Thompson Design Group
Thompson Design Group was a San Francisco-based, founder-owned brand consulting and packaging design firm serving consumer packaged goods (CPG) clients from startups to multinationals. Founded in 1979, it ceased operations on February 28, 2019.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1979
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Thompson Design Group does
Thompson Design Group was a privately held, founder-owned brand consulting and packaging design firm headquartered in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood. Founded in 1979 and operated for nearly four decades, the firm served consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies ranging from startups to multinational corporations, delivering strategic brand consulting, visual brand essence development, proprietary brand mark creation, label architecture, and package design system architecture.
The firm's underlying work was design craft rather than software: it combined strategic positioning with graphic execution across food and beverage, pet food, cookware, and technology categories (including Häagen-Dazs, Blue Diamond, PowerBar, Dole, Ghirardelli, Fancy Feast, Beneful, Slim Jim, Almond Breeze, Premier Protein, Bolthouse Farms, Daiya, Anolon, Three Bakers, Straus Family Creamery, SanDisk, and Aquapod for Nestlé Waters). Its go-to-market was direct enterprise engagement with CPG brand teams, and revenue derived from project-based professional services fees, with public pricing not disclosed.
The company employed well over 100 employees and associates at its peak, with many long-tenured staff, led by principals Jody Thompson (Strategic Director) and Dennis Thompson (CCO). The firm explicitly concluded business on February 28, 2019; no successor entity, acquisition, or asset transfer was disclosed in available sources.
Thompson Design Group firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Thompson Design Group
- Legal name
- The Thompson Design Group
- Website
- https://ttdg.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1979
- Operating status
- Closed
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Thompson Design Group was a San Francisco-based, founder-owned brand consulting and packaging design firm serving consumer packaged goods (CPG) clients from startups to multinationals. Founded in 1979, it ceased operations on February 28, 2019.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Thompson Design Group industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Brand Consulting and Packaging Design
- NAICS
- Graphic Design Services (541430)
- SIC
- Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Packaging & Product Brand Design (BPAFAEAG)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Packaging & Brand Identity Creative Agencies (MPAAAAAN)
Keywords
Where Thompson Design Group is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Thompson Design Group business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Brand Consulting Services: Professional brand consulting and packaging design services for CPG companies, working with clients from startups to multinational corporations.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels1 record
Thompson Design Group product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Thompson Design Group provided brand consulting and packaging design services to consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies. Core offerings included strategic brand consulting to identify a visual brand essence, packaging design and redesign (graphics, brand marks, label architecture, display systems), global brand mark development with proprietary extractable letterforms, and packaging design system architecture that integrates product tiers across product lines.
Product overview
Thompson Design Group was a brand consulting and packaging design firm that provided strategic design services to consumer packaged goods companies. The firm offered two core service areas: brand consulting (finding visual brand essence and positioning) and packaging design (graphics, brand marks, and display systems). These services were delivered through project-based engagements with clients ranging from startups to multinational CPG companies. The company concluded business operations as of February 28, 2019.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Brand Consulting
Companies that use Thompson Design Group
Customer profileNamed customers19 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Thompson Design Group technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Thompson Design Group partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators2 records
Recent moves3 records
Thompson Design Group competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Dragon Rouge: International brand and packaging design agency with CPG-heavy client rosters across food, beverage, and household. Comparable in scope of brand-and-package design engagements for global CPGs.
- Pearlfisher: Brand design agency specializing in packaging design for food, beverage, and beauty CPG brands. Closely comparable in customer type (CPG multinationals and challengers) and service focus (packaging systems).
- BrandOpus: Brand strategy and packaging design agency for CPG brands, particularly in food and beverage. Direct peer in the CPG packaging-design category.
- MetaDesign: International brand and design agency with deep packaging-design work for consumer brands. Comparable in delivering strategic brand and packaging systems for global CPG clients.
- Turner Duckworth: Brand identity and packaging design agency widely recognized for CPG packaging systems for major global brands. Direct peer in the packaging-design-for-iconic-CPG-brands niche.
- Elmwood Brand Consultancy: Brand design consultancy with strong packaging design capabilities for consumer brands. Comparable as a long-standing CPG brand/packaging design specialist.
- Landor & Fitch: Global brand consulting and design firm with a strong packaging design practice serving many of the same multinational CPG clients (food, beverage, pet). Closest large-scale analogue to TTDG's CPG-focused brand and packaging design work.
- Pentagram: Multi-partner design firm with partners deeply engaged in brand identity and packaging design. Comparable as a project-based, principal-led design practice serving consumer brands.
- CBX (Consumer Brand Experts): Brand strategy and packaging design firm explicitly focused on consumer packaged goods. Highly comparable service mix and customer overlap with TTDG.
- Sterling Brands: Brand identity and packaging design firm with CPG clients across food, beverage, and household. Comparable boutique scale and category focus.
Market position
Strengths2 records
Weaknesses3 records
Competitive moat2 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Thompson Design Group social profiles
Digital presenceThompson Design Group financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Thompson Design Group leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Thompson Design Group funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Thompson Design Group M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Thompson Design Group
What does Thompson Design Group do?
Thompson Design Group provided brand consulting and packaging design services to consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies. Core offerings included strategic brand consulting to identify a visual brand essence, packaging design and redesign (graphics, brand marks, label architecture, display systems), global brand mark development with proprietary extractable letterforms, and packaging design system architecture that integrates product tiers across product lines.
Is Thompson Design Group a public or private company?
Thompson Design Group is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently closed.
When was Thompson Design Group founded?
Thompson Design Group was founded in 1979. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Thompson Design Group based?
Thompson Design Group is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Thompson Design Group make money?
One revenue line is on record: brand Consulting Services.
Who are Thompson Design Group's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Dragon Rouge, Pearlfisher, BrandOpus, MetaDesign, Turner Duckworth, Elmwood Brand Consultancy, Landor & Fitch, Pentagram, CBX (Consumer Brand Experts) and Sterling Brands.
Does Thompson Design Group have an API?
No public API is recorded for Thompson Design Group.
What industry is Thompson Design Group in?
Thompson Design Group's product category is Brand Consulting and Packaging Design. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAFAEAG, Packaging & Product Brand Design, with a secondary code of MPAAAAAN, Packaging & Brand Identity Creative Agencies. Its NAICS code is 541430 and its SIC code is 7330.