Client: Brita is among the leading worldwide experts in the field of water optimization. Born as a family business more than 40 years ago, Brita has now grown into two global companies, one headquartered in Europe, Asia Pacific and Africa, the other one in the Americas.

Case:

Chinese brand naming
Communication research
Legal research for trademark registration
Visual Identity

Qualities the company wanted to express were pureness, nature, security. Having successfully selected the Chinese name for Brita, Labbrand was then asked to conduct legal research for trademark registration as well as communication research to test the name across the main 5 dialects spoken in China, HK and Taiwan.

Solution: 碧然德 [bì rán dé]

The name Brita is translated in Chinese as碧然德 [bì rán dé]. This choice has been selected by Labbrand naming experts for its closeness to the brand concepts as well as for its easiness to read and to remember, particularly when associated to the original brand name. The target market - middle aged women belonging to the upper class - was also considered in the strategic naming process.

The first two characters are phonetically close to the brand original name. Moreover, when used together, they convey the meaning of crystal water as 碧 [bì] is often used in 碧水 [bì shuǐ: crystal water] 碧玉 [bì yù: green jade] and 然 [rán] conveys the meaning of correct and right. The third character composing the name 德[dé] conveys the idea of moral virtue and communicates the meaning of elegant, safe and German-oriented.

The Labbrand team then tested the name against the other 5 choices which ranked high in our naming research for closeness to brand value and to the target market of the company. The test was conducted among the main five Chinese dialects (Cantonese, Shanghainese, Sichuanese, Taiwanese, Mandarin spoken in the North of China). Target group name test positively supported the name proposed to the clients. Finally, Labbrand commissioned the necessary legal research to register the trademark in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Again, the name proposed was checked against other favorite candidates. Official legal check results proved the name to be suitable for being registered in each of the three areas.

Labbrand has also worked on the graphic design of Brita logo integrating it with the new Chinese name. The resulted logo can be found on Brita website as well as on its products and stores in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.