POWERING THE FUTURE - ROMBAT’S NEW BRAND IDENTITY

Services Provided

Brand Audit
Brand Vision, Mission, Purpose
Brand Idea
Brand Rhetoric
Logo Design & Visual Identity
Packaging Design
Brand Guidelines

A Legacy of Trust and Innovation: Rombat’s Rebranding Journey

For over 45 years, Rombat has been a cornerstone of the Romanian automotive industry, producing high-quality batteries known for their reliability and performance. As the industry evolved, especially with the rise of electric vehicles and a growing focus on sustainability, Rombat saw an opportunity to evolve as well. The time was right for a refreshed identity that would position the brand at the forefront of automotive energy solutions.

Our agency partnered with Rombat to revitalize its brand, ensuring it not only reflected the company’s rich history but also its commitment to the future. The challenge was clear: we needed to modernize Rombat’s identity to align with a rapidly changing market, where technology and sustainability are key drivers. The transformation wasn’t just visual—it was about capturing the essence of Rombat’s values and its vision for the future.

The Foundation of the Rebrand
At the heart of this rebranding project was a redefined brand strategy, built on a foundation of Rombat’s core values: reliability, sustainability, and performance. We began by refining the brand’s purpose, vision, mission, and brand idea. These elements were crucial in defining how Rombat positions itself in a competitive and evolving market.

Rombat’s brand purpose—to provide energy for a sustainable future—speaks to its commitment to environmental stewardship, while its vision—a world with zero reliability issues and 100% recycling—underscores its focus on innovation and sustainability. The brand idea, “Trust that takes you further,” captures the essence of Rombat’s promise to its partners and customers.

A Modern Identity for a Modern Market
The rebrand included a refreshed visual identity, featuring a new logo that reflects both Rombat’s legacy and its forward-thinking approach. The stylized "R" incorporates two key symbols: a plus sign, representing performance, sustainability, and partnership, and a speech bubble, symbolizing open communication and trust in relationships with partners. This dual symbolism encapsulates Rombat’s mission to provide not just products, but solutions that foster reliable and lasting partnerships.

Our work extended beyond the logo to include a modernized color palette, updated typography, and a cohesive visual system that resonates across all brand touchpoints. The design language we created mirrors Rombat’s role as a trusted partner in the automotive industry, offering energy solutions that empower both businesses and consumers.

Driving Into the Future
This rebranding project was about more than aesthetics—it was about positioning Rombat as a leader in the automotive battery sector, ready to take on the challenges of the future. The redefined identity speaks to a brand that has evolved with the times while staying true to its roots. Rombat is now better positioned than ever to support its partners, delivering innovative energy solutions with the same reliability that has defined it for decades.

As Rombat continues to expand its global presence, the refreshed brand identity reflects its dedication to sustainable innovation, and its unwavering commitment to driving the future of automotive energy.

Team
Marius Farcas
Adela Sabou
Beniamin Pop
Vlad Moldovan
Filip Cerchia

Year: 2024

GIFT’D by Piața 9

Services Provided
Brand Design Strategy
Brand Naming
Brand Identity
Graphic Design
Packaging
Copywriting

About
Gift'd is a new sub-brand of Piața 9, a food hall market from Oradea (Romania), offering super-premium products and services. Opened in 2018, Piața 9 shortly became a unique Romanian food discovery destination, focused on locally sourced ingredients, premium quality meat, and an explosion of tastes, all with the dynamics of a European food market.

In 2022, Piața 9 was ready to take up a new challenge and launch a premium gourmet gift box, just in time for Christmas - Gift'd. We were assigned the challenge to create and design the packaging for this new gourmet box, making it compete with the most wanted gift hampers offered by some of the world's largest and most famous department stores.

It was an ongoing, well-synchronized teamwork with the bakers, chocolatiers, suppliers, and manufacturers. Once we received our final list of products for the box, we created custom packaging that had to fit perfectly.

For Christmas, the gourmet box contained an artisanal homemade panettone, a selection of pralines filled with limoncello and mulled wine, gluten-free saffron and chili crackers, salted caramel fudge, and soft crinkle cookies. All products were handmade in Oradea, with premium ingredients.

Look and feel are very important. Gift'd packaging merges a minimal design that plays with debossed lettering and symbols done in copper accent foil stamping. Like festive lights, the abstract symbols twinkle while the recipient unboxes, instilling a playful joy of discovery.

One very important detail was the outside sleeve. Just like gift wrapping, its purpose was to spark curiosity and anticipatory joy while protecting the box and its contents. We thought of the sleeve as something that can be adapted for different festive moments while changing the color palette and symbols. We chose colors associated with mystery, extravagance, and magic for Christmas, while the abstract symbols spoke more of a winter, festive season. Since it was a fantastic success among customers, Piața 9 decided to make a different sleeve for different events, and one for Easter is already in.

