ABOUT

BACKGROUND:
KOFF is one of Finland’s most historic brands, home to the oldest brewery in the Nordics and long synonymous with the nation’s beer culture. Yet despite this heritage, beer as a category was in decline and adjacent formats were growing. Long drinks, Finland’s traditional grapefruit and gin-based alcoholic drink, introduced during the 1952 Olympics, had become a dominant force. KOFF operates across both beer and long drinks, as well as newer beyond-beer formats, with an opportunity to unlock greater clarity and momentum. A rich history of category innovation had built a broad portfolio, now ready to be brought together through a cohesive brand narrative and distinctive brand asset system. As part of Carlsberg’s portfolio of ‘local power brands’, KOFF had a clear opportunity to build relevance with a new generation.

INSIGHT, DEFINING KOFF'S BRAND ROLE:
Working closely with the local Carlsberg team and experiencing Finnish culture on the ground in Helsinki, we explored behaviours and rituals that shape Finnish drinking culture. We discovered a defining tension that Finland is a nation of extremes.

From sweating in saunas to swimming in ice lakes.
From quiet forests to deafening heavy metal.
From independence to moments of collective celebration.

Finns take pride in Sisu, resilience, determination and quiet strength.
And while Finns love competition, they reject conflict.

Here, rivalry isn’t about defeating others. It’s about pushing each other further. In a crowded category dominated by functional messaging and flavour descriptors, this insight revealed a powerful opportunity for KOFF to spark joyful rivalry.

THE DESIGN CHALLENGE
The Beyond Beer market is highly competitive and flavour-driven. Consumers are faced by a proliferation of similar-looking products leading with descriptive function over emotional storytelling, making navigation difficult and limiting mental availability. Distinctive brand assets and a flexible design system were therefore needed to drive instant brand recognition with the emotional pull of joyful rivalry.

To succeed, KOFF needed to shift:
From beer heritage to beyond beer pioneer.
From category-first innovation to brand-first thinking.
From fragmented launches to a coherent portfolio.

Building a brand and design system that flexes across categories as the brand innovates and grows, while maintaining distinctive brand assets and strong equity at a glance.

THE SOLUTION
A rival is not an enemy. A rival is someone who recognises your strengths, who inspires, pushes and forces you to think differently. Everyone needs a rival. KOFF’s famous two horses have been visible in Helsinki since 1819. However, the existing logo didn't capture the spirit of rivalry. The horses were emotionless, constrained by reigns. They had their backs to one another and were completely identical. True rivals face each other with mutual respect, expressing their individual personalities.

We evolved the KOFF horses to face each other with eye contact and freed them from their reigns. In nature horses touch noses to establish social bonds. There’s a subtle heart shape composition to express the bond of two inseparable horses. KOFF’s real current horses (Gunnar and Frederik) were used to define their two unique personalities that inspired their expressions in the logo and establish them as true rivals. We also crafted the Wordmark to be more dynamic, to elevate the Horses.

While the horses represent the rivals, a graphic frame represents the rivalry. Two shapes coming together with points of friction. The space between is the opportunity for KOFF to spark and ignite the joy of rivalry. This joy is expressed in the form of two patterns that reflect the two different personalities of Gunnar and Frederik, the current KOFF horses.

THE IMPACT
Delivered at Pace. Designed to scale. From initial brief to market launch, the KOFF transformation from strategy to shelf in less than a year.

Launching in late February 2026, early indicators are promising, demonstrating the potential of the new design. Built for scale, the new fix and flex brand system powered seamless innovation beyond beer and Long Drinks. KOFF Hard Seltzer is on track to sell at double the expected sales, already estimated to rank as a top-three brand in its segment at a leading retailer just two months after launch.

“Working with Born Ugly has been excellent. They quickly understood our market, brought strong strategic and brand expertise, and helped us move from brief to market fast in under a year. The collaboration has been smooth, creative, and valuable. We’ve truly enjoyed the partnership, and together we’ve been able to build something creatively bold and iconic for KOFF.”

Juhani Jalkanen
Marketing Director Beyond Beer,
Sinebrychoff, Carlsberg