Brand Strategy for Havaianas
The Havaianas brand embodies what it means to be Brazilian: free-spirited, with a zest for life and an instinct for improbable combinations. The company first designed inexpensive cloth shoes for Brazilian coffee farmers in 1907; today it offers nearly 20 product lines worldwide and sells 162 million pairs of flip-flops a year. Scan the pathways and streets the world over, and you’ll find Havaianas’ iconic footwear on everyone from celebrities like Gisele Bundchen and Beyonce Knowles to everyday consumers who appreciate affordable, versatile shoes.
With 60 years of consistent growth, Havaianas came to IDEO to help extend its brand into a new product category. The company wanted to offer a line of tote bags that shared the simple pleasure and boldness of its flip-flops, starting with ways in which people could carry their beloved Havaianas around.
To imagine what these Havaiana accessories might look like, IDEO first sought to capture the essence of the brand by understanding its tight connection to Brazil’s national identity. The team interviewed citizens from various demographic and socioeconomic backgrounds and found that they all had vibrant spirits and an appreciation for simplicity, authenticity, play, enjoyment, and physical comfort. (The team conducted additional research in Australia, India, London, and Paris.)
The team also ran a series of “handstorms,” or bag-making brainstorm sessions that led to hundreds of prototypes. Each was considered in relation to the brand vision for Havaianas. Working with a seamstress, the team tried various shapes and materials. In the end, they developed a consistent design language that echoed the look and feel of Havaianas flip-flops with textural and visual cues.
The resulting line of modular bags was designed to meet the needs of Havaianas customers and its retailers. The bags’ style is relaxed, individualistic, and uncomplicated. The colors, based on a palette curated from photographs taken throughout Brazil, capture the fun and the vibrancy of the country. The commercial rollout of the bags put great emphasis on staying true to Havaianas’s Brazilian heritage. By introducing the bag in Brazil, Havaianas allowed its flip-flop fans at home to be the first to enjoy the product. Havaianas unveiled the bags at Sao Paulo’s fashion week in June 2008. The totes rolled out elsewhere in 2009.
Extending a footwear icon’s fashion sense and national pride to accessories
The Havaianas brand embodies what it means to be Brazilian: free-spirited, with a zest for life and an instinct for improbable combinations. The company first designed inexpensive cloth shoes for Brazilian coffee farmers in 1907; today it offers nearly 20 product lines worldwide and sells 162 million pairs of flip-flops a year. Scan the pathways and streets the world over, and you’ll find Havaianas’ iconic footwear on everyone from celebrities like Gisele Bundchen and Beyonce Knowles to everyday consumers who appreciate affordable, versatile shoes.
With 60 years of consistent growth, Havaianas came to IDEO to help extend its brand into a new product category. The company wanted to offer a line of tote bags that shared the simple pleasure and boldness of its flip-flops, starting with ways in which people could carry their beloved Havaianas around.
To imagine what these Havaiana accessories might look like, IDEO first sought to capture the essence of the brand by understanding its tight connection to Brazil’s national identity. The team interviewed citizens from various demographic and socioeconomic backgrounds and found that they all had vibrant spirits and an appreciation for simplicity, authenticity, play, enjoyment, and physical comfort. (The team conducted additional research in Australia, India, London, and Paris.)
The team also ran a series of “handstorms,” or bag-making brainstorm sessions that led to hundreds of prototypes. Each was considered in relation to the brand vision for Havaianas. Working with a seamstress, the team tried various shapes and materials. In the end, they developed a consistent design language that echoed the look and feel of Havaianas flip-flops with textural and visual cues.
Project date: 2009
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