Team
Marius Farcas
Adela Sabou
Vlad Moldovan
Beniamin Pop

Year: 2022

Services Provided
Brand Strategy
Brand Identity
Graphic Design
Tag Line

About
Utilben is a Romanian company that specializes in selling industrial machinery and equipment. Founded in 1994, the company has become one of the leading suppliers in the region. Although it started as a second-hand dealer, Utilben has shifted its business model, and now 90% of its business is based on brand-new machines. However, they have faced a challenge in recent years due to market perception, as many people mistakenly believe that they only deal in second-hand machinery.

To address this, we were responsible for a rebranding process that created a new brand identity reflecting their business values and the quality of their services.

The new identity is bold, featuring a heavy font that speaks of backbone, courage, and trustworthiness. We kept a bridge with the original brand color, orange, but gave it a more modern freshness by incorporating a new red-orange color. Together with the slogan "Da, rezolvăm." (Yes, we're on it.) the new rebrand has brought excitement and energy to the company, hopefully continuing to broaden and strengthen customer relations.

Team
Marius Farcas
Adela Sabou
Beniamin Pop

Year: 2022-2023

NATUU

Services Provided:
Brand Design Strategy
Brand Purpose
Brand Idea
Brand Persona
Brand Naming
Brand Rhetoric
Brand Identity
Graphic Design
Packaging Design
Object Design

Industry Context:
Cluj-Napoca has developed quite a taste for vegetarian food and the most important player in this niche is a restaurant called Samsara. Its owners wanted to access the quick service restaurant (QSR) sector and change people’s perception regarding healthy food.

Challenge:
Launch a vegetarian QSR without focusing solely on vegetarian consumers, which represent only 4% of the Romanian market.

Strategy:
We aimed at Samsara’s main advantage - tastiness. Thanks to their amazing record in the “tasty” department we chose to create and communicate the new brand surrounding the “healthy can be tasty” idea.

All the food would need to be pre-packed, put on the shelves and ready to be picked up quickly and served by customers. So how do you “talk” to your customers if there’s no extensive menu or waiters to tell you more? By giving a bold voice to the product through packaging design and using a series of funny and witty slogans. Get a smile and make them curious.

Natuu proved to live up to its promise and made healthy food tasty, reaching beyond the vegetarian niche and being successfully accepted by all lovers of tastiness.

Team:
Marius Farcas
Adela Sabou
Beniamin Pop
Cosmin Todor Studio

Year:
2019

PIAȚA 9 Baked Goods

Piaţa 9 is a food hall restaurant in Oradea, northwest Romania. "Piaţa" translates to market, and "9" (nouă) is an effective wordplay regarding both the number nine and the word 'new' in Romanian – "The New Market."

Piaţa 9 is an excellent fresh food place that introduces constant new tastes and products based on a brand idea of "discovery." With an interior design that combines the open space of a local restaurant with the dynamics of a European food market, together with simple, bold packaging, Piaţa 9 has speedily taken "food discovery" to a whole new level.

For more than three years, Piața 9 has launched new star products over and over again. This time they wanted to bring some more international traditional dessert recipes to Oradea and added Pastel de Nata and Panettone to their menu. We created the new products' brand identity and packaging.

We chose a minimal, bold design and colors to speak about their place of origin and recipe. For Pastel de Nata's, we decided to use the Portuguese "azulejos" as inspiration, the blue-and-white tiles that line the church of Lisbon's Madre de Deus. The distinctive and unique blue mixed with a bright yolk yellow is all you have to remember when you think about that Portuguese egg custard tart.

Panettone, also called pandoro ("golden bread"), is all about perfect yolks, the best-dried fruits, and a golden interior. An electric, bright yellow was the spot-on color for this world-famous dessert. Cheerful and sunny, this Italian dessert is guaranteed to bring more joy and unforgettable moments of delicious discovery.

Team:
Marius Farcas
Adela Sabou
Vlad Moldovan
Beniamin Pop

Year: 2021-2022

COLINA LEARNING CENTER

Services Provided:
Brand Design Strategy
Brand Identity
Graphic Design
Web Design
Interior Design & Landscape Advice

Colina Learning Center (CLC) is an innovative private school for families living in a connected world. It is a complex and ambitious project belonging to the Colina Nouă venture that fully embodies the real estate slogan: the best place to raise your children.

CLC's purpose is to support everyone to learn how to thrive in life with the vision to build a learning culture throughout every home.

Our role in this project was to ensure more clarity in the strategic and design process and contribute to the interior and exterior design. We developed the center's visual identity, helped build their dynamic website, and actively provided solutions for the overall color scheme and exterior urban furniture. We worked together with some of the most talented professionals in the industry, and together we achieved something essential to the future generations.

Colina Learning Center officially opened its doors this fall, in September 2021. We believe CLC will open minds and make a difference in the years to come. Colina Learning Center is a tremendous challenge that we are proud to help build and wish we had the chance to experience when we were little students ourselves.

