Interview: When an individual's purpose becomes a brand - A case study of Bela Gil's Refazenda brand
- Maria Eduarda Barreto
- 18 de jun. de 2024
- 7 min de leitura
It’s undeniable the movement of dissatisfaction among new generations regarding the stance of major brands on important societal issues. This opens up space for new entrepreneurs and new ways of operating in the market, promoting significant transformation in the marketing and brand management landscape.
Launch of the Refazenda brand by Bela Gil
In this context, brands like Refazenda, envisioned by Bela Gil, emerge and challenge the old formats. Bela, daughter of Gilberto Gil, is passionate about food, hosts the show Bela Cozinha on the GNT channel, and has her own YouTube channel where she advocates for conscious and healthy eating.
She has just launched the Refazenda brand (while I was writing, they were still preparing to enter the healthy food market), available since May 29th of this year. As we know, launching a brand requires extensive planning and branding work, and it’s precisely at this crucial moment that I had the opportunity to talk with Polliana Vasconcelos, marketing manager, and bring her perspective on purpose.
Interview with Poliana Vasconcelos, Marketing Manager at Refazenda
1. What is the purpose of the Refazenda brand? And how do you define purpose?
The purpose of the Refazenda brand is to offer "food that transforms". It goes beyond simply selling food products and is intrinsically linked to the mission of promoting conscious, sustainable, pesticide-free eating, supporting small farmers, reducing environmental impact, and encouraging a deeper connection with nature and the food we consume.
As Bela puts it: "It's having coffee and connecting with the producers in Barra do Choça." This purpose guides all decisions of the brand, from ingredient selection to packaging practices. I understand a brand's purpose as its reason for existing beyond profit. It's the essence that guides all its actions and decisions, reflecting its core values and contribution to a better world. At Refazenda, Bela's purpose has become a brand.
2. Given that you are in the launch phase, what are the current market challenges in building a meaningful brand?
Refazenda's main challenge today relates to costs, both of inputs and the production chain. The brand prioritizes respecting nature's cycles and promoting conscious, sustainable consumption. Therefore, throughout the process, the main benchmarks will be the positive reverberation of the socio-environmental impact generated. Refazenda has a long way to go to educate consumers. At this beginning stage, we’re pioneers in bringing widely discussed and implemented issues to the public, but it’s still very costly. Biodegradable packaging costs about 5 times more, organic raw materials and industry certifications are expensive and represent critical processes.
In this way, Refazenda is born to educate consumers about the importance of being mindful of their food choices.
that educates consumers about the perception of the value of a diet based on organically grown foods.
In addition, we’ll create environmental awareness about the production of biodegradable plastic waste over hundreds of years and how unconscious consumption generates waste in the world. Our packaging will be biodegradable - bioplastics that decompose in 4 years, compared to the 400 years of competition. We understand that this is a race that we chose to embrace from moment zero.
3. Can you tell us more about how the pillars of sustainability, nutritious food, and support for small producers intersect in Refazenda's mission and purpose? How do these aspects relate to the idea of promoting social and individual well-being?
At Refazenda, healthy eating goes beyond the simple act of eating. It’s about making choices that promote not only individual well-being but also collective and environmental well-being. Therefore, our pillars of sustainability, nutrition, and support for small producers are intertwined in our mission and purpose.
Sustainability: We’re committed to adopting sustainable practices in all stages of our production chain. This means using organic and agroecological ingredients grown responsibly, biodegradable packaging, and establishing lasting partnerships with small local producers. By doing so, we not only protect the environment but also invest in a healthier and more balanced future for everyone.
Nutrition: Healthy eating is fundamental to a vibrant and happy life. That's why we carefully select the ingredients for our products, prioritizing nutritious options free from harmful chemicals and artificial additives. We aim to offer food that not only nourishes the body but also strengthens the mind and spirit, promoting a more vibrant and energetic life for our consumers.
Support for Small Producers: We deeply value the hard work and dedication of small local producers. By forming direct partnerships with these family farmers, we ensure the quality and freshness of our products while also contributing to the economic and social development of rural communities nationwide. We’re committed to strengthening these bonds and promoting fair and sustainable agriculture for all.
