BRAND STRATEGY
CREATIVE DIRECTION
BRAND IDENTITY

As the owner of Arken Zoo (SWE), Musti (NO), Musti ja Mirri (FI) and several e-commerce brands across the Nordics and the Baltics, Musti Group found itself squeezed between fast-moving online convenience players and powerful grocery giants. Despite leading the Nordic pet care market with over €500 million in annual turnover, sustaining leadership while accelerating growth grew increasingly complex.

Challenge

After rapid expansion, Musti had outgrown its foundation. Fragmented positioning, inconsistent customer experiences, and internal cultural differences between markets made it difficult to align around a shared conviction towards the objective. 

So the challenge was to:
– Strengthening relevance
– Unify internally
– Increasing consistency

Scope

One platform that could scale seamlessly across markets, unify all employees, and every customer touchpoint.

This meant defining the brand both internally and externally: developing a clear, emotional, and motivating Employer Value Proposition to engage employees, a clear Customer Value Proposition to guide the customer journey, and a consistent and distinctive design and communication strategy to tie it all together.

Pets’ Best Friend defines who Musti is and the role it plays in people’s lives. A best friend listens, supports and shows up when it matters most. It earns trust.

A promise only matters when it’s lived in practice. By equipping and empowering store teams — Musti Group’s most important asset — the promise carries through from communication to everyday in-store interactions, creating a consistent and credible experience.

Pets’ Best Friend is a commitment to proving, in every interaction, that Musti is more than a retailer.

Employee Value Proposition

The EVP – ”together we are, pets’ best friend” – both comes from and supports the CVP at the same time, working together – strengthening, inspiring, and building on each other to create one united workforce. It is not a slogan – it is a strategic tool. It shapes how we lead, grow, communicate, and connect.

Every part builds a whole:
Reframing the customer relationship

The brand promise became a strategic narrative, reshaping the relationship between Musti and pet parents at the intersection of empathy, experience and expertise – creating community and belonging. From first-time kitten owners seeking guidance to experienced dog parents looking for tailored support, the promise holds true.

Consistency at scale

After a full visual audit, it became clear that the brand expression was inconsistent across touchpoints and lacked a clear creative direction. I led workshops and conducted interviews with cross-market in-house teams, resulting in a functional, easy-to-use design system adaptable across the entire omnichannel experience. This enabled clear differentiation between categories, price points, and product launches, ultimately creating a more cohesive and unified brand expression across all markets.

Building community

By communicating from a place of genuine care and understanding. Through thoughtful storytelling and a consistent point of view, Musti create a sense of belonging among dedicated pet parents.

tobias.bergholm@gmail.com
+46 (0) 73 338 03 67

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