Ólas Hill Farms

In the West of Ireland, the Mayo Blackface Group tend their flocks in harmony with the environment, enhancing its biodiversity and sustainability. These farmers’ free-roaming lamb tastes better because it is better. Its quality comes from the lush vegetation that surrounds their homelands and from the dedicated care of their shepherds.

This collective of 400+ farmers came to us for a new name and brand identity, with a goal to increasing exports and costs of their high-quality product. Our solution had to appeal to a wide range of audiences, from end-consumers to chefs, wholesale buyers, and prospective group members. 

As the group have ambitions for future growth, it was important for us to illustrate the provenance of the lamb without pinpointing a narrow geographical location. Also important was highlighting the collective nature of the group; this is a brand that encompasses a wide range of different farming communities. It was imperative to us that everyone was represented and felt an ownership of the brand.

‘Ólas’ is a play on the Irish word for knowledge. It was essential that we create a name that could be easily pronounced by international audiences but that also spoke to the core value of the group. The visual identity aimed to represent the overall premium quality of the brand while retaining the groups’ authentically gritty roots.