What Holmes & Marchant does

Elmwood is a global brand strategy and design consultancy founded in 1972 and headquartered across four studios in London, New York, Singapore, and Shanghai. The firm operates within the MSQ Group of marketing services companies, positioning itself as an 'MSQ agency'. Its service offering spans brand strategy, brand identity definition, brand experience creation, and packaging design, with documented work for large multinational corporations (Coca-Cola, Unilever, Nestlé, Mars, Walmart, Kellogg's, Colgate-Palmolive, Reckitt, Kimberly-Clark) and challenger or specialist brands (E45, Ribena, The Very Collection, Opill, Milo, Orbit Extra).

The firm's business model is professional services: revenue is generated through project-based consulting engagements and likely retainer arrangements with enterprise clients, with pricing bespoke and not publicly disclosed. Go-to-market is consultative and sales-led, leveraging direct client engagement across all four studios. Marketing is content-driven, supported by an active insights blog, published whitepapers (e.g., 'New Codes of Premiumisation'), and social media presence across LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and X.

In 2026 the firm executed a rebrand to 'Elmwood | Branding Agency & Design Consultancy' under the tagline 'World-leading Brand Strategy and Design Consultancy', reflecting continued investment in brand authority and thought leadership. Core technology and proprietary tooling are not disclosed, consistent with a people-driven creative services business rather than a software platform.

Name

Holmes & Marchant

Legal name

Elmwood

Website

https://holmesandmarchant.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Elmwood is a global brand strategy and design consultancy, founded in 1972 and operating studios in London, New York, Singapore, and Shanghai. It serves enterprise multinationals and challenger brands across FMCG, healthcare, luxury, and finance.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Brand Strategy & Design Consultancy

SIC

Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Event Strategy & Experience Design (BPAFAGAA)

Keywords

• Brand strategy consulting
• Brand identity design
• Packaging design
• Brand experience design
• Design consultancy

Headquarters

HQ city

London

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

Revenue model

1. Brand Strategy and Design Consulting Services: Elmwood generates revenue through professional branding and design consulting services, including brand identity definition, brand experience creation, and packaging design. As a consultancy firm, revenue is likely derived from project-based engagements and retainer arrangements with enterprise clients.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Holmes & Marchant operates as a brand strategy and design consultancy under the Elmwood parent brand. It partners with global organizations and challenger brands to define brand identities, create memorable brand experiences, and design packaging that drives desire and commercial impact. The firm has operated in the brand design space since 1977 and serves enterprise clients across multiple categories.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Brand Strategy Strategic consultancy service that defines brand positioning, purpose, and identity direction for global enterprises and challenger brands.
• Brand Experience Design service that creates memorable brand experiences connecting organizations with their customers across physical and digital touchpoints.
• Packaging Design Design service focused on creating packaging that drives consumer desire and commercial impact at retail for FMCG and consumer goods clients.

Named customers27 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• MSQ Groupparent_companyOthersElmwood is identified as 'an MSQ agency' suggesting it is part of the MSQ Group of companies. MSQ Group appears to be the parent holding company for Elmwood.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Lippincott: Independent brand strategy and design firm serving global corporations on identity, brand experience, and packaging. Direct peer with comparable enterprise client base and design-led consultancy model.
• Interbrand: Omnicom-owned brand consultancy delivering brand strategy, naming, identity, and experience design for global organizations. Closest direct competitor to Elmwood in enterprise brand strategy and design scope.
• FutureBrand: Interpublic-owned brand consultancy providing brand strategy, identity, packaging, and experience work for multinational clients. Overlaps directly with Elmwood's enterprise brand and packaging design offerings.
• Superunion: WPP-owned global brand and design consultancy offering strategy, identity, and experience design. Comparable service mix and enterprise orientation to Elmwood's brand strategy and design offering.
• Siegel+Gale: Global brand strategy, experience, and design consultancy now part of the Brand Consulting group at Omnicom. Comparable to Elmwood in brand identity, naming, and simplification-driven design work for large enterprises.
• Wolff Olins: Omnicom-owned global brand consultancy offering brand strategy, identity, and experience design. Comparable to Elmwood in serving both global organizations and challenger brands across multiple geographies.
• Pentagram: Independent, partner-led design consultancy with a strong brand identity and packaging design practice. Comparable to Elmwood's design-led work for marquee global brands.
• Landor & Fitch: Global brand consulting and design firm under WPP, offering brand strategy, identity, and experience design to multinational enterprises — directly comparable to Elmwood's positioning across CPG, beverages, retail, and financial services clients.

Emerging players

• Mother Design: Brand design arm of Mother, known for culturally fluent brand identity and packaging for challenger and global brands. Comparable in craft and brand-design orientation but smaller in geographic reach than Elmwood.

Broad incumbents

• WPP: Global marketing services holding group owning Landor & Fitch, Superunion, and other brand consultancies. Relevant as the broader incumbent whose brand-consulting subsidiaries compete head-to-head with Elmwood for enterprise mandates.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/holmesmarchant
• Facebookfacebook.com/166834813361854
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/elmwood-brand-design
• Instagraminstagram.com/elmwood.global

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Holmes & Marchant