Founded in 1934, Roland Foods imports more 1,500+ specialty foods from 40 countries, and they distribute those products to 65 countries. Roland Foods products are in almost every commercial kitchen in the world.
Roland Foods is an 85-year-old global brand competing in the $150 billion specialty foods category. An energetic new CEO led Roland Foods through a business transformation to modernize the company’s operations, accelerate their performance, and position them for a future sale. But although the brand was still stuck in the past, executives weren’t convinced a rebranding effort was necessary.
Change isn’t easy, especially for an 85-year-old company. Internally, there was doubt: Did the brand matter all that much to customers? They’d been through 100 logos, why would one more really make a difference? What about their storied heritage? No one wanted to lose that.
In partnership with the CEO and key stakeholders, I led a multi-step change program to 1) demonstrate why rebranding was more than just another new logo 2) deliver strategic business value, not just pretty words on paper 3) launch a new brand identity that would help them pivot from commercial wholesaler to a brand preferred by chefs, foodies, and tastemakers.
The Brand Audit began with in-depth 1:1 stakeholder interviews with the C-suite, front line sales reps, customers, and suppliers to understand what made Roland Foods so special to so many people. I discovered a deep affinity for a company built on close, trusted, and enduring relationships around the world. They still worked with their original mushroom supplier, a relationship dating back to the 1930s! They turned a re-order for mustard into a proposal that would make their customer an unexpected flavor-trendsetter. Customers told me how Roland Foods would ‘go to the ends of the earth’ to help source a new ingredient.
At the same time, I discovered that many employees were embarrassed by the brand’s dated identity and website, which was little more than an online wholesale product catalog. They didn’t even want to include a link to the website in their email signature; its outward appearance betrayed their colorful stories and evident pride in Roland Foods. Everything about the site screamed “transactional,” not the values they held dear such as integrity, collaboration, and community.
Using this stark disconnect between the actual brand experience and the perceived brand identity, I was able to generate stakeholder alignment and enthusiasm around a brand refresh. Yes, more change could be a good thing!
As Interim CMO, I took the lead on:
Brand standards including voice and graphic guidelines
Mission & values - driving HR recruitment standards and employee performance metrics
Logo
Collateral, including business cards
Website redesign
Web content
Marketing and messaging
Strategic partnership development to offer the brand more exposure
Larder Magazine
I applied their stories and my insights to Roland’s current business strategy and objectives to articulate a new Brand Mission and Positioning that would serve as a foundation and path toward brand evangelism. From “a supply-chain management platform that facilitates the logistics of food importing” to “a company that believes in the power of food to open minds, spark adventure, and bring diverse people together.”
Following a re-articulation of the brand Mission and Positioning, I was able to craft a new Brand Identity and Marketing Strategy.
Larder Magazine was the final step to widen the brand’s relevance beyond wholesalers to include chefs, foodies, and industry influencers. With both the business and brand transformations complete, Roland Foods is now well-positioned for growth in a modern digital market and is much more attractive to potential buyers in the future.
Mandy is the ultimate strategic thinker that works to get beyond the obvious and find the real story of a brand. As we reimagined the Roland brand, Mandy acted as our brand therapist, pulling a tired 85-year old brand into the future. Her ability to develop the core brand and then utilize all of the tools available to a modern marketer to make it come alive was a joy to witness. I highly recommend engaging her—ideally as a CMO but surely as a strategic advisor and a marketing consultant.