More about CLC: colinalearning.com

Team:

Architecture: Arhimar
Eliza Jurcă
Cristian Bănuț
Ligia Dragoș
Sara Gal

Interiour Design: Latitudine 53
Ana Dora Matei
Alecsandru Vasiliu
Andreea Stănică

Landscaping:
Ana Horhat
Felician Rațiu
Viorel Tamaș

Indoor and Outdoor Furniture
Empero
Sensio Concept
Morphoza
Mmcité

Design and Brand Advisors:
Marius Farcaș
Beniamin Pop

Graphic Design
Péter Árpád
Marius Farcaș

Front-End Website, Animated Interactions
Doru Sana

Creative Director
Beniamin Pop

Photo:
George Reuel

ATP BUS / UpCity

Brand Design Strategy
Division Naming
Product Naming
Visual Identity
Body Concept
3D Models
Launch Video

This is our second major project for ATP Exodus Group and their truck and bus division, located in Baia Mare, Romania. ATP was determined to build its first bus with more than 25 years of car, truck parts, and transportation experience.

Due to an urgent need for fossil-free streets and clean transportation in congested European cities, ATP was ready to assemble its first 100% electric bus destined for urban transport.

We were commissioned to deliver a name, brand design, and body graphics with a powerful visual impact that would differentiate from existing public transportation fleets - low carbon mobility with a highly attractive design.

UpCity became the name for a new sustainable way to travel in your city. Battery-powered, zero emissions, and less noise, UpCity is ready to take you to your destination and respect the environment. Its fluid and comfortable design are perfectly suited for busy city streets and ready to take on European capitals.

Team
Adela Sabou
Marius Farcas
Vlad Moldovan
Beniamin Pop
George Reuel
Timi Jinar
Beni Malimon

Year
2021

PACKED by Piața 9

Services Provided
Brand Design Strategy
Brand Naming
Brand Identity
Graphic Design
Packaging
Web Layouts
Copywriting

About
Packed is a food box delivery service located in Piaţa 9, a food hall restaurant in Oradea, in the northwest of Romania. "Piaţa" translates to market, and "9" (nouă) is used as an effective wordplay regarding both the number nine and the word ‘new’ in Romanian – “The New Market”.

Piaţa 9 is an excellent fresh food place that introduces new tastes and products, all based on a brand idea of constant "discovery" and the vision of two ambitious and hardworking entrepreneurs. With an interior design that combines the open space of a local restaurant with the dynamics of a European food market, together with simple, bold packaging, Piaţa 9 has speedily taken "food discovery" to a whole new level.

After two years on the market and recognizing a high demand for fresh local produce, Piaţa 9 has decided to offer a new service, “Packed by Piaţa 9”.

With high-quality functionality, ‘Packed’ delivers an array of their finest products in a double wall carton box, with thermal insulation using 100% pure wool. When opting for a subscription, the customer benefits from the pick-up and recycling options. Its functional design secures a constant temperature of 4°C for 48 hours required for the safe delivery of their meat, salads, or ready-to-cook selection. 

Since its launch, Packed by Piaţa 9 delivers to more and more customers. Their passion for food, commitment to fresh ingredients, and mouth-watering recipes has earned them a top place in gourmet choices.

Team
Marius Farcas
Adela Sabou
Vlad Moldovan
George Reuel
Beniamin Pop

Year:
2020

ATP Trucks / Truston

Services Provided:
Brand Design Strategy
Division Naming
Product Naming
Visual Identity
3D Models
Launch Video

Awards:
Transform Awards London
Winner Naming Strategy

ATP Trucks Automobile is a new Romanian truck division, owned by ATP Exodus Group, from Baia Mare, Romania. With more than 25 years of experience in car and truck parts and transportation services, ATP decided it was time to build its truck brand.

Being all too familiar with the national construction and road transportation sceneries, ATP Exodus Group understood constructors needed a truck that could carry more load and spend less time in service.

Starting with the brand strategy built on “reliability,” we knew that the new product name would have to be easy to pronounce for natives and foreign investors alike.

Meet Truston - a reliable truck fully assembled in Romania. Using Hardox steel and fewer sensors and computers, Truston gets the job done with 33% heavier loads, plus less time spent in service.

The name has reached its goal and stuck with clients and investors in the Romanian market, starting with its launch day event.

In its first year in the new truck industry, the Truston truck model from ATP Trucks Automobile managed to reach an impressive 2.8 million Euros in sales.

Team
Adela Sabou
Marius Farcas
Vlad Moldovan
Beniamin Pop
Geroge Reuel
Timi Jinar

Year
2019-2020

COLINA NOUĂ

Services Provided
Brand Design Strategy
Brand Positioning
Brand Naming
Brand Rhetoric
Brand Identity
Graphic Design
Webdesign
Animated Interactions
Video Production

About
The purpose of Colina Nouă is to redefine our way of living.

