Opinion BY Armin

Branding Milk, Chocolate, Candy and Pharmaceuticals

Established in 1916 and 1917 respectively — and shown top and bottom in the image above — Meiji Seika Kaisha and Meiji Dairies Corporation, have become one of the most well known brands in Japan. As the name of the latter implies, its specialty was processed milk products while the former focused on the (somewhat baffling) categories of confectionary and pharmaceuticals. This past April, the two organizations came together to form a single operation, Meiji Holdings Co., Ltd and along with it came a new logo, designed by the Tokyo office of Landor.

The beloved Meiji Milk Chocolate packaging, before and after.

Chris Palmieri of the Tokyo based AQ blog nicely summarized most of the details about the old logos: The candy and pill one designed by Yusaku Kamekura and the milk one by Takenobu Igarashi. Both logos were remarkably simple, elegant and bold, each with their own personality — Meiji Seika playful, Meiji Dairies serious. Combining both into a single wordmark was no easy task but I think they succeeded in creating one that fits in the new world of corporate identity design (i.e., friendly lowercase letters) while actually giving it a fresh personality and not just settling for basic, round, soulless letterforms like Xerox or any of the others. It reminds me a little of Emigre’s Dogma. I would probably push the “m” and “e” a little closer but other than that the wordmark achieves a very nice rhythm.

Hazelnut chocolate. Photo by Flickr user -*Sherima*-.

Yogurt, I believe. Photo by Chris Palmieri.

Other than the milk chocolate, the Meiji logo acts as an endorser, rarely appearing big or being the cornerstone of the packaging so in some cases it will look pretty nice like the yogurt above or rather awful like the hazelnut chocolate bar above it. But it sure looks great when used on a chocolate covered train.

Photo by Flickr user rosenbauer.

Thanks to Chris Palmieri for the tip.

DATE: Oct.14.2009CATEGORY: Consumer products 49 COMMENTS

Bart O'Dell’s comment is:

I really like this upgrade.

On Oct.14.2009 at 09:49 AM

Sacha’s comment is:

I like the upgrade, but I will miss the old chocolate logo. It felt more "chocolate-y" to me

On Oct.14.2009 at 10:04 AM

Mike D’s comment is:

Kerning is kinda whack. However that "m" is sweet and the descender on the "j" is tasty.

On Oct.14.2009 at 10:08 AM

Susanna K.’s comment is:

Actually, "marron" is hazelnut, not strawberry. It's Japanese-ized from the French for hazelnut.

On Oct.14.2009 at 10:09 AM

Emmet’s comment is:

Love the new letter M, and the descender on the J. Saying that, I don't hate the old logo, and I agree with Sacha above, it felt more "chocolate-y".

On Oct.14.2009 at 10:11 AM

Ben’s comment is:

I like the m.

On Oct.14.2009 at 10:13 AM

Alvin’s comment is:

I grew up loving many a snack from this brand. The new logo isn't terrible, but I am sad for the loss of the excellent italic one.

On Oct.14.2009 at 10:13 AM

Julio’s comment is:

The tree points over de "iji" always remember me some kind of family concept. I'm glad they recover that from de old logo. In the other hand the M looks like melt chocolate, so i find it very nice. Good upgrade.

On Oct.14.2009 at 10:15 AM

Elton’s comment is:

I believe that chocolate bar is chestnut, not strawberry.

On Oct.14.2009 at 10:16 AM

Armin’s comment is:

> Actually, "marron" is hazelnut, not strawberry. It's Japanese-ized from the French for hazelnut.

Hahaha... I'm so silly. You are right. That's a hazelnut, not a strawberry. The perils of writing at the break of dawn.

On Oct.14.2009 at 10:23 AM

Meiji’s comment is:

I honestly wonder about the taste of some people on here at times. The old one(s) had far greater character and attention to detail. And, was far more modern than the upgrade. Sad.

On Oct.14.2009 at 10:30 AM

joshua Turner’s comment is:

I can't imagine trying to design a mark that combines such disparate industries. I think they nailed it perfectly. Loved the old chocolate bar wordmark as well as the upgrade. Great work all around.

On Oct.14.2009 at 10:39 AM

Matt2’s comment is:

When you have "iji" in your name you need to let that stand out somehow. Neither of the old logos did a good job of that: the top one looks like "Meyi" and the bottom one draws all the attention to the "M".

The new logo looks great. It's milky, it's chocolatey, it gives the iji a great treatment without ignoring the m and e. It reminds this American of the Meijer grocery store chain, but that can't really be held against them.

