Developing a modern corporate brand identity and portfolio architecture to unite historical regional dairies under a forward-looking group platform.
Balancing heritage and modern ambition in a post-merger dairy consolidation.
When the consolidation of several historical Latvian production facilities—including century-old regional dairies Rīgas Piena Kombināts and Valmieras Piens—formed Food Union, the strategic challenge went far beyond creating a new corporate logo. The merger brought together deep-rooted regional legacies, deeply loved local heritage products, overlapping product lines, and fragmented operational cultures. The central task was balancing history with modern ambition.
Erasing the historical identity of established factories would mean destroying decades of brand equity and consumer trust across the Baltics. At the same time, simply stacking legacy companies together would limit future growth, delay EU operational modernization, and block international expansion. Food Union needed a strategic identity framework that could honor past heritage while creating a progressive platform for innovation.
Designing a "family of brands" model, corporate group identity, and dual-track portfolio strategy.
Mildberry worked directly with executive leadership to architect the brand hierarchy, corporate visual system, and strategic product portfolio from the ground up.
Rather than imposing a rigid corporate blanket over historic companies, we positioned Food Union as an overarching group of companies—a collaborative family platform. The Food Union corporate brand was designed as a modern, progressive seal of quality, European standards, and innovation. This allowed individual acquired dairies and regional entities to retain their authentic local identities while visibly standing under a unified corporate banner.
We audited and restructured the entire product ecosystem across two strategic tracks. First, we modernized legacy local brands, refreshing their visual identity and packaging systems to keep them relevant for contemporary consumers without alienating loyal audiences. Second, we created brand-new, modern consumer brands—such as Rasa, Ekselence, and Nü—designed specifically to capture emerging consumer trends and drive category innovation.
To support Food Union’s goal of expanding beyond local borders, the portfolio architecture was engineered for immediate international adaptation. By separating localized legacy products from high-concept, scalable consumer brands, Food Union established a flexible platform ready for rapid entry into new European markets and global regions, including bespoke retail concepts for Asian expansion.
A cohesive corporate group structure driving leadership and multi-market scale.
The group architecture and dual portfolio model allowed Food Union to smoothly integrate legacy regional assets while launching nine distinct product brands within its first year. The strategic structure preserved consumer trust in historic regional lines while driving rapid commercial growth—helping Food Union capture top positions in the Baltic dairy and ice cream sectors, achieve an annual turnover exceeding €125 million, and build a scalable foundation for global expansion.
