Maria Åkerberg

When we met the Åkerbergs they had been trading successfully under another name for several years. With an emphasis on affordable luxury, their products were ultra-clean and organic. But as they looked to expand into new markets they hit a snag.

Their original name would not travel. Similar sounding brands in the same category already existed in some overseas markets. This came as a blow. After all, they had invested and built their business around a name they felt had all the right qualities only to find it was not really ownable.

This was the primary problem we helped the firm address. We said they should rename using Maria Åkerberg’s own name. Apart from being honest and transparent, in keeping with the brand’s values, it has the benefit of being personal and distinctive.

We made the new name beautiful typographically and created a logotype combining the two initial letters. As Maria’s husband is Mikael this can be seen as including him (quietly) in the brand identity too.

In addition we gave them a phrase to convey their USP. The Maria Åkerberg philosophy is that rather than leaving trace elements on and in the skin all products should cleanse and nourish only. This includes the cosmetics. That is why so far as possible the materials used are not only natural but also organic. We thought about the saying ‘beauty is only skin deep’ and realised we could flip it to express this aspiration. For Maria, beauty is from deep within the skin, from the health of skin unclouded by synthetic or chemical agents. Pajama encapsulated this in the phrase ‘Deepskin Organics.’