On Oct.14.2009 at 10:54 AM

kalleboo’s comment is:

The top of the m gives me associations to melted chocolate and the top of a pair of lips saying "mmm". I like it.

On Oct.14.2009 at 10:57 AM

JM’s comment is:

The old serifed version was beautiful in a clunky way.

The new identity is excellent though, it feels substantial but also sensual with all those curves.

Landor should have put the Tokyo team on the Hilton job.

Good work.

On Oct.14.2009 at 11:07 AM

John Mindiola III’s comment is:

Unfortunately, the look and feel of everything BESIDES the new logo isn't as thoughtfully executed. That hazelnut chocolate bar? Wow.

On Oct.14.2009 at 11:10 AM

tetra’s comment is:

I love all of these, and that new "m" and "j" are fantastic.. but none of them really convey "chocolate" & "pharma" to me as much as they do some sort of tech company.

On Oct.14.2009 at 12:04 PM

Dan K.’s comment is:

There's something deliciously retro about the old chocolate bar that I like, or maybe it's just because it avoids the bevels and blobbishness of the new design. But other than that, it looks fine for the most part.

I'm glad I'm not the only one that saw the uncanny resemblance to Meijer, particularly comparing the yogurt container to Meijer's store brand yogurt, with the red-on-white. Though I'll give that being a Japanese exclusive brand they probably won't have to worry about confusing it.

On Oct.14.2009 at 12:05 PM

Dennis Van Staalduinen’s comment is:

I love the little wave-like character touch on the "m" and the nice "iji" rhythm, so overall a huge improvement over both of the former versions.

But to nitpick, the "e" is just a bit too heavy and prominent. Kerning is part of it, but there's something else odd about the letterform that makes it pop out too much particularly in the yogurt example with high conrast and no dimension.

On Oct.14.2009 at 12:10 PM

igjoe’s comment is:

I really like the redesign. Whereas yesterday's typeface was odd, this quirky text fits the brand and products. Definitely a positive update.

On Oct.14.2009 at 12:26 PM

gerald’s comment is:

hazelnuts are "noisette" in French, marrons are chestnuts.

I'm pretty sure hazelnuts don't have the spiky outer coating as seen in the top left of the chocolate packaging, either.

On Oct.14.2009 at 12:48 PM

Marcin’s comment is:

Love it.

New letters are really nice. Especially ,,m''.

Letters ,,iji'' looks just like 3 family members, with parent as ,,j'' ;)

On Oct.14.2009 at 01:32 PM

Alex’s comment is:

That 'm' is really neat, but the 'e' is so far away, it looks like it's trying to hold 'm' and 'iji' from fighting each other. I agree with Marcin that the 'iji' is quite lovely and sort of looks like three people standing next to each other.

On Oct.14.2009 at 01:40 PM

Ricky Salsberry’s comment is:

Dunno how to articulate it exactly - but this new one doesn't feel new, doesn't feel old - just feels right. It's mature and a tad quirky but not unserious. It just works.

Well done.

On Oct.14.2009 at 01:47 PM

couchideas’s comment is:

Nice post Armin.

Like the friendly new brand type.

The old ones can be re-introduced in a couple of years for special "classic" productlines. Just maybe?

On Oct.14.2009 at 03:19 PM

Stefan Udziela’s comment is:

I just got back from two weeks in Japan. Meiji is *everywhere*. And as soon as I saw this logotype, I loved it. I don't speak or read Japanese, so I don't know what the advertisements were saying, but I could tell that the tone of the brand + products is represented perfectly by this new logo.

Also, there's a great logo-song, the word is sung in (I think) 3 different notes/syllables.

On Oct.14.2009 at 03:22 PM

Maya’s comment is:

Chocolate & Drugs: Together At Last.

It definitely needed something updated whether they had combined the company or not.

On Oct.14.2009 at 04:04 PM

=David’s comment is:

As Matt2 noted, it is very reminiscent of the midwestern US grocery chain Meijer. I work there, and when they unveiled their current logo, I thought it was pretty good, though not excellent. Meiji seems to have nailed it; they succeeded where Meijer stopped short. Excellent work.

Though, having seen the word "Meijer" set in that typeface for so long, it seems odd to have it broken so that the "ij" is at the end...can't complain about that, though. At least not legitimately. It's excellently well done.

On Oct.14.2009 at 04:36 PM

Rafal Zielinski’s comment is:

Reminds me of Meijer, its the first thing that came to mind...

On Oct.14.2009 at 05:35 PM

Jonathan Carnehl’s comment is:

Like it. But the red, the lowercase, the letters and my love for the place make me think of meijer.

