What Echd does

Echd GmbH is a privately held, full-service brand and packaging design agency headquartered in Offenbach am Main, Germany. Founded in 1977 as khdesign and rebranded to Echd in November 2021, the firm operates a three-stage service model — Consulting (brand strategy, positioning, communications, packaging strategy, workshops), Creation (branding, packaging, print, web/email, campaigning, presentation and social media design), and Completion (in-house final artwork, photo/video editing, digital shelf marketing, and Future Media production). The agency's work spans beauty, drinks, pharma, food, home, and pet food categories, with a particularly strong portfolio in German spirits (Chantré, Schloss Salem), personal care (Schaebens, TITANIA), pharma (Dentinox, Hametum, DHU Schüßler-Salze), and private-label brands for major German retailers (REWE, Müller, Rossmann, dm). Named recent work has won the German Brand Award in 2023, 2024, and 2025, the German Design Award in 2023 and 2025, and the Red Dot Award in 2023.

Under the hood, Echd combines traditional creative production (art direction, final artwork, print production readiness) with an AI- and 3D-augmented "Future Media" capability used to generate photorealistic product imagery, animations, and POS content ahead of physical production. Internally, the firm relies on third-party large language models (Anthropic Claude) for research, copy generation, and concept development, rather than proprietary AI systems. The team — visible across CEO/Partner Nadine Hartmann, CCO/Creative Director Paul Valentiner, Managing Directors Max Wenzel and Lisa Wenzel, plus dedicated Art Directors, Project Managers, and a Head of Final Art — is sized at roughly a dozen named professionals consistent with the firmographic 11–50 band.

Echd makes money through project-based professional services engagements billed on a quote/consultative basis rather than published rate cards. Go-to-market is sales-led: direct client engagement, industry event presence (DMEXCO, EPDA, Anuga, expopharm, Forward Festival), referrals, and a free "Brand Check" consultation offered as lead generation. Lead generation and thought leadership are amplified through LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, Behance, and a quarterly newsletter. The firm is privately owned by its managing directors with no disclosed external funding, parent company, or subsidiary structure.

Name

Echd

Legal name

echd gmbh

Website

https://echd.studio

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Echd GmbH is a privately held German brand and packaging design agency founded in 1977 and headquartered in Offenbach am Main, serving enterprise and mid-market clients across beauty, drinks, pharma, food, home, and pet food through strategy, design, and AI-assisted 3D/Future Media production.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Offenbach

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Brand Strategy & Consulting: Strategy and positioning consulting services including brand strategy, brand positioning, communication strategy, packaging strategy, and workshops.
2. Creation & Design Services: Design services including branding, packaging, print, website & email marketing, campaigning, presentation design, and social media content creation.
3. Completion & Production Services: Technical execution services including inhouse final artwork, photo & video editing, digital shelf marketing, and future media production.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Echd is a full-service brand and packaging design agency offering a three-stage service model: Consulting (brand strategy, positioning, communications strategy, packaging strategy, workshops), Creation (branding, packaging design, print, website and email marketing, campaigning, presentation design, social media content), and Completion (in-house final artwork, photo and video editing, digital shelf marketing, and Future Media 3D visualizations and AI-powered product imagery). The agency serves consumer goods, pharma, food, beverage, beauty, and retail clients across the DACH region.

