team embedded for eighteen months, ensuring this wasn't just a "handover" but a cultural shift. We built the brand alongside the people who would live it, running intensive coaching across design, tone of voice and content.

The Result:

The brand was launched via a phased internal pilot before making its public debut at the Food Strategy Conference 2025, marking IGD's transition from a trusted observer to a leader of the global food conversation.