In a real estate landscape defined by lack of vision, in which the only criterion in the design thinking process is "how can we maximize our profit?", where the discrepancy between renderings and real life is massive, Colina Nouă is an alternative for those who want to live in a small, green and quiet town, but with all the modern facilities at hand. A project in which everything is simple and comes naturally.

Situated near Cluj-Napoca and spread over 140 hectares of land with proven soil quality and excellent water and air purity, built by an international team of architects and design specialists, with eco-friendly houses, an international educational center, organic food, and places designed for leisure, Colina Nouă represents a new way of living.

The role of our studio is to outline an equally different visual and verbal identity.

Website
www.colinanoua.ro

Team
Marius Farcas
Adela Sabou
Péter Árpád
Doru Sână
Timotei Jinar
George Reuel
Andrei Leontescu
Beniamin Pop

Architecture
Arhimar Studio
Michael McInturf

Year:
2019 - Ongoing

PIAȚA 9

Services Provided
Brand Design Strategy
Brand Naming
Brand Rhetoric
Brand Identity
Graphic Design
Packaging
Signage

About
After living and working in Ireland for more than 10 years, our clients returned to Romania with big plans and an even bigger dream: to open a food hall restaurant in Oradea.

Starting from a brand idea based on “discovery,” we suggested a name that would be relevant for the concept of fresh food, inspiring you to find new tastes and products. The new concept was called Piața 9. In Romanian, it’s a wordplay: “piața” means market, and “9” besides the number nine, means new - The New Market.

Its identity became easily recognizable, versatile, and contemporary. Having a bold simplicity in mind, we created a logo that speaks clearly.

The interior design combines the open space of a local restaurant with the dynamics of a European food market. It encourages people to stay in and have a quick delicious bite or to take away fresh food.

The packaging was and still is an important part of Piaţa 9’s identity. As well as their story, this also needed to be simple, bold, and leave room for a pleasurable discovery.

In a very short time, Piaţa 9 lived up to its brand idea and foundation. Oradea embraced it. When entering this new food hall concept, people begin to discover a world of recipes, locally sourced ingredients, premium quality meat, and an explosion of tastes.

From freshly baked bread, patisserie, cakes, and sweets, to juicy grilled steaks and meats and crisp, fresh and delicious salads, Piaţa 9 is taking “discovery” to a whole new level. When you aim high, everyone will want to join and be a part of your journey.

Team
Marius Farcas
Adela Sabou
Cibu George
Beniamin Pop
Cosmin Todor Studio

Contributors
George Negrea - photography
Emanuel Iova - photography

Year:
2018-2019

.CALIF

Services Provided
Brand Audit
Brand Design Strategy
Brand Persona
Name Adjustment
Visual Identity
Graphic Design
Display Menu Concept
Packaging

Awards:
Red Dot Award 2019
Winner Packaging Design
Dieline Awards 2019
Silver
Pentawards 2019
Certificate

Industry Context
Calif is a multiple award winning QSR (Quick Service Restaurant) and a popular local food brand in Bucharest. We worked for the Calif team before launching each new restaurant and for their product brands - Condimental and Kebun - that shortly became game changers.

Challenge
Calif decided to make a complete new brand positioning. By changing their menu into a more juicy, fast and affordable food option, Calif targeted Generation Z, the most active, engaging and opinionated generation.

It was a difficult challenge. We shifted our focus from the existing customers and their expectations to the savvy Gen Zers.  

Strategy
We worked closely with the business strategy and the interior design teams to create a new killer food court concept.

Because Gen Zers want to connect and belong to brands that reflect their diverse personality as individuals, the new concept would need to fuel their social presence and become a reason to snap photos, videos or boomerangs. 

Calif needed to receive a name adjustment and became a point of interest, relevance and a meeting point where diversity is welcome. So Calif became .calif (point/dot calif).

Thanks to an open-minded client, we received total freedom in outlining the new identity. The design concept received a dominant pop-art approach and became infused with an industrial style and elements borrowed from urban playgrounds.

The first perception of .calif shortly translated into a fresh, cool and price-relevant QSR for Generation Z. In the first days since opening .calif exceeded sales expectations. 

Team
Beniamin Pop
Marius Farcas
Adela Sabou

Interior Design
Cosmin Todor Studio

Photo
Alexandru Prepelita
George Reuel

Year
2018

NARCOFFEE ROASTERS

Services Provided
Brand Design Strategy
Brand Naming
Brand Persona
Brand Rhetoric
Visual Identity
Graphic Design
Packaging
Interior Design Guidelines
Object Design

Industry Context
Although compared to other European countries Romania has a low percentage of coffee consumption, the availability of good quality coffee on the market raised the consumers’ interest which led to a substantial growth in coffee consumption. In this business climate the stakes are very high for both big and small entrepreneurs.

Challenge
In this context, the client had the courage to give way to the first native Romanian specialty coffee chain that would reach 50+ national and international locations. We had to create a whole new coffee shop brand. 

