The solution was a clean, modern and approachable brand identity that sets Balaji Traders apart from the noise of its' counterfeits. Since balaji traders could not be trademarked, the logomark with the shopping-cart signifier was chosen to serve as an ownable and trademarkable brand identifier.
Balaji Traders is a family run grocery retail store in Pune. Started in 1997, they became a local favourite for their top quality agricultural and food grain products. They became trailblazers of the local supermarket space before the advent of big supermarket chains. They also expanded into wholesale trading under the name JKC Enterprises
Due to this, a lot of smaller competitors started taking advantage of this and opening businesses under the same name. Not only did they cut into their market share by using the Balaji brand to poach customers, they also diluted the Balaji brand and damaged their hard-earned goodwill by selling subpar products under their name.
The Balaji Traders Experience
had lost meaning
We approached Balaji as a personal challenge to explore and demonstrate the importance of Brand Design for small, traditional businesses. By challenging the cynicism of indian traditional businessmen, who see branding as an unnecessary expense, we presented them with a simple design solution.
The brand identity was made to be modern and more appropriate for a supermarket retail chain that allowed for the future plans of expansion for Balaji Traders. It represents the aspirations for growth and also the legacy of a household name.
