Delve into the world of food brand naming with BE-KIND, a New York City-based company founded in 2004 by Daniel Lubetzky. Specializing in healthy snacks like whole nuts, fruit granola bars, and healthy grains, BE-KIND’s mission is to inspire and celebrate kindness in the way people live, eat, and relate. With 8 lines of snack bars, their products are available at over 150,000 stores in the United States alone. Uncover the strategic approach to food brand naming as BE-KIND transforms snacking into a celebration of kindness and wellness.

BE-KIND entered the China market in early 2019 with healthy and tasty snacks made of 60%+ nuts, rich protein and fiber, with no artificial additives. It’s a nutritious snack choice for an afternoon tea break, pre-workout or just when grabbing a convenient breakfast on the go. BE-KIND’s snack bars currently retail in China on the brand’s official T-mall and JD e-commerce stores and will soon be heading to offline channels.

BE-KIND is more than a name – it’s a brand ethos, and a call to action. But no single Chinese word can express the many messages of kindness that “BE-KIND” embodies. Labbrand, the leading China-originated global brand consultancy, came together with the BE-KIND team to solve this question through the creation of an official Chinese brand name.

The brand selected the name 缤善 [bīn shàn]: 缤 [bīn] denotes colourful variety, and 善 [shàn] means kindness. The name is not only representative of the vibrant packaging of BE-KIND’s healthy snack products, but also showcases that kindness can change the world. Together, this playful name highlights the logo’s multicolour blocks and also has a similar pronunciation to the English name “BE-KIND”.

BE-KIND team went on to introduce the company’s background as well as the mission in China, to inspire and celebrate kindness through the way people live, eat and relate to one another.

”The name 缤善 [bīn shàn] not only matches with the various flavors and colorful packaging of BE-KIND’s snack bars, it also highlights the concept of “daily kind acts”. Through the name, Chinese consumers can feel the pleasant feeling when delivering acts of kindness, and get the reward of a nutritious snack bar at the same time,” said Labbrand consultant Yiming Du. 

BE-KIND’s marketing director Anna Li shared that, “It’s extremely difficult to find an equivalent and powerful name in Chinese for BE-KIND. 缤善[bīn shàn] stood out among all the others for being warm, vibrant, and positive. And Labbrand team has been our most reliable partner along the journey. They have demonstrated strong and accurate insights towards BE-KIND’s ethos, and have been resilient despite the challenges to finally land on a great name. We very much look forward to collaborating with Labbrand in the future and growing the brand together.”