I’m a big fan of ideas that turn into projects and grow into solid businesses. These “small” projects (I put small in quotes because in many cases the only thing small is the number of people in the team or their budget) have many qualities: passion, enthusiasm and the absence of complex corporate structures, (which often make decision-making and the agility of brand activation and management difficult). These 3 elements are the ideal mix for serving up a perfect brand.
These 5 brilliant examples of small entrepreneurs turned their ideas into profitable projects and raised them into solid brands, without the need for a large team or big investments, but with clear ideas, a lot of creativity and well-focused strategies.
It’s a cheese dairy in the heart of the Chamberí neighbourhood in Madrid. An almost extinct type of business founded in 2020, in the middle of the Pandemic, by a young married couple: Clara and Adrián. Both of them had already been working in the artisan cheese-making sector for years, from where they gained an insight into the needs of this sector, which, it is clear, they are captivated by.
This is how Formaje was born, with the desire to promote the excellence of artisan cheese and encourage its appreciation, creating spaces that allow people to learn about the exciting cultural value of artisan cheese and facilitate access to its consumption.
They went one step forward with their business idea by creating a strong community around cheese in which people seek answers to concerns and share experiences, creating a space where, beyond consumption, an environment of conversation and wellbeing is promoted in which the interests of both consumers and citizens can be satisfied.
It’s an brand of artisanal stamps born in Valencia. Its founders are father and daughter, Javier and Julia, who decided to join forces and knowledge, Javier has more than 40 years of experience working as an engraver and Julia studied Psychology and worked in Digital Marketing until a couple of years ago when she started to consider a new lifestyle that involved learning her father’s trade and the Pandemic was the right time to do it.
This is how Selloa was born, a wonderful project whose intention is to keep alive an almost forgotten craft, handmade stamps, and showing people new ways of using stamps. Its a 100% online business with a very human personality.
They went one step froward in their strategy with the idea to bring people closer to craftsmanship, to recover the origins and, above all, to learn the importance of taking care of the details and enjoying the little things, those that make it worthwhile to go on.
Originally a specialty coffee company, Minor Figures burst into the cafe scene in a big way with the introduction of its barista-style oat milk. The company is carbon neutral and all its products are 100% vegan, and there’s quite a suite of them, from oat milk and canned specialty brews including black coffee, oat mocha, and matcha latte, to merchandise and apparel. Since starting the businesses, in 2014, in a microbrewery in East London, Minor Figures‘ three co-founder entrepreneurs, Jonathan Chiu. Stuart Forsyth and Will Rixon, have taken their plant-based products to US and beyond, it’s now stocked in Whole Foods!
The key to the success of Minor Figures is not just being a high-quality brand that’s found itself an ideal customer base of health and environmentally conscious consumers; it’s its strong brand identity. From the quirky illustrated logo design to the recognizably muted color palette, the brand positioning of Minor Figures evokes urban, aspirational, and fun in everything it does. This includes social media marketing and web design featuring animated elements and illustration,
It’s a a brand of vegan products for curly hair and behind all this hard work is a another Valencian entrepreneur: Diana Montesinos. The brand was born in 2018 out of the founder’s own need to find specific products for curly hair care that were effective, natural, avoiding chemicals, and made in Spain. A complicated task until she got down to work.
Business strategy and brand strategy. Winning combo. Rulls, in addition to its line of products for curls, has its own line of accessories, such as a comb made in 3D printing with biodegradable material, a waterproof toiletry bag or cute tongs. These types of launches have helped the brand to achieve notoriety in the media and specialised websites, as well as to strengthen its presence and brand image in networks.
5. TARTA DE QUESO
Just by looking at the photos of this Peruvian brand on social media, my mouth is watering! The classic Spanish dessert is now taking over Perú with a new bright, bold identity.
Its founder is Valeria Scavia, with a strong passion for baking and dessert time, she opened the shop Tarta de Queso in Lima in 2023. It’s a fairly new entrepreneurial project with big potential.
The new brand identity, created by Estudio Paloma, speaks (visually & verbally) for itself, presenting Spain’s most famous cake in a eye-catching style, focusing on just two things: that it should be yellow and that it should speak like a good Spaniard. (¡Vas a flipar!)
