CASE STUDY
Barlean’s had built one of the most trusted names in the natural products industry. They just needed to remember why.
Client Barlean’s Category Nutritional Supplements
Services Brand Strategy, Messaging, Competitive Audit, Identity
The Situation
Barlean’s had been doing things right for decades. A pioneer in nutritional supplements, the brand had earned loyalty through product integrity, quality, and a commitment to natural products that predated the category’s mainstream moment.
But the brand had begun to lose its connection with the people who mattered most.
Shelf space was becoming harder to win. Relevance was slipping. And inside the company, different people were telling different versions of the Barlean’s story to retailers, consumers, and each other. Without a clear, shared understanding of what the brand stood for and why it mattered, consistency became difficult and differentiation became even harder.
The products hadn’t lost their credibility. Barlean’s had lost some of the emotional connection that made that credibility meaningful to consumers. The brand needed to reconnect its heritage, its purpose, and its personality in a way that felt relevant today.
The Insight
Barlean’s had something many brands spend years trying to build: history, trust, product credibility, and genuine consumer equity. The opportunity was to reconnect those strengths and define what made the brand uniquely Barlean’s.
That meant looking closely at what had created loyalty over the years, what still resonated with consumers and retail partners, and where the brand had room to stand apart. From there, we could give Barlean’s a clearer point of view and a stronger foundation for how it showed up in the market.
The strongest brand stories aren’t always the ones you create. Sometimes they’re the ones you rediscover.
The Approach
NBP began by listening. We created customized surveys for Barlean’s employees, consumers, and retail partners, gathering three distinct perspectives on the brand, its strengths, and its place in the category.
The feedback revealed meaningful equity across all three audiences. Consumers and retail partners had strong associations with the brand, while employees brought a deep understanding of its history and values. Together, these perspectives gave us a clear picture of the brand assets worth protecting and the opportunities worth pursuing.
Our category expertise added another layer of perspective. Because NBP works exclusively in supplements and functional nutrition, we brought a deep understanding of the competitive landscape, retail dynamics, and consumer motivations shaping the category.
We conducted a competitive audit of Barlean’s and three key competitors, examining positioning, messaging, personality, and visual identity to identify opportunities for meaningful differentiation and define territory Barlean’s could credibly own.
From those insights, we developed four distinct brand personas to bring the strategy to life and provide practical direction for messaging, creative, and consumer engagement across audiences and touchpoints.
The work culminated in a comprehensive 62-page brand book covering refreshed brand strategy, messaging, and visual identity guidelines. It gave the Barlean’s team a clear framework for telling one cohesive brand story across the organization and in the marketplace.
Delivered in six weeks.
The Impact
A clearer, shared understanding of what Barlean’s stands for and what makes it distinctive
Four brand personas providing actionable direction for messaging, creative, and consumer engagement
A 62-page brand book giving the team a practical framework to guide communications for years to come
“Thank SO much! We’re so pleased with the results of this project and are excited to put the brand guide to use! Along with the brand guide, it was really interesting to go through the process with the customer and retailer surveys and the brand and competitor audits. So many valuable insights for us. From the beginning it was clear your team got it and each had something unique to bring to the project. We’ll be in touch. Thanks!”
NORA PARK, E COMMERCE MANAGER
Barlean's Brand Guide
A 62-page brand guide developed for Barlean’s as part of a brand refresh, covering vision, values, voice, and tone.
