A Future Rooted in Tradition: ZFV Unveils a Comprehensive Brand Relaunch

The gastronomy and hotel company, which operates throughout Switzerland, began its strategic realignment in its anniversary year 2019. The brand relaunch makes this visible and tangible both visually and communicatively.

The ZFV Companies Cooperative (ZFV) manages around 220 companies throughout Switzerland and employs over 2,900 people. Its business areas include gastronomy, hotels (Sorell), childcare (KiMi) and real estate. The newly designed umbrella brand unites these under a common identity. This makes the company's strategic orientation recognizable and strengthens the brand's external impact.

The brand relaunch takes into account the pioneering spirit of the founders as well as the cooperative's vision for the future. "We see our origins as a compass, not a rear-view mirror," says Nadja Lang, CEO of ZFV. "We translate the values and ideas of the founders into the present and actively shape the future by consciously curating inspiring meeting places together with our strategic partners and thus bringing people together. We are also convinced that our commitment to sustainable and healthy ways of eating, working and living, encounters at eye level and a participatory corporate and leadership culture are the basis of our entrepreneurial success."

Good is good for you

The positioning shows ZFV as a cooperative, locally anchored ecosystem that achieves more together based on cooperative responsibility. With the new brand claim "Gut tut gut." (Good is good.), it sums up its claim: to make a joint impact for people, society and the environment through conscious action. The claim connects all areas of the ZFV cooperative, including its role as a responsible employer and partner.

A fresh appearance as a visual and content foundation

The new brand identity combines a color scheme that embodies ZFV's values, an approachable visual language and a striking logo in uppercase lettering to create a strong statement. Strength, attitude and modernity characterize the design and make it fit for the future. The abbreviation "ZFV-Genossenschaft" (ZFV cooperative) underlines the company's form, while the word mark "ZFV" ensures clear recognizability in a dynamic market.

Nathalie Lüthi, CMO ZFV, is convinced: "The new brand identity is effective. It is emotional, authentic and appeals to employees, customers and partners alike. Our partner agency Heads Corporate Branding has understood perfectly that the future has an origin. Last but not least, the design impresses with its high level of functionality and flexibility."

The rollout is taking place in stages: First, it will be implemented in the corporate website and digital channels, then in the companies

The history of the ZFV goes back a long way. In 1894, 15 committed middle-class women around Susanna Orelli founded the Zurich Women's Association for Moderation and the People's Welfare in Zurich. Their aim was to create safe, alcohol-free and affordable meeting places at a time of great social upheaval. A progressive and courageous undertaking for the time.

Early on, the organization combined economic activity with social responsibility and focused on improving people's quality of life (at the time: "people's welfare"). In particular, the founding of the cooperative was also an important step towards improving the social status of women. The joint commitment of entrepreneurial women gave rise to a unique, cooperatively organized, socially anchored and economically sustainable business model.

Over the following decades, the cooperative developed into an integral part of Zurich's restaurant and hotel industry. The network of restaurants formed the foundation, and new business areas such as canteens, staff restaurants, hotels, real estate and bakeries were added.

ZFV sharpened its corporate strategy from 2019. It revised its portfolio and continuously optimized its operating model. It focused on consciously curating meeting places. At the same time, it strengthened its cooperation with partners and invested in contemporary offers and concepts as well as in sustainability, innovation, leadership and corporate culture. The coronavirus crisis accelerated new ways of living and working and changed consumer behavior. Global trends and a changed market environment also played a role. This further strengthened ZFV's realignment.

Responsible at ZFV: Nathalie Lüthi (Chief Marketing Officer), Fabian Heimgartner (Head of Corporate Development & Strategy), Philipp Kirfel (Manager Brand & Design), Natascha Ronner (Content Manager), Gina Buff & Elena Tzvetanova (Digital Media Managers), Nico Prisi (Graphic Designer) Responsible at Heads Corporate Branding AG: Ralph Hermann (Managing Director), Simone Raubach (Senior Brand Consultant/Project Management), Marco Simonetti (Creative Director), Sina Frank (Senior Brand Consultant), Natascha Almeida and Samira Ciraci (Project Management), Roman von Arx (Production)