On Oct.14.2009 at 07:34 PM

andyRespire’s comment is:

To all lamenting the old logo's 'chocolateyness': did it feel more 'chocolate-y'? or more 1900-American-classic-Hershey-looking? This is Japan, & not USA, you know.

On Oct.15.2009 at 12:26 AM

andyRespire’s comment is:

And those reminded of Meijer stores: irrelevant!

I thought of Meijer when I first saw it too - but this is Japan, & not the American Midwest. So unless you're in the Japanese target marker - who cares what you think? :D

On Oct.15.2009 at 12:33 AM

Dav’s comment is:

I really like the 'm' featured in the new 'meiji' logo. (But of course it gets lost in that cluttered packaging designs, sadly enough.)

On Oct.15.2009 at 06:33 AM

Cory Osborn’s comment is:

This is great. The Japanese always seem to treat the Latin alphabet with such innocence. This logo makes me hungry.

On Oct.15.2009 at 09:04 AM

Andrew Kopietz’s comment is:

I prefer the geometry of the previous logos but this new iteration is nice too. Clean and consistent. Not too overpowering or upsetting.

On Oct.15.2009 at 09:12 AM

PALE FACE’s comment is:

I like the new type much better, although the kerning is a bit out of control.

On Oct.15.2009 at 09:33 AM

oklahoma city personal injury lawyer’s comment is:

One of the upgrades that I really like. Most seem to not being doing much more than their predecessors but this one is a real winner.

On Oct.15.2009 at 12:00 PM

David’s comment is:

I love the new Meiji logo. It's my favorite Japanese candy...and I eat a lot of it!

On Oct.15.2009 at 03:37 PM

Mr. Walters’s comment is:

Nice move logo-wise, but the kerning seems off and there is something going on in the middle of that M that is kind of screwy. I can't believe I'm saying this, but it looks a bit better when they use the slight bevels on the edge.

On Oct.15.2009 at 04:32 PM

Glenn Sakamoto’s comment is:

Not perfect but a worthy successor.

On Oct.15.2009 at 09:58 PM

Shawna’s comment is:

No! This can't provoke anything but an emotional response for me because Meiji chocolate is such a part of my childhood and return travels as an adult. The evolution feels wrong. The old wordmark was so recognizable and familiar. The new one feels like it'll get lost in the shuffle on the shelves.

On Oct.16.2009 at 12:52 PM

Lucy’s comment is:

NO! Meiji, how could you do this?? I love the old candy logo (not to mention the oh so delicious treats themselves........), but I guess this had to happen. Still, I'll miss that playful ol' logo...

On Oct.16.2009 at 03:11 PM

manichaeus’s comment is:

Cory Osborn: I can't usually find any interest in anything from Landor, sorry. But this one has something, probably that innocence you're talking about. The iji looks like a pictogram, indeed - a family, or two fishermen and a siren, whatever. So, isn't this designer interpreting our western alphabet into their own visual culture? Smart guys.

But Yusaku Kamekura's logo is better, huh? although dated, maybe. Kamekura was (is he still alive? hope so) a master, he did the '64 Tokyo Olympics graphics system and many other excellent projects.

On Oct.16.2009 at 10:15 PM

Mark’s comment is:

Good upgrade.

A nice update for a long standing brand.

It's simple yet friendly.

On Oct.17.2009 at 10:00 PM

Christopher Meeks’s comment is:

Count me as one of those that is consistently disappointed in Landor. I have the same feeling about this one that I do about almost all of their marks...

It is fine. Not horrible, but not great. Something that I'm confident most decent designers could have put together over a day or two.

On Oct.20.2009 at 03:37 PM

Nestra’s comment is:

I have never seen this brand before, so I am not sure how closely the consumer relates the specific logo style to the brand, but I think the new logo is a vast improvement over the old. The new logo is well though out. The older logos seem thrown together.

On Oct.20.2009 at 04:36 PM

Ricardo’s comment is:

I like it a lot.
Especially the "m".

Now they got a great wordmark, but some very poor packaging design.

On Oct.24.2009 at 09:20 PM

snogglethorpe’s comment is:

Yup "marron" (maron) means chestnut in Japan, not hazelnut.

On Oct.26.2009 at 05:13 PM

Kento Ikeda’s comment is:

For a short time during the rebranding, they reused a lot of the old package designs, so if you looked at the candy section of a convenient store, you could pick up a bar with the design they used in the 1920's, or a post-war bar. It was really cool! And by the time they released the new packaging, I couldn't remember which design had been used right before it. Genius.

On Jan.15.2010 at 07:09 AM