Product overview

Echd is a full-service brand and packaging design agency founded in 1977, offering a three-stage service model: Consulting (brand strategy, positioning, communications, packaging strategy, and workshops), Creation (branding, packaging design, print, website and email marketing, campaigning, presentation design, and social media), and Completion (final artwork production, photo and video editing, digital shelf marketing, and Future Media). Their four key service areas are Branding, Packaging, Future Media (3D visualizations, animations, and AI-powered imagery), and Social Media. The agency serves clients across industries including Beauty, Drinks, Pharma, Food, Home, and Pet Food.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Consulting Strategic brand consulting services including brand strategy, brand positioning, communications strategy, packaging strategy, and workshops. Designed for mid-market and enterprise companies seeking brand transformation, repositioning, or relaunch projects.
• Creation Design execution services including branding, packaging design, print, website and email marketing, campaigning, presentation design, and social media content creation. Translates brand strategy into tangible design assets across all channels.
• Completion Production and implementation services including in-house final artwork, photo and video editing, digital shelf marketing, and Future Media production. Ensures technical execution readiness for packaging and media deployment.
• Branding Corporate branding service covering logo design, color schemes, brand manuals, and visual identity systems that create recognizable and authentic brand appearances for consumer goods and enterprise companies.
• Packaging Design Packaging design service creating packaging that stands out, builds credibility, and influences purchasing decisions at point of sale, from sustainable materials to special editions. Target users are FMCG brands, retailers, pharma, food, beverage, beauty, and pet food companies.
• Future Media Advanced media service using 3D visualizations, animations, and AI to bring products to life for e-commerce, social media, and point-of-sale. Enables photorealistic product renderings before physical production.
• Social Media Social media content strategy, design, and format development that combines reach with relevance to anchor brands consistently in consumers' minds across social platforms.

Quantifiable outcome

• 81% of consumers purchase based on eye-catching packaging
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers21 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• J.T. Ronnefeldt KGcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 February 2026echd was selected through a competitive pitch process to lead the brand relaunch of J.T. Ronnefeldt KG, one of Germany's most well-known premium tea brands. The partnership involves comprehensive brand redesign for the company's planned 2026 relaunch, with echd overcoming competing agencies to win the mandate.
• SK GamingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with e-sports organization SK Gaming on the REWE Vitamin Water packaging project, bridging gaming culture with retail beverage branding.
• EPDA (European Brand & Packaging Design Association)minorOthersechd is a member of EPDA, which provides networking and knowledge exchange platform for brand and packaging design professionals across Europe. Staff members regularly attend EPDA events in Porto, Hamburg, and Bordeaux.
• FMCG Retailers (REWE, Müller, Rossmann, dm)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributorechd serves as design agency for private label brands sold through major German retailers including REWE, Müller Drogeriemarkt, Rossmann, and dm. These retailer partnerships are central to echd's business.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Pearlfisher: Brand and packaging design agency specialized in FMCG, beauty, food and beverage — directly comparable to echd's vertical mix and packaging-led offering, with similar emphasis on award-winning creative work.
• KollerBaron: German brand and packaging design agency serving FMCG and retail clients — direct niche competitor to echd in the DACH market with similar service offerings around brand strategy and packaging production.
• MetaDesign: German-founded brand and design agency with deep expertise in identity, packaging and digital brand experience — closest geographic and craft peer to echd, serving comparable European FMCG and corporate clients.
• Bulletproof: Independent brand design agency with strong packaging and FMCG credentials across European and global clients — comparable service mix to echd including brand strategy, identity and packaging, but with broader geographic reach.
• Interbrand: Global brand strategy and design firm covering brand positioning, naming, identity and packaging — overlaps heavily with echd's Consulting and Creation streams and serves similarly large FMCG and pharma clients.
• FutureBrand: Global brand consultancy providing strategy, identity and packaging design to enterprise clients — comparable service portfolio to echd and similar positioning around end-to-end brand programs for consumer-facing brands.
• Siegel+Gale: Global brand strategy and design firm offering brand positioning, identity systems and design execution — comparable to echd's Consulting and Creation streams, particularly in simplifying and modernizing brand expression for large clients.
• Landor & Fitch: Global brand consultancy offering strategy, brand identity, packaging and design execution across consumer goods — directly comparable service mix and target customer base to echd, but at significantly greater scale and global reach.
• CBA (Germany): German brand design agency focused on corporate identity, brand strategy and packaging — comparable craft and DACH-market positioning to echd with similar enterprise client base.

Regional players

• KMS Team: German brand and corporate design agency serving mid-market and enterprise clients in the DACH region — directly comparable craft focus to echd but operating from a different German city and serving a partially overlapping client base.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCiZWFNxskDnoE4I93BayDig
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/echd-studio
• Instagraminstagram.com/echd.studio

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

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 Echd