Hilans

Building Uttarakhand's State Brand for Farmers and the Future

Word from the client

“Hilans was never meant to become just another food brand. BBT helped us build an identity that carries the pride of Uttarakhand, the resilience of its farmers, and the ambition of taking our produce to consumers across India.”

WORDS FROM THE CLIENT

Manisha Panwar, IAS

Additional Chief Secretary Government of Uttarakhand

01 — The Brief

Every harvest deserves a brand people can trust.

When the Integrated Livelihood Support Project (ILSP), Government of Uttarakhand, envisioned the future of Hilans, the ambition extended far beyond launching another food brand. The vision was to create a unified identity that could represent an entire state, strengthen farmer livelihoods, and prepare Uttarakhand's produce for modern retail across India.

BigBrandTheory was invited to lead one of the state's most ambitious branding initiatives. Our role wasn't simply to create a logo or packaging system. It was to build a complete consumer brand capable of connecting thousands of farmers, district administrations, producer organisations, retail markets, and consumers through one shared vision.

Our journey began in the mountains.

Over several weeks, the BBT team travelled across all 13 districts of Uttarakhand, meeting farmers, district officials, project leaders, producer groups, and policymakers. Those conversations became the foundation of the brand strategy. Before designing anything, we first understood the diversity of the land, its produce, its people, and the aspirations behind the initiative.

What emerged was a simple but powerful belief

Hilans should not become another government scheme.

It should become Uttarakhand's own consumer brand.

Named after the beloved Himalayan bird, Hilans became a symbol of optimism, resilience, and belonging. The identity brought together the landscapes, agriculture, forests, and cultural richness of Uttarakhand into one memorable symbol, creating a brand capable of representing the state with pride.

The transformation extended far beyond identity. BBT developed the complete packaging architecture for more than 100 products, creating a scalable design system that could work across local markets, regional retail, and modern trade. Every pack carried the same visual language while allowing individual products to express their own identity. The result was one unified retail vision for an entire ecosystem of Himalayan produce.

Brand building also meant building people.

To ensure long-term consistency, BBT conducted workshops with District Project Managers across Uttarakhand, equipping them with the understanding and tools needed to become ambassadors of the new brand. Rather than simply handing over guidelines, we helped create a network of change-makers capable of carrying the Hilans vision into every district of the state.

Today, Hilans stands as one of India's most comprehensive examples of government-led consumer branding, demonstrating how thoughtful strategy, packaging design, retail thinking, and stakeholder engagement can transform a livelihood initiative into a brand capable of representing an entire state.