What Barlow & Co. does

Barlow & Co. is a privately held, London-based branding and design agency founded in 1998 by Abigail Barlow, specializing exclusively in the wine and drinks sector. The firm offers a full-service creative offering spanning brand strategy, naming, range planning, visual identity, label and packaging design, artwork and production, and downstream digital and social activation. Its core differentiator is a WSET-accredited team that combines commercial wine knowledge with creative execution, enabling it to translate category-specific cues (provenance, terroir, varietal storytelling) into packaging that performs at retail.

The company operates as a B22B professional services firm on a project-based engagement model, working directly with clients from brief to delivery. Customer segments split between UK retailers with private-label wine programs (Tesco Finest, M&S Found, Asda Wine Atlas, The Wine Society), international wine and spirits producers (McGuigan, Pol Roger, Casella Family Brands, Journey's End), and artisan/independent producers. Named project outcomes include Tesco Finest bottles accounting for over 30% of wines sold at Tesco, McGuigan Zero becoming the UK's #1 non-alcoholic still wine, and the M&S Found range delivering 35% above forecast sales in its first four months.

Barlow & Co. operates from a single studio in Chiswick, West London, with no disclosed headcount, no proprietary technology platform, no external funding, and no parent company. Revenue, headcount, and pricing are not publicly disclosed. The firm pursues a hybrid segmentation approach across enterprise retailers, international producers, and artisan clients, supported by organic social, a website portfolio, and industry event participation as primary marketing channels.

Name

Barlow & Co.

Legal name

Barlow & Co.

Website

https://barlowandco.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Barlow & Co. is a London-based, founder-led branding and design agency founded in 1998 that specializes exclusively in wine and drinks packaging and brand strategy, serving UK retailers, international producers, and artisan wine and spirits brands on project-based engagements.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Design and Branding Services: Project-based professional services for wine and drinks branding, including brand strategy, label design, visual identity, artwork and production, and marketing collateral.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Barlow & Co. is a marketing-led design and branding agency that creates wine and drinks brands from concept through to delivery. The firm offers brand strategy, visual identity, label and packaging design, artwork, and production services. Its core focus is on helping wineries, spirits producers, and UK retailers develop commercially successful packaging and brand assets.

Product overview

Barlow & Co. is a marketing-led wine and drinks branding agency offering a comprehensive suite of design services. The agency provides brand strategy, creative design, label and packaging design, and digital/social marketing services. Their core offering centers on wine and spirits branding, with notable projects including McGuigan Zero (alcohol-free wines), Tesco Finest wine range branding, PepperBox Wines, The Wine Society's range redesign, and various premium wine and spirits label designs. The agency was founded in 1998 by Abigail Barlow and operates from Chiswick, West London, with a WSET-accredited team.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Brand Design Services Full-service branding and design agency specializing in wine and drinks packaging, offering brand strategy, visual identity, label design, and packaging services from concept through production.
• Label and Packaging Design
• Brand Strategy
• Creative Services
• Digital and Social Marketing

Quantifiable outcome

• Tesco Finest bottles account for over 30% of all wines sold in Tesco stores and online
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• The Drinks TrustminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBarlow & Co. created the Trust Water brand in collaboration with The Drinks Trust. Trust Water is a British spring water brand where 100% of net profits go to The Drinks Trust to help those working in the drinks and hospitality industry. The concept of 'creating positive ripples' brought the mission to life.
• Paint SLPVminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPaint SLPV is a community street art project in Sir Lowry's Pass Village, South Africa. Barlow & Co. collaborated with this project to create label artwork for The Inzuzo Wine Co., selecting striking graffiti artworks from the Paint SLPV project to appear on the 'Transformative' range labels.

Scale indicators13 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Taxi Studio: UK creative agency with experience in drinks and consumer brand packaging. Comparable scale and B2B services model to Barlow & Co.
• Big Fish Design: UK brand design agency serving consumer and drinks clients with a comparable boutique studio model and packaging emphasis.
• Here Design: London brand and packaging design agency with a strong drinks/FMCG portfolio. Comparable project-based B2B model serving retail and producer clients.
• Robot Food: UK food and drink branding agency with shared focus on packaging design and shelf-standout work for grocery and drinks clients. Closely comparable scale and craft-services positioning.
• Denomination: Australian drinks branding agency with a similarly narrow focus on beverage brand design. Comparable boutique specialist model and customer base in wine, beer and spirits producers.
• Stranger & Stranger: London-based design agency specializing in premium drinks packaging and label design. The closest direct competitor to Barlow & Co. — both share wine/spirits focus, project-based B2B model, and award-driven positioning.
• Carter Wong Design Partners: London design agency with FMCG and drinks portfolio. Comparable founder-led boutique profile serving similar enterprise and producer clients.

Broad incumbents

• BrandOpus: London branding agency with a meaningful drinks and grocery portfolio (including own-label work). Comparable client types but larger scale and broader category mix.
• Pearlfisher: Larger London branding agency serving multiple categories including wine, spirits, beauty and food. Overlaps in drinks packaging but operates a broader portfolio and larger studio.
• Turner Duckworth: Global packaging design agency with significant drinks clients (including major brewers and spirits brands). Much larger and broader; competes for the same enterprise packaging RFPs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/barlow-and-co
• Instagraminstagram.com/barlowandcouk

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 Barlow & Co.