What Notch does

Notch is an independently held, Norway-based strategic and creative branding and design agency positioned as a "strategic and creative design partner, building brands for tomorrow." Its service offering is fully integrated, spanning brand strategy, brand identity, naming, product development, art direction, social media management, content production (film, photography, motion graphics, animation), digital design, technical development, copywriting, and eCommerce management. The firm is built around close client collaboration — "working with clients rather than for them" — and explicitly targets challenger brands in the retail sector, with particular depth in food & drink, spirits & alcohol, health & wellness, tech, and fashion & culture verticals. Notch is run as a small boutique with approximately 8 named professionals operating out of Oslo (Brenneriveien 7) and Ålesund (Keiser Wilhelmsgate 22), supplemented by a 4–6 month design internship program.

The business operates on a sales-led, project-based professional services model. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is custom-quoted per engagement; revenue mechanics are tied to deliverable-based fees for brand, design, content, and digital build work rather than any recurring SaaS, subscription, or platform revenue. The named client base is broad by industry — including Audi, BMW, Telenor, REMA 1000, Sony Music, Red Bull Music Festival, Norges Bank, Sparebank 1, Oslo Kommune / Deichman Bjørvika, Unicef, Kreftforeningen, Plan Norge, Bama, Bakehuset, Sørlandschips, Stange Gårdsprodukter, Nice Chips, BOKS Energy, Squad Fuel, Flo Brewery, Pia Tjelta Studio, and Monocle — but concentrated geographically in Norway. The studio's most prominent project is the "Deichman Prologue" ceremonial film, which reached 120,000 viewers and won Best Video of the Year & Best Documentary at the IFLA Metropolitan Libraries Short Film Award 2022; a 2023 follow-on is the Gouldian Finch "The Flamingo" music video featuring Emilie Nicolas for All Ape.

From a structural standpoint, Notch is private with no disclosed external investors, no parent company, no subsidiaries, no patents, no M&A activity, and no AI/ML capabilities described in the available data. The firm has no public funding history, no recurring-revenue product, and limited geographic footprint outside Norway. Its economic engine is the billable output of a small senior creative team, and its defensibility rests on portfolio reputation (notably the IFLA win and high-visibility brand work), team talent, and established enterprise and institutional client relationships rather than proprietary technology or scale advantages.

Name

Notch

Legal name

Notch

Website

https://notch.no

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Notch is an independently held Norwegian branding and design agency in Oslo and Ålesund, offering integrated brand strategy, identity, packaging, content, film production, and eCommerce services to challenger brands and enterprise clients across food & drink, spirits, tech, fashion, and culture sectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Branding and Design Services

NAICS

Graphic Design Services (541430)

akta.pro primary industry

Packaging & Brand Identity Creative Agencies (MPAAAAAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Packaging Design & Labeling (MPAAAEAD), Naming & Verbal Identity (Taglines, Messaging) (MPAAAEAB)

Keywords

• Branding and design services
• Brand strategy consulting
• Visual identity design
• Packaging design services
• Creative content production

Headquarters

HQ city

Oslo

HQ country

Norway

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Professional Services - Branding & Design: Service-based revenue from brand strategy, brand identity, naming, product development, art direction, social media management, content production, digital design, development, animation, motion graphics, film and photography, copywriting, and eCommerce management.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Notch is a strategic and creative branding and design agency that builds challenger brands end-to-end — from brand strategy, naming, and visual identity through packaging design, retail strategy, film and photography production, motion graphics, copywriting, and digital/e-commerce implementation. The studio primarily serves clients in retail, food and drink, spirits and alcohol, health and wellness, tech, fashion, and culture sectors, with a particular focus on physical user journey and shelf impact.

Product overview

Notch is a strategic and creative branding and design agency offering a comprehensive suite of creative services. The agency operates as a single integrated offering with multiple interconnected service areas including brand strategy, brand identity, naming, product development, art direction, social media management, content production, digital design, development, animation, motion graphics, film and photography, copywriting, and e-commerce management. The studio primarily serves challenger brands in the retail industry, with particular expertise in food & drink, spirits & alcohol, health & wellness, tech, fashion & culture sectors. Services are delivered through close client collaboration from concept development through to final implementation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Brand Strategy and Identity Strategic consulting covering brand positioning, naming, art direction, and full visual identity systems (logos, color, typography, brand guidelines) for challenger brands and enterprise clients.

Quantifiable outcome

• Ceremonial film reached 120,000 viewers and became most engaging Deichman Facebook post in 2020
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers32 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Superunion: WPP-owned global brand and design agency with a strong presence in Europe. Directly comparable to Notch on brand strategy, identity, and packaging work, but operates across multiple geographies at significantly larger scale.
• Interbrand: Global brand consultancy offering brand strategy, naming, identity, and design. A long-established incumbent that competes for many of the same enterprise branding and packaging briefs Notch pursues.
• Pentagram: Global, partner-led design firm covering branding, identity, packaging, and digital. Operates in the same brand design space as Notch but at vastly greater scale and geographic reach, often on competing pitches.
• Landor & Fitch: Global branding and design consultancy within WPP, offering brand strategy, identity, and packaging. Overlaps with Notch on brand identity and packaging for consumer brands, but serves multinational clients with a much larger team.

Direct peers

• Kolon: Norwegian branding and design studio working on brand identity, packaging, and communication design. Competes with Notch in the Norwegian market for food, drink, and culture brand assignments.
• Bleed: Oslo-based design agency delivering brand, digital, and visual design. Comparable Norwegian boutique peer in scope and scale to Notch.
• Snask: Stockholm-based creative studio offering branding, design, and film production for challenger and consumer brands. Closest Nordic analog to Notch in size, service mix, and challenger-brand focus.
• Bold Scandinavia: Scandinavian design and branding studio offering strategy, identity, and packaging services. Comparable Nordic boutique competitor with a similar challenger-brand and CPG orientation.
• Heydays: Oslo-based branding and design agency serving Norwegian and Nordic clients across retail, food, and culture. Directly comparable domestic peer competing for the same challenger-brand and CPG mandates as Notch.

Emerging players

• Neue Design Studio: Scandinavian design practice working on brand identity and packaging. Smaller, design-led competitor overlapping with Notch on visual identity and packaging for consumer brands.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/notchstudio

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 Notch