Rethinking Brand Architecture

Search 'brand architecture' and you'll find yourself in a maze of frameworks and top-down diagrams. Whether a House of Brands, a Branded House, or a Hybrid approach, a clean structure promises to define, clarify, and create cohesion out of a sometimes-confusing portfolio. But what if hierarchy doesn't feel right? What if the language of 'master brand' feels wrong? Architecture shouldn't just organise a portfolio; it should emerge from a brand's purpose.

Structure is undeniably important. Having a strategic framework that defines how a portfolio of sub-brands relates to the master-brand is essential for both internal cohesion and external communication. But a portfolio structure that ignores what a brand wants to communicate rarely creates a coherent brand ecosystem.

At Here, we believe form and content must work in harmony. The style, typography, packaging, and behaviour of a brand should embody its ideas and messaging. But form extends to strategic infrastructure too, the framework guiding relationships between sub-brands and parent should be underpinned by belief, philosophy, and purpose. To ensure form matches content, sometimes only an original architecture will do.

Our new client Brazilian beauty brand Natura, is original in all it does so we want to ensure our strategy for them is too. Natura is Brazil's largest beauty company and one of the world's most quietly radical businesses, a certified B Corp founded in 1969 that sources high-quality ingredients from over 4,300 Amazonian families and 35 forest communities. Its portfolio spans skincare, fragrance, and body care, with sub-brands each carrying distinct identities and audiences. Natura was technically a master-brand, yet didn't behave like one. And its philosophy is rooted in something deeper: the interdependence of people, nature, and planet. Beauty, for Natura, is relational; it begins with the self and expands outward to others and to the world.

With such an understanding of interconnection, a top-down hierarchy feels fundamentally wrong. The soul of the brand forces us to reappraise the hackneyed models of branding and ensure we create a form that is as nurturing, life-giving, and relational as the brand itself. Just as the Amazon itself can be understood as a cultural forest, its richness the result of human and non-human collaboration, the relationship between Natura and its sub-brands must follow this same logic.

Creating cohesion doesn't need to feel mechanical, hierarchical, or rigid. Architecture should follow the story a brand is telling about itself and the world. Sometimes that means using existing frameworks, but sometimes it means creating new ones. When form and content drift apart, brands feel hollow. When aligned, they feel authentic, original. Stay tuned to see how our latest projects bring this to life.