Strategy
The savvier consumers gave us the opportunity to exploit the need for specialty coffee and to look for a new approach of its serving method and place. In order to come up with something different, we needed leverage and we had it. We had a national and international cupping and latte art champion as a head barista, an own coffee roastery and, of course, freshly roasted and grounded specialty coffee. We have decided to use this to our advantage and change the message. We will be more than just another business "in love with the coffee bean". We wanted a different personality, a bolder one.

We created the name Narcoffee and the tagline "We're not dealers. We're roasters". We decided to treat coffee as it is, a tasty addictive product, and to educate the public to get the best dose. After being commissioned to execute a range of uniquely designed items (cup, plate, spoon and apron), together with the interior design team we managed to switch the consumer's focus on a dialogue with the product and create a special kind of interaction. 

Team
Beniamin Pop
Adela Sabou
Marius Farcas

Contributors
Istav Cimpan - fashion designer
Andrei Garba - ceramic artist
George Negrea - photography
Radu Comsa - artist

Interior Design
Cosmin Todor Studio

Year
2017

EGGCETERA

Services Provided
Naming
Brand Identity
Graphic Design

Awards
2020 Transform Awards London
Winner Naming Strategy

Industry Context
Cluj-Napoca is a Romanian city that has grown in options regarding gourmet food, speciality coffee and brunch ideas, but it lacked a place where you could serve breakfast past noon.

Challenge
The team behind EGGCETERA wanted to open a place that would encourage friends and strangers to sit together around the breakfast table until late in the day.

We had to create a short, fun name with whom people would relate when it came to their breakfast appetite. 

Strategy
Because the target audience was millennials for whom a perfect poached egg makes all the difference in a day, the name was supposed to be easy to pronounce for natives and foreigners alike.

The idea of the name came from the restaurant’s specific menu and star product - the egg - but also what comes together with sharing a meal: friends, talks, quality time - et cetera.

Team
Marius Farcas
Adela Sabou

Interior design concept
Todor Cosmin Studio & Ioana Lazăr

Photo
George Reuel

Year
2018-2019

PANEMAR

Services Provided
Brand Audit
Brand Design Strategy
Brand Persona
Brand Rhetoric
Visual Identity
Graphic Design
Display Menu Concept
Packaging
Interior Design Guidelines

Industry Context
Cluj-Napoca is the second largest city in Romania with a population of almost half a million people representing an important market for the food industry. It is a strategic point for active companies in Transylvania and a launch pad for bold entrepreneurs and our wish was to change the story for the most famous Romanian commodity food: bread.

Challenge
For more than fifteen years Panemar was known for having the best bakery products. Its regular consumers trusted the quality of the ingredients and always enjoyed the taste. Nevertheless Panemar had only 12% of the market share and it was facing a crucial point since its main two competitors were not far off.

Strategy
It was Andrei Chiorean, one of Panemar's shareholders, responsible with recipes and product development who inspired us to make a change. Because of his dedication we started the rebranding process focusing on "passion" as the most natural brand idea. All over the city bread was being sold by the local producers in small booths or in grocery stores. Our strategy was to increase the value of this great product by selling it in an interior design-oriented bakery - a warm, welcoming environment where customers can first and foremost feel the "passion" behind the business. 

Additionally we offered a fresh food menu: fresh made sandwiches and salads and squeezed juices. The result exceeded our expectations. In 5 years Panemar opened 20 new shops and their net profit grew with 362%. They opened another bread factory and due to their newly designed bakeries they had the perfect conditions for producing and selling a wide range of premium products.

Team
Beniamin Pop
Calin Valean
Adela Sabou
Péter Árpád
Marius Farcas

Interior Design
Cosmin Todor Studio

Year:
2011-2019

WEBOMATIC

Services Provided:
Brand Audit
Brand Design Strategy
Brand Persona
Brand Rhetoric
Visual Identity
Graphic Design
Webdesign layouts

Awards
Transform Awards London
Winner - Identity

Industry Context
WEBOMATIC is a German-based global manufacturing leader that has been producing vacuum packaging machines for perishable foods, medical equipment, and highly sensitive industrial products since 1958. Hildegard and Werner Bonk created their first packaging machine using the acrylic glass dome as a chamber lid, their commitment to innovation continues to inspire the industry and sets the standard for future products.

Headquartered in Bochum,  WEBOMATIC is a worldwide enterprise with branch offices throughout  Europe, The United States, Asia, Africa, and Australia. WEBOMATIC’s excellent reputation comes from its dedication to quality and adherence to the strictest manufacturing standards 

Challenge
This family-owned business must send a clear message regarding its core values and highlight its Werner Bonk legacy in a fast-evolving and highly competitive industry. Its most valuable assets are its long-standing commitment to durability and reliability. 

Strategy
Starting with the most important pillar of WEBOMATIC’s 60-year reputation - trustworthiness - we created a rebranding process with the role of inspiring people and businesses alike.

