What Elmwood does

Elmwood is a global brand strategy and design consultancy that operates four integrated studios in London, New York, Singapore and Shanghai, employing 250+ strategists, designers, consultants, producers and analysts. Founded around 1990 and now a subsidiary of the MSQ creative group following MSQ's December 2021 acquisition and subsequent merger with Holmes & Marchant, Elmwood partners with large multinational corporations and challenger brands to define brand identities, create brand experiences, and design packaging that drives measurable commercial impact. Its client roster spans beverages, confectionery, FMCG, healthcare, financial services, automotive and luxury, with named engagements for Coca-Cola, Mars (OEFY), Heineken, Nestlé, Unilever, Danone, Haleon, Kimberly-Clark, Reckitt, Colgate-Palmolive, Perrigo, Allianz and others.

The firm's core offering is delivered as a unified professional services engagement rather than a packaged platform: brand strategy and identity, packaging design, brand-world development, experience design (environmental, digital and interface), integrated marketing creative, and research and effectiveness measurement. Underpinning the work are proprietary thought-leadership frameworks — 'Beyond Minimalism', 'The New Codes of Premium', and 'Ritualized India' — and an emerging Generative AI and Creative Technologies capability led by Executive Creative Director Iván Mato. Revenue is generated through project-based, multi-phased engagements with enterprise clients, priced on a quote-driven basis with retained relationships, and distributed entirely through direct sales via the four studios with no resellers or intermediaries. The business is also investing in thought leadership as a top-of-funnel demand-generation channel, publishing whitepapers and insights articles, and uses industry awards and jury participation (Cannes Lions, D&AD, Pentawards, Transform Awards, Graphis) for credibility.

Name

Elmwood

Legal name

Elmwood

Website

https://elmwood.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Elmwood is a global brand strategy and design consultancy with 250+ staff across London, New York, Singapore and Shanghai, serving enterprise clients such as Coca-Cola, Mars, Unilever, Danone and Haleon with brand identity, packaging, experience design and effectiveness measurement.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Leeds

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Brand Strategy and Identity Services: Elmwood generates revenue through professional branding and design consulting engagements. The firm partners with global organizations and challenger brands on brand strategy, identity development, and creative transformation projects. Revenue is project-based, typically involving retained client relationships and multi-phased engagements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Elmwood is a global brand strategy and design consultancy that partners with enterprise organizations and challenger brands to define brand identities, create memorable brand experiences, and design packaging that drives desire and commercial impact. Core services include brand strategy, brand identity design, packaging design, brand world development, experience design across physical and digital environments, integrated marketing campaign creative, and research and insights. Work is delivered through four studios in London, New York, Singapore, and Shanghai.

Product overview

Elmwood is a world-leading brand strategy and design consultancy operating as a single unified service offering rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The agency's core offering centers on connecting strategy, creativity, and experiences to build brands that shape culture and drive growth. Services span brand strategy, brand identity design, packaging design, brand world development, experience design (environmental and digital), brand out creative campaigns, and research and insights. The consultancy serves global organizations and challenger brands across four studios in London, New York, Singapore, and Shanghai, working with clients including Mars Wrigley, Heineken, Haleon, Kimberly-Clark, Danone, CVS Health, and Colgate-Palmolive. Beyond client services, Elmwood produces thought leadership content including white papers on design trends (Beyond Minimalism, The New Codes of Premium) and regional cultural research (Ritualized India).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Brand Strategy & Identity Services Comprehensive brand strategy and identity design services including defining brand purpose, visual identity systems, naming, and creating brand guidelines. Designed for global organizations and challenger brands seeking strategic brand transformation across multiple markets.
• Packaging Design End-to-end packaging design services spanning consumer goods, healthcare, food and beverage, and corporate sectors. Designs packaging that drives desire and commercial impact across global brands.
• Brand Out Creative Integrated marketing campaign development including digital, social, and TV campaigns. Creates performance-driven storytelling content for brand launches and ongoing marketing activations.
• Experience Design Design of brand experiences across physical and digital environments, including environmental design, in-store experience, and interface design for web and mobile applications.
• Research and Insights Consumer research, market analysis, and brand effectiveness measurement services to inform strategic brand decisions and measure campaign performance.

