Woolworths

Own brand in Australian supermarkets had long been treated as a design exercise — recognisable category cues, shelf standout, efficient execution. Woolworths Supermarkets was no different. Its mid-tier range, Select, was being rolled out without the strategic thinking that turns a label into a brand. No positioning, no brand foundations, no consistent point of view. 

The reframe was simple but consequential: strategic questions first, design decisions second. Introducing category reviews and positioning discussions before any brief was written changed the nature of the work entirely — from reactive execution to deliberate brand building. Every sub-brand across the portfolio was treated the same way. Brand foundations were established first. Design second.
That thinking led to a bolder recommendation: retire the Select name altogether. The only major supermarket internationally still naming its mid-tier brand, it was working against the equity Woolworths was trying to build. The name was phased out in 2016.

The same rigour shaped the launch of Woolworths Gold — a premium-tier brand built around artisanal craftsmanship, ingredient quality, and provenance, conceived from full brand foundations rather than a packaging brief. A brand with a genuine point of view, not just a premium price point.

Woolworths Gold won at the inaugural Vertex Awards in the New Brand category. Woolworths has since become one of the most consistently recognised retailers in the program's history. Design follows strategy. Always.