Staples Co
Reawakening a heritage bed brand as the modern expression of British craft.
We’ve been the production partner for Benson’s for Beds for over six years, helping them evolve from traditional photography to a smart bespoke CGI workflow that produces all their product imagery.
So when they came to us with a bigger ambition, we already understood the brand, the category and the opportunity.
The challenge: a heritage brand ready for its next chapter
Bensons for Beds wanted to increase the commercial value, contribution and distinctiveness of their owned brands, starting with new strategic and visual identities.
One of them, Staples & Co, has been making beds and mattresses for over 130 years, an invaluable brand equity in British manufacture, craftsmanship and heritage. The challenge was to make that legacy feel relevant and modern, not nostalgic.
The solution: heritage made modern
We immediately understood that we didn’t need to reinvent Staples & Co, just reframe what was already there.
We started with discovery: stakeholder sessions, customer research, store and competitor visits, social listening and category analysis. This revealed a target audience that values design, authenticity and provenance. They look for quality that feels understated and fits modern life. Staples & Co already had all of that. It just needed a clearer way to say it.
Our solution was to position it as the modern expression of British craft.
That idea now runs right through every part of the brand. A refreshed identity and new descriptor, ‘Heritage Craft Meets Iconic Design’. Brand guidelines to keep it consistent. New copy and imagery provide the building blocks for the Bensons for Beds’ in-house studio team to create all consumer facing communications. And a brand film, shot in the Staples & Co factory and a lifestyle setting, showing the craft and materials that go into every mattress.
The bottom line: same craft, sharper story
Staples & Co now has a clear role in the Bensons for Beds range, and a story that customers, store teams and the business can all get behind.
Staples & Co shows what an owned brand can be when it’s treated like a brand. Owned brands aren’t seen as just the alternative anymore. For many shoppers, they’re the first choice, and our retail report explains why.
Emma Forbes, Director of Owned Brands, Staples CoWe’ve worked with Ride Shotgun for years because they really get our brand and proposition. And they understood what our owned brands needed, especially Staples & Co. Working with such a joined up team from the first workshop to the final film made all the difference.
