ABOUT

Organic Valley is not just another company. In fact it’s not a company at all, Organic Valley is a cooperative of farmers whose philosophy on farming informs everything they do. When they came to us to help them differentiate their brand which had come to define organic milk and dairy branding over the last twenty years we had to fully understand this philosophy and how to communicate it.

Organic Valley farmers honour the natural cycles of farming. You may think that there’s nothing new in that but it’s something which is being forgotten due to the demands of modern-day farming. As intensive farming methods have become the norm it has become progressively difficult for farmers to return to the natural cycle of the land and their animals. Organic Valley’s mission centres around providing the help and support that farmers and their families need to do this. In a world that is increasingly unpredictable, this is a scary thing for farmers to instigate and carry through because it takes some time to get the land and the animals back to what is not just an organic standard but how things should be. Luckily, Organic Valley has been doing this since 1988. Because the brand is owned by the farmers, the investment feels safe, it’s an investment in the future and ensures sustainable pay prices. But also, because of the integrity Organic Valley has always prided itself on, people are prepared to pay a premium to keep real farming sustainable. The strong connection with the customer that the brand inspires means that the farmers are seen as friends and partners – the fact that people and not machines are behind this brand is very clear. One Oregon farmer talks about how people see the Organic Valley brand on his farm sign and will often take the time to drive down to the farmhouse and shake his hand – people love the brand, what it stands for, and the people that it supports. This was a message that we felt was integral to any new brand communication.

For that reason, we decided with Organic Valley that the actual farmers should be shown photographed on the packs, with their families, with their children, with their animals. Now people can put a face to the people behind the produce. The people are real, they are not models, they are not showing you how life should be, they are showing you how their life is. The strong palette of blue and green not only conveys the strong message of respecting the earth but is also noticeably refreshing in a category dominated by red and yellow. The type of milk is clearly communicated in the top right hand corner of the carton and the farmer’s signature along the base of the carton authenticates the provenance.

There’s something about this project that can’t help but make you feel proud – and we’re not just saying that because we worked on it - it makes you feel proud to be a human being.