With a new slogan (“Building trust since 1958”) and identity, we wanted to assign a strong visual personality to an already powerful new generation of leadership that reflects their ambitious global plans.

The launch of their new identity took place in Frankfurt this spring during IFFA (a leading international trade fair for the meat industry).

Team
Marius Farcas
Péter Árpád
Adela Sabou
Beniamin Pop

Photo
George Reuel

Year
2018-2019

ALIEN SURFACE

Services Provided:
Brand Design Strategy
Brand Identity
Brand Persona
Graphic Design
Packaging Design
3D Model
Webdesign Layouts
Animated Interactions

Industry Context
Alien Surface™ is one of the most wanted and appreciated screen and phone protection producers from Romania. After 10 years on the Romanian market, they wanted a rebrand that would offer them a new look fit for international market penetration.

Challenge
Keep the beloved and distinct Alien Surface™ branding elements, but take them to the next level and introduce them to a new chapter.

Strategy
Their already distinction in appearance, product quality, and approach helped us to carry on their narrative. We redrew the iconic symbol (the alien) and decided to give the whole packaging a clean die cut. To perfect the original triangular pack, we succeeded in having an improved closing system, with fewer production costs and significantly less carton waste. The entire concept became more slick, smooth, with sharper lines. As any out of this world concept, it had an unnatural twist. We decided to turn the packaging upside down. The inverted triangular shape would appear to defy gravity and the competition.

Team
Marius Farcas
Adela Sabou
Péter Árpád
Andrei Leontescu
Vlad Moldovan
Doru Sână
Beniamin Pop

Photo
George Reuel

Year
2019-2020

KOPT

Services Provided
Brand Naming
Brand Identity
Graphic Design
Packaging

About
One year after opening, Piaţa9 decided it was time for them to launch a sub-brand. They created a product with an independent story that would also allow them to enter street food festivals. Piaţa9 launched KOPT, a recipe that’s easy to make and easy to pack.

KOPT stems from “copt”, meaning roasted” in Romanian. The product is a Josper rotisserie slow-cooked chicken accompanied by roast potatoes, oven-baked schiacciata bread, coleslaw salad, and a sauce.

As the product is easy to make and has to be quick to serve, so did its packaging. We created a box with no binds, low costs, easy to assemble, and very useful as, when opened, it serves as a table mat.

KOPT is becoming the new signature Piaţa9 sub-brand, and we can’t wait to see it at upcoming food events or festivals.

Team
Marius Farcas
Adela Sabou
Beniamin Pop

Contributors
George Negrea - photography
Emanuel Iova - photography

Year: 2019

EMAIL DE SIGHIȘOARA

Services Provided:
Brand Design Strategy
Product Development
Product Design
Styling and Art Direction

About
Email de Sighișoara is a Romanian company making handcrafted enamel cookware for more than 40 years. The company was in great need of a new vision. They contacted us for a new brand strategy and positioning alongside developing a new product line.

For over a year, we worked closely with the factory employees and experienced firsthand the beauty of craft manufacturing and craft objects' evolution.

Our challenge was to create a new collection of enamel cookware that would be first and foremost beautiful and better relate to an informed customer who is always looking for the healthiest cooking option.

Since enamel is actually glass, we discovered that it is one of the healthiest ways to cook your food. We were involved in the entire manufacturing process. We made our contribution when it came to wall thickness, oven and stove compatibility, number of enamel layers for more food safety, and, of course, the color palette.

We were very determined to have a light cream interior and collar. After weeks and weeks of studying colors, we finally decided on the exterior ones: pistachio green, opal pink, caramel beige, gray, and pastel blue.

It is fascinating to find out that one single bowl's manufacturing needed 25 people down the production line. This is the beauty of developing a true craft design object that honors tradition and improves the present.

Team
Marius Farcaș
Adela Sabou
Bianca Comșa-Farcaș
Reuel George
Emanuel Iova
Beniamin Pop

Brand Identity
INSPRESSO

Year: 2019 - 2020

CUT & CRUST

Services Provided
Brand Design Strategy
Brand Rhetoric
Visual Identity
Graphic Design
Packaging

Industry Context
We were asked to create an easy franchising pizza concept in a crowded environment with similar brands and concepts. Owned by an Italian investor, the new concept should talk about its deep roots in Italy while focusing on tradition, but with a modern touch.

Challenge
Make a new distinguishable concept by using the star product not found anywhere else on the local market.

Strategy
First: communicate its star product - pizza longa - as a new pizza experience. Pizza usually comes in its ‘tonda’ shape and size, but cut&crust also serves pizza longa or longa combo, a half meter size pizza meant to be shared with friends and family.

