Best for: Multinational companies entering or expanding in China, and Chinese companies building their global presence. Labbrand is particularly well suited to briefs where naming, cultural localization, and consumer research need to work together rather than be sourced separately.
Labbrand has built a genuinely distinctive position: a research-led consultancy with deep China expertise that also knows how to operate across Paris, Singapore, and New York. The caveat is that their design output, while solid, plays a supporting role to strategy and naming — if executional design craft is the primary need, you'll want to look elsewhere.
Reviewed by Chelsea Greene
The Full Read
Labbrand was founded in Shanghai in 2005 by Vladimir Djurovic, a French engineer who had studied at both École Centrale de Paris and Shanghai Jiaotong University and spotted a clear gap: foreign brands entering China needed naming that went beyond translation, and no one was doing it well. Chinese brand naming became Labbrand's flagship service and remains central to their identity twenty years later. From that starting point, the agency has grown into a five-office consultancy spanning Shanghai, Paris, New York, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur, with a full suite of services across research, strategy, naming, and design.
What makes Labbrand genuinely different is the research infrastructure underneath the branding work. Consumer insights, semiotics, and cultural analysis are not bolt-ons here — they're the foundation that briefs are built from. That orientation shows up in the client list: Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Alibaba, Ferrero, Disney, Adidas, Nespresso, ByteDance. These aren't brands that hire a consultancy for a quick visual refresh. They're commissioning work that needs to hold up under scrutiny in markets where cultural nuance can determine whether a name lands or fails. Labbrand's positioning as a "Guiding Partner for Brand Innovations" reflects that — they're built for brands navigating genuine complexity, particularly the China-global axis.
The agency's track record at the Transform Awards Asia — nine consecutive years of wins, including Gold for Best Localization of an International Brand in 2023 — is the most reliable external signal of where their work is strongest. Localization, verbal identity, and brand strategy are where the recognition clusters. The design work on the portfolio is competent and culturally informed, but it doesn't carry the same creative distinctiveness as the naming and strategy output. Brands expecting a full creative transformation anchored in visual identity should factor that in.
The other honest note is scale. At 51–100 people across five offices, Labbrand is a mid-size consultancy, not a large agency. That means the partner-level attention is real, and project teams tend to be lean. For complex, long-cycle programs requiring large dedicated teams across multiple disciplines simultaneously, the model may stretch.
What Labbrand Does
Brand Naming
Alphabetic naming, Chinese brand naming, and advanced verbal solutions. The founding capability and still the sharpest offering in the portfolio.
Brand Naming · Chinese Naming · Verbal Identity · Trademark Naming · Product Naming
Brand Strategy
Positioning, brand architecture, portfolio strategy, and brand governance. Grounded in consumer research and cultural analysis rather than pure creative intuition.
Brand Positioning · Brand Architecture · Portfolio Strategy · Brand Governance · Brand Transformation
Consumer Research
Qualitative and quantitative research, semiotics, consumer insight, and cultural analysis. Used to underpin naming and strategy decisions rather than sold as a standalone service.
Qualitative Research · Quantitative Research · Semiotics · Cultural Analysis · Brand Tracking
Brand Design
Identity, packaging, communication design, and experiential design. Informed by the strategy and research layer; more execution-focused than conceptually autonomous.
Visual Identity · Packaging Design · Communication Design · Brand Experience Design
Innovation Consulting
Brand-led innovation strategy and new product or service development. Built around customer-centricity and market insight.
Brand Innovation · Product Innovation · Service Design · Innovation Strategy
Selected Work
A snapshot of recent named projects. Full case studies on the agency's site.
ByteDance / Lemon8
Naming · Branding
Created the international brand name for ByteDance's lifestyle app, positioning it for global rollout from an upstart platform.
Coca-Cola Chunyue
Packaging Design · Brand Strategy
Cultural packaging design across 29 Chinese cities, built on ethnocultural relevance and local market insight.
Ferrero / Kinder Tronky
Brand Naming
Chinese brand name creation for the Kinder Tronky product line entering the Chinese market.
