What Studio MPLS does

Studio MPLS is a boutique creative services firm headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, founded in 2009 and operating with a team of 1-10 professionals that collectively carries more than sixty years of design experience. The studio's core offering consists of three integrated practices: brand identity development (logo design, visual identity systems, brand strategy), product packaging design (structural design, label design, 3D rendering, production guidance), and custom illustration. Supporting services include stationery, print collateral, copywriting, naming, photography, and 3D rendering, allowing the studio to deliver complete brand systems rather than discrete deliverables. Studio MPLS positions itself on an 'artful, elevated approach' and follows a three-stage Learn-Visualize-Make It Real process emphasizing collaborative discovery and instinct-guided creative exploration, rejecting commoditized design output in favor of bespoke, 'covetable' work.

The studio's client roster spans enterprise accounts such as Jack Daniel's Single Barrel (Brown-Forman), Panda Express, Chick-Fil-A, and Meta (Facebook Horizon), alongside mid-market and emerging consumer brands including Rishi Tea & Botanicals, Mistral, Sparkling Botanicals, Happy Ending Cocktails, Little Sesame, Sola Coffee Co, Strange Lands (Three Rivers Distilling), Cedar & Stone, Warbler Labs, and Duluth Candy Co. These clients span premium food and beverage, CPG, restaurants and hospitality, spirits and alcohol, and emerging technology categories. The business model is pure project-based professional services: each engagement is custom-scoped and individually quoted based on complexity and client requirements, with no standardized pricing tiers or productized offerings. Go-to-market is sales-led and inbound-driven, relying on a maintained portfolio website, Instagram, Behance, and Twitter for discovery, with prospective clients initiating projects via direct contact emails ([email protected] and [email protected]) and referrals. The studio does not use proprietary technology or software platforms and generates all revenue through commissioned creative work.

Studio MPLS is privately held with no disclosed parent company, investors, funding events, acquisitions, or leadership transitions. Geographic markets served include Minneapolis as the headquarters and a broader client base spanning Quebec, Boston, and other locations, with no satellite offices. The studio maintains no certifications, patents, partnerships, or formalized distribution channels, and operates exclusively through direct project engagement.

Name

Studio MPLS

Legal name

Studio MPLS

Website

https://studiompls.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Studio MPLS is a Minneapolis-based boutique design studio (founded 2009, 1-10 employees) providing bespoke branding, packaging design, and illustration services to enterprise and emerging consumer brands across food, beverage, spirits, and technology categories.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Minneapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Creative Services (Brand Identity, Packaging, Illustration): Project-based professional services revenue. Studio MPLS generates income through commissioned branding, packaging design, and illustration projects for corporate clients. Each engagement is custom-scoped based on project complexity, with pricing handled through direct quotes rather than standardized tiers. Services include branding, packaging, illustration, stationery, print collateral, brand strategy, copywriting, naming, photography, and 3D rendering.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Studio MPLS is a boutique design studio that delivers brand identity, packaging design, and illustration services for premium and craft brands. Engagements cover strategy, naming, logos, visual identity systems, structural and label packaging, print collateral, stationery, copywriting, photography, custom typography, and 3D rendering. Each project is custom-scoped per client requirements.

Product overview

Studio MPLS is a design studio offering a unified set of creative services rather than a software platform. The core offering consists of branding services (including logo design, visual identity systems, and brand strategy), packaging design, and illustration. Supporting services include stationery design, print collateral, copywriting, naming, photography, and 3D rendering. These services are provided as an integrated creative offering, with over sixty years of collective experience, to develop innovative and elegant design solutions for brands of all sizes. The studio operates from Minneapolis, Minnesota, and works with clients across the food, beverage, spirits, retail, and lifestyle industries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Branding Services End-to-end brand identity development including logo design, visual identity systems, custom typography, modular logo systems, and brand strategy for client brands across food, beverage, spirits, hospitality, CPG, and emerging brand categories.
• Packaging Design Product packaging design services covering structural packaging, label design, and print production guidance for food, beverage, consumer goods, spirits, and lifestyle brands. Includes 3D rendering support for visualization across retail and ecommerce environments.
• Illustration Custom illustration services for branding, packaging, and environmental graphics projects (for example, Chick-Fil-A dining-room illustration refresh) using an artful and elevated approach.

Named customers16 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Pentagram: The world's most prominent independent design firm, structured as a partnership of creative principals working on branding, packaging, and identity — the same boutique, craft-led, project-based model Studio MPLS operates, just at much greater scale.
• Mucca: Boutique branding and packaging design studio with deep experience in food, beverage, and spirits. Operates a similar small-team, craft-driven model targeting premium consumer brands like Studio MPLS.
• Pearlfisher: Independent branding and packaging design agency with a strong CPG and spirits portfolio (e.g., Absolut, Beefeater). Comparable to Studio MPLS in its craft-led, project-based model targeting premium consumer brands.
• Chase Design Group: Independent branding and packaging design agency known for CPG and food/beverage work, sharing Studio MPLS's focus on craft packaging and identity for premium consumer brands.
• Stranger & Stranger: Boutique agency specializing in beverage and spirits packaging design, with an art-driven, premium positioning that closely mirrors Studio MPLS's work for Jack Daniel's, Rishi Tea, and other premium drink brands.
• Turner Duckworth: Award-winning brand design and packaging agency with blue-chip CPG clients (Coca-Cola, Levi's, Amazon). Highly comparable to Studio MPLS in craft-driven, integrated brand identity and packaging work for premium consumer brands.
• Robot Food: Independent branding and packaging design studio focused on food, beverage, and CPG. Comparable in size, craft-driven positioning, and vertical mix to Studio MPLS.
• Manual: Boutique creative and branding studio known for premium CPG, spirits, and lifestyle brand work, with a similar small-team, project-based model and high-craft positioning to Studio MPLS.
• Bulletproof: Independent branding and packaging agency with strong CPG and spirits credentials, sharing Studio MPLS's integrated brand identity and packaging design offering for premium consumer brands.

Broad incumbents

• Landor & Fitch: Global branding and design consultancy with deep spirits, CPG, and consumer brand experience. Significantly larger and broader in scope than Studio MPLS, but competing in the same brand identity and packaging design space.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/StudioMPLS
• Instagraminstagram.com/studiompls

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Studio MPLS