Second: describing the Italian ingredients originating from different corners of Italy: mozzarella from Lazio or Northern Campania, parmigiano and prosciutto from Parma, olives from Liguria, anchovies from the Cantabrian Sea and capers from Northern Sicily. The visual identity came naturally from “experience” / “a new Italian pizza experience”. We wanted to emphasize the Italian passion and handmade pizza in our packaging design. We used hand sketching, pomodoro red and “crazy” lines.

With its new identity cut&crust became the crazy good Italian pizza makers.

Team
Beniamin Pop
Adela Sabou
Marius Farcas

Interior Design
Cosmin Todor Studio

Year:
2018

CONDIMENTAL

Services Provided
Brand Audit
Brand Design Strategy
Brand Naming
Brand Persona
Brand Rhetoric
Visual Identity
Graphic Design
Display Menu Concept
Packaging
Interior Design Guidelines
Object Design

Industry Context
In Romania, the kebab and shawarma QSR business environment is pretty dull and predictable, with few exceptions. One of them is our client, Calif, who managed to make a change in this business and be a well awarded player, for years in a row. 

Challenge
Calif wanted to do things differently. They wanted a new concept that would offer a better and redefined kebab experience, which would widen even more the gap between them and their competitors.

Strategy
Our job was to create a new brand with a new naming and identity. Its purpose was to reposition the kebab product, by creating THE NEW KEBAB - served fresh, in a box, using special ingredients (pomegranate, aubergine, homemade sauces) and by completely eliminating the flat bread.

The name should convey the message that the restaurant was serving oriental food, with a twist. Condimental was born. Next we had to find a name and an identity for a totally new product - the fresh kebab in a box. We came up with the name Kebun packaged in a suitable carefully crafted box. We created the concept of the box, the design line, and finishing.

The name Kebun is a combined word from ‘kebab’ and ‘bun’ – which in Romanian means ‘great, fine, pleasing’. The name has a very agreeable tune and its purpose was to underline the difference from ordinary kebabs found elsewhere along with the high quality of the product and the healthy approach. 

So while the competitors were selling kebabs, Condimental was selling beautiful and carefully crafted Kebuns.

After only 3 days from the official opening, Kebun was the best selling product exceeding all expectations. Currently, Kebun continues to be the consumers’ top choice confirming that a strong and visionary business strategy really paid off.

Team
Beniamin Pop
Adela Sabou
Marius Farcas 

Contributors
Istvan Cimpan - fashion designer
George Negrea - interior design photography
Catalin Hladi - food photography
Liviu Lambrino - food styling

Interior Design
Cosmin Todor Studio

Year
2017

MÂNDRA

Services Provided
Brand Audit
Brand Design Strategy
Visual Identity
Verbal Brand
Graphic Design
Display Menu Concept
Packaging

Industry Context
Our client has a small-size dairy plant - Mândra - located close to Mărginimea Sibiului, in the heart of Transylvania. This geographical area with green pastures, local farmers and free range livestock is the ideal place for dairy farms and milk production.

Mariana Linn, the owner of Mândra, is a very hard-working and high-demanding entrepreneur who returned to Romania after 10 years of living and working in Switzerland. Her plan was to support local farming to produce and offer high quality dairy products.

Challenge
The former identity of Mândra poorly expressed Mariana’s story, her hard work and her values. We were commissioned to create a new identity that would offer the brand a new personality and allow Mândra to proudly stand out.

Strategy
We needed a modern approach to the identity while highlighting folklore traditional imagery to honor local influences. The new identity would help Mândra stand out on the shelf boosting its credibility as a high quality dairy product. 

The new tagline “Plin de bunătate, nu pe jumătate” - Full of goodness, not half full - better rhymed in Romanian, underlines the superior quality of the products and their honest and natural ingredients for which Mândra is best known and appreciated.

Mândra might not be a big player yet, but it surely belongs in the big league.

Team
Beniamin Pop
Adela Sabou
Marius Farcas 

Contributors
Florina Sacara - wall art
George Reuel - photo
Emi Iova - photo

Interior Design
Cosmin Todor Studio

Year
2017-2018

ATP EXODUS GROUP

Services Provided
Brand Audit
Brand Architecture
Brand Design Strategy
Division Naming
Visual Identity
Graphic Design
Packaging

Industry Context
With a network of over 30 branches, turnover of almost 100 million euros in 2016 and over 800 employees, ATP Exodus was a big player and market leader for commercial vehicle accessories and spare parts from the very beginning. In a continuous evolving market, ATP needed a bold attitude to keep ahead of the competition. 

Challenge
Our client decided to build his own brand of spare parts. This was not an easy task because in this business growth is the only option. People and employees trusted ATP dealership brand, but now we had to shift their trust in a new brand and its products in competition with well-known Textar, Wabco, Sachs, Hengst, Knorr-Bremse, etc.

Strategy
We had to build trust. In order to do this, we decided to split the “mother ship” - ATP EXODUS - in 3 different divisions:

ATP AUTOMOTIVE
dealership of spare parts

ATP TRANSIT
official logistics and transportation branch

ATP MOTORS
certified auto service and dealership for Mercedes-Benz, Opel, Man, Suzuki, Mazda, Iveco.

