Local Roots is on a mission to build a more regenerative and flavourful food system in New York City. After partnering with UME to reimagine its business strategy and web experience, the team was ready for an ambitious brand expansion. We architected a system that would clarify the different brand elements, making it easy and intuitive for any customer to understand Local Roots’ offerings. Working from that solid foundation, we then optimized the online customer experience for both new and returning customers. With an eye on the future, we also provided a clear and flexible system for expanding into new cities in a way that is both simple and strategic, all enabling Local Roots to better support the regenerative agriculture movement in the United States.
Having worked on clarifying their brand position and mission in the past, we knew that in order to grow in a way that was aligned with their values, it was essential to take a community-first approach. To do that, UME took great care to continue supporting existing customers while also creating a flexible system that would allow the brand to expand nationwide and reach a wider audience. All this while staying true to the activist origins of Local Roots, an organization that has always been about creating a better future for both people and the planet.
Local Roots returned to UME to help them architect their growing brand ecosystem. Over the past year, founder Wen Jay expanded the business to include a new physical space in Brooklyn, NY. Alongside talks of expansion to other cities, UME developed a flexible strategic framework and brand architecture for how Local Roots NYC, their new physical space, and future locations would coexist in harmony. We elevated “Local Roots” to serve as the global parent organization and named “Local Roots NYC” the community-based hub. Sitting underneath Local Roots NYC, we branded their subscription service as “Harvest Club” membership and their new space as “Market & Cafe.” When they expand into new communities, the organization will have a clear template to guide them (e.g., Local Roots ATX, Local Roots ATL, etc.). This allowed for the different sub-brands to both coexist with and elevate the parent brand’s mission to build community around food and sustainable living.
In service of the organization’s growth, the UME team designed a website that gives user’s an overview of the Local Roots brand while also allowing them to explore Harvest Club and Market & Cafe. Furthermore, the team refined what is now the Harvest Club website to reflect the re-brand, and also designed, developed and implemented the Market & Cafe website. It is thoughtfully curated to make it easy for customers to view the latest menu, purchase food for pick-up, rent kitchen space and attend events. Within its first month, Local Roots’ first brick & mortar store is already getting a generous amount of traffic and buzz.
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UME seamlessly joined the Local Roots family to streamline our website during intensive business pivots throughout the peak of the pandemic, and then went on to build out our new Market & Cafe and Harvest Club branding as we grew and changed throughout the year. From step-by-step tutorials of how to make backend website edits to creative vision-boarding that led to larger brand decisions, UME's process with us was incredibly supportive and essential to our success this past year and beyond.
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