4. Considering Refazenda's emphasis on reconnecting people with nature and using food as a transformational tool, how does the brand intend to create a meaningful experience for its consumers beyond rhetoric and narrative?
Refazenda is born from Bela's desire to bring a new way of existing as a company to the market. As an activist, writer, nutritionist, and chef, she undoubtedly has much to contribute to society when it comes to sustainability and healthy eating.
In her latest book, "Quem vai fazer essa comida?", she strongly criticizes unpaid domestic work and ultra-processed foods. This is due to the increasingly fewer hands available for the preparation of real food, coupled with the need for quick and practical eating. Unlike other brands, the narrative is being constructed during the process, with the choice of inputs, suppliers, and packaging. What we intend to offer consumers is a sensory experience so that when they try our products, they not only taste the pleasure but also connect with the origin of each ingredient. We will give voice to small, our consumers will experience eating granola sweetened with organic rapadura made in a quilombola community in São Paulo, even though it is produced by a family farm in Brasilia.
5. How do you intend to build a relationship with your consumers and community, considering the importance of engagement and transparency in building a purpose-driven brand?
Refazenda emerges from the conjunction of ideals developed by Bela throughout her professional journey, whether as a chef, nutritionist, presenter, communicator, or writer.
Quality food, sustainability, waste management, support for family farming, and dedication to conscious consumption are themes present in her discourse and resonate in her life's practice. This has enabled her to build a community of over two million followers on social media, sharing her choices and opinions, which has led to collaborations with partners who share the same environmental, social, or food-related perspectives, such as Mãe Terra, Biowash, Iamani, Korui, and Morada da Floresta.
The relationship with consumers will unfold organically, uniting Refazenda's values with the purpose that Bela embodies in her discourse. Through e-commerce, a platform will be created to support small farmers, and a sense of community will arise from the public's identification with our values. Investment in social media marketing, campaigns, and publications using Bela Gil's image will be the means through which Refazenda establishes its channel of communication and outreach with its audience.
As mentioned earlier, Refazenda isn't a brand that needs to build a purpose; it is a purpose that has become a brand.
6. As a marketing manager, do you believe brands can have purpose according to the PERMA model of Positive Psychology?
Yes! Not only do I believe it, but I'm also pleased to know that Refazenda aligns with the PERMA model, even without prior knowledge of the subject until now. In my view, there needs to be more "Refazendas" out there, where purposes become brands and these constructs contribute to a better, fairer, healthier, and happier world.
7. What is your vision regarding the future of brands in their contribution to society?
Our hope is that Refazenda challenges consumer standards and that customers increasingly demand actions from the food industry in favor of the environment. Looking beyond, we aim to be a company that triggers consumers' awareness regarding the quantity of additives, preservatives, and carcinogenic foods present in the labels of foods consumed daily by society, demonstrating that it is indeed possible to have a clean, flavorful, and healthy diet with packaging that minimizes potential harm, respecting the cycles of nature.
Conclusion and insights
From this conversation, I draw three important insights:
Purpose must be present in the pillars of a brand's positioning; otherwise, the brand will lack the strength to sustain its narrative and guide marketing managers and other leaders involved in daily decision-making.
Another lesson concerns challenges. Rarely will provoking changes or doing things differently be easy. The world already operates in certain ways, and for sustainability not to remain merely in rhetoric, the entire logic of the production chain must change, teaching new ways of consuming and being willing to invest more and profit less. Therefore, for a purpose to endure over the years, it must truly motivate those involved to generate the intended social impact.
Lastly, what struck me most in Poli's testimony is that Refazenda exists because it was already Bela Gil's individual purpose. This is an excellent example to answer the question I posed during these studies. In this case, the brand's purpose aligns exactly with the purpose proposed by the PERMA model, as it is the result of an individual's intrinsic sense of life. This doesn't mean it can't inspire and engage more people in this journey. In fact, it can serve as an example for more brands and make it increasingly difficult for organizations to ignore their impact and contribution to society.
To continue learning about the future of brands from a perspective that resonates deeply with what we discussed here, I recommend three incredible Brazilian newsletters:
This concludes this series of articles based on my thesis work. If you want to see the study in its entirety or exchange ideas, feel free to contact me.
If you missed the other articles, access them here:
All the best,
Duda Barreto