Next, we made a new logo and a complete identity for the new brand architecture. We created packaging with a bold attitude for the ATP’s products in order to underline their dedication towards making reliable and trustworthy spare parts. Moreover, we made a movie clip inside the factories producing ATP parts to present the customers how the spare parts are made, packed and delivered to the ATP network.

Trust is very important in the automotive business because when the employees trust your brand and your products, trust transcends to their customers.

Team
Beniamin Pop
Laura Laurentiu
Marius Farcas
Raluca Dragos

Video Production
Timotei Jinar

Year
2015-2016

DONUTERIE

Services Provided
Brand Audit
Brand Design Strategy
Brand Persona
Brand Rhetoric
Visual Identity
Graphic Design
Packaging
Interior Design Guidelines

Industry Context
Donuterie is one of the first donuts manufacturers in Romania. Although Romanian cuisine has a similar popular recipe, our clients were skeptical about growing a business by using it exclusively. After nights spent in the kitchen and long tasting sessions, the young people from Donuterie had the courage to improve the donut and launch it on the market. Naturally, they had an instant success. Customers were queuing in front of the shop, which went viral becoming an overnight success. A selfie with the beautiful, mouth-watering donut was the new trend for all the cool kids in the city.

Challenge
Although an overnight success, Donuterie didn’t have a successful identity. The plain logo and packaging did not fit with the consumer’s lifestyle and fresh attitude. Being a local business there was no challenge or pressure to improve it, but with the constant demands for a franchise system, we needed to find Donuterie’s true voice and identity that could help it grow, come closer to its consumers and be noticed in the crowd.

Strategy
We needed to go nuts, so we did. We wanted to be bold, come out with a shocker and make our customers to take selfies with the new logo on the block. We found the voice, we found the slogan: “Be nuts. Be donuts”. The new packaging has it all: youth, good vibes and coolness. Donuterie brand grew into a national-wanted brand, with a new, attractive and fresh identity, easy to implement it in the stores all over the country.

Team
Beniamin Pop
Marius Farcas
Adela Sabou

Interior Design
Deea Balgaradean

Year:
2016

SALAD BOX

Services Provided
Brand Audit
Brand Design Strategy
Brand Rhetoric
Visual Identity
Graphic Design
Packaging
Interior Design Guidelines

Industry Context
There is only a handful of businesses focused only on salads. The Salad Box story began in 2011, when Dan Isai had an idea of introducing Romanians to a new lifestyle based on healthy food at affordable prices.

Challenge
In a short period of time, Salad Box opened numerous restaurants in all shopping malls in Romania, becoming the business with the fastest growth on the Romanian market. Salad Box wanted to rethink its image and consolidate its position on the market, especially because the company aimed for international expansion.

Strategy
We started with an emotional brand driver: food is life, make it good. We used elements of design and color that communicate a natural, healthy, authentic lifestyle. For their shops we chose simple solutions, easy to modify and to implement at a very fast pace. The new shop concept was all about health and freshness.

Team
Beniamin Pop
Laura Laurentiu
Marius Farcas
Adela Sabou
Raluca Dragos

Interior Design
Cosmin Todor Studio

Year
2015-2017

MOLDOVAN

Services Provided
Brand Audit
Brand Design Strategy
Brand Naming
Brand Persona
Brand Rhetoric
Visual Identity
Graphic Design
Packaging
Interior Design Guidelines

Industry Context
In Romania, meat industry is dominated by large producers who sell their product at a national and international level, mainly in the supermarkets. The local meat producers have their own shops but they look more like grocery stores than butcheries.

Challenge
CosmFan is a local producer from Cluj-Napoca, the second largest city in Romania. The business is owned by a family of butchers. The tradition in meat production passed from father to son. Although they had a beautiful craftsmanship story they lacked the means to communicate it. 

Strategy
Our rebranding strategy was radical. The brand idea was focused on the idea that the business is run by a family of real butchers with a strong knowledge in this trade, who passed from father to son the skills of this craftsmanship.

We focused on some aspects that eluded big competitors. Our aim was to create a real butchery with great design. A butchery where you could have lunch or dinner and choose the meat for your steak. At that time, this was a big novelty for Romania.

We focused on presentation of meat in all of its forms. We reintroduced the lost concept of the traditional butcher - a well-respected trade in the olden days. We talked about the cattle farm and grass-fed bovines. The owner, a former butcher himself, became the face of the company in our advertising campaigns and the butchery name was changed with his family name - Moldovan.

The story is an ongoing success. After 3 years, more shops have opened and the farm along with the factory are in a continuously development process. 

Team
Beniamin Pop
Calin Valean
Laura Laurentiu
Marius Farcas
Raluca Dragos

Interior Design
Cosmin Todor Studio

Video Production
Timotei Jinar

Year:
2013-2015