Nestlé / Nespresso
Brand Naming
Chinese product nickname creation for Nespresso's iconic coffee machine, designed for intimacy and memorability in the Chinese market.
Alibaba / Fliggy
Brand Identity · Naming
Full brand identity creation and visual identity design for Alibaba's travel platform.
Club Med Joyview
Brand Creation
Full brand creation for Club Med's Chinese resort sub-brand, covering strategy, naming, and identity.
Adidas
Brand Strategy
Brand expression development for adidas Future of Style, exploring new brand territory for the sportswear label.
Choice Hotels / Everhome
Brand Naming
New hotel brand name creation for Choice Hotels' extended-stay concept, developed out of the New York office.
Hire Labbrand If You Need…
- A brand name — alphabetic or Chinese — that has been rigorously tested against cultural, linguistic, and trademark considerations across markets.
- China market entry or localization work where consumer research and naming need to be handled by the same team rather than split across vendors.
- A Chinese company building a credible international brand identity with strategic foundations in place.
- Brand strategy or positioning work grounded in consumer insight rather than pure creative perspective.
- A consultancy with genuine cross-regional reach — particularly the Asia-Europe-North America corridor.
Skip Labbrand If…
- Your brief is primarily a visual identity or design system project where creative execution is the primary deliverable. Labbrand's design output supports strategy; it doesn't lead it.
- You need a large dedicated team across multiple disciplines simultaneously — at 51–100 people across five offices, capacity has limits.
- Your project is a startup identity or a fast-turnaround rebrand with a limited budget below the $5,000 minimum.
- You want a boutique Western creative studio aesthetic. Labbrand's work is culturally calibrated and research-led, which is a different proposition.
Independent Verification
Awards
Transform Awards Asia 2025 — Gold, Best Place or Nation Brand (Guizhou Tourism); Bronze, Best Creative Strategy
Transform Awards Asia 2023 — Gold, Best Localization of an International Brand (Petit Bateau); 3 total wins
Transform Awards Asia 2022 — Silver, Best Use of a Visual Property (Lanvin Group)
Transform Awards Asia 2020 — Multiple wins including Silver, Best Naming Strategy (Nespresso and VOYAH)
If Labbrand Isn't the Right Fit
Wolff Olins
A global brand strategy and identity agency with strong credentials across corporate and digital-native rebrands.
Landor & Fitch
A large international brand consultancy with deep experience in brand transformation across consumer, corporate, and retail categories, including significant Asia-Pacific work.
Prophet
A brand and growth strategy consultancy with a strong research and insights practice and offices across the US, Europe, and Asia.
Frequently Asked Questions
Brand naming is where Labbrand started and where the agency's reputation is strongest, particularly Chinese brand naming for international companies entering China and alphabetic naming for brands building global identity. The research and strategy practice has grown substantially alongside this, and the two are closely integrated in most engagements.
Both. A significant portion of their portfolio involves international brands — Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Ferrero, Adidas, Disney — entering or localizing for the Chinese market. They also work with Chinese companies building international presence. Their five-office footprint across Shanghai, Paris, New York, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur reflects that dual orientation.
Yes. Labbrand was founded independently in 2005 by Vladimir Djurovic and operates as a standalone consultancy under the Labbrand Group structure, which also includes the digital experience arm Madjor. They are not affiliated with a holding company network.
Their portfolio covers food and beverage, FMCG, tech and digital, hospitality and real estate, fashion and luxury, automotive, healthcare, and professional services. Consumer goods and hospitality are particularly well represented in the published case studies.
Consumer research and cultural analysis are core to how Labbrand approaches most briefs, not optional add-ons. Their naming work in particular involves linguistic testing, trademark screening, and consumer validation as standard steps. Clients who want to skip the research layer and move quickly to creative output may find the process more rigorous than expected.
Ready to see if Labbrand fits your project?
Visit the agency's site to view their full portfolio, or compare them against the rest of our top picks.