Quantifiable outcome

• 15-20% sales increase for Mars OEFY gum brands in key markets
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• Coca-ColaflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 February 2026Elmwood partnered with Coca-Cola as design consultancy to create the festive visual identity for the Lunar New Year/Tết 2026 campaign across Vietnam, Singapore, and Malaysia. The campaign featured market-specific creative platforms including an AI-generated short film 'Stitched Together' showcasing Vietnamese brocade art, and a cross-border Lunar New Year anthem performed by local artists. This was part of an integrated marketing activation inviting Gen Z consumers to co-create and refresh traditional celebrations.
• GrabcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 10 February 2026Grab partnered with Coca-Cola for the Lunar New Year 2026 campaign across Southeast Asia, serving as an e-commerce and retail partner alongside Elmwood's design work to drive sales conversion alongside cultural engagement initiatives.
• MSQflagshipOthersMSQ acquired Elmwood in December 2021 and successfully merged it with Holmes & Marchant to create a new international strategic design company. MSQ is the parent company providing tech-enabled creative capabilities across the group.
• MarsflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerElmwood partnered with Mars to reposition and redesign global gum brands Orbit, Extra, Freedent and Yida (OEFY) across 60 markets, targeting Gen-Z audiences and reversing category decline with a mental wellbeing positioning strategy.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Lippincott: Brand strategy and design consultancy serving global enterprises across brand identity, experience, and culture; competes with Elmwood on large-scale corporate and consumer rebrands with similarly measurable commercial outcomes.
• Interbrand: Global brand strategy and design consultancy and the most direct competitor to Elmwood; Elmwood's CEO Daniel Binns joined from Interbrand (formerly CEO North America), and both firms serve enterprise clients across CPG, healthcare, and financial services with comparable brand strategy, identity, and packaging offerings.
• Wolff Olins: Omnicom-owned global brand consultancy delivering brand strategy, identity, and experience work for global enterprises; competes head-to-head with Elmwood on enterprise rebrands and challenger-brand positioning briefs.
• Pentagram: Independent design consultancy operating across identity, packaging, and brand systems; overlaps with Elmwood in design-led enterprise and challenger-brand work, though typically structured as a partnership rather than a single P&L.
• Siegel+Gale: Global brand strategy and design firm focused on simplicity-driven brand expression; comparable to Elmwood in offering enterprise clients brand identity, naming, and design with a strategic, research-led methodology.
• FutureBrand: IPG-owned global brand consultancy offering strategy, identity, packaging, and experience design; competes with Elmwood on enterprise brand transformation mandates, particularly in CPG and corporate sectors.
• Landor & Fitch: WPP-owned global brand consultancy offering brand strategy, identity, packaging, and experience design to enterprise clients; directly comparable to Elmwood in scope (strategy + design + packaging) and target customer profile (FMCG, healthcare, financial services).
• Superunion: WPP-owned brand consultancy delivering brand strategy, identity, and experience design globally; Elmwood's Shanghai Client Partner previously worked at Superunion, indicating direct talent and capability overlap with Elmwood's APAC enterprise offering.
• Jones Knowles Ritchie: Independent brand design and strategy agency known for high-profile rebrands (Burger King, etc.); Elmwood's NYC ECD previously led brand work at JKR, and the firm competes in the same identity and packaging space for enterprise and challenger-brand clients.

Emerging players

• Mucho: Independent global brand design studio with offices in London, Barcelona, and beyond; offers brand strategy, identity, and packaging design comparable to Elmwood's core services, focused on a slightly narrower enterprise and cultural-institution client mix.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/elmwoodtweets
• Facebookfacebook.com/elmwood.design
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/elmwood-brand-design
• Instagraminstagram.com/elmwood.global

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles23 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Elmwood