BERRIA BIKES: EVOLUTION FROM A NATIONAL TO GLOBAL HIGH-PERFORMANCE BRAND
CASE OF STUDY: BERRIA BIKES
Berria Bikes embarked on a remarkable journey of transformation, seeking to evolve from a nationally recognized brand to a global powerhouse in the competitive cycling industry. Partnering with Gustavo Jaimes Lopez, an expert in strategy and marketing, Berria embarked on an 18-month endeavor to redefine its brand identity, understand its customers deeply, and craft a comprehensive strategy to achieve its ambitious goals. This case study delves into Berria's strategic evolution, highlighting key milestones and the pivotal role played by Gustavo Jaimes Lopez in propelling the brand towards international prominence.
The Initial Challenge
By the end of 2021, Berria faced the challenge of repositioning its brand. Despite having a good reputation for the value proposition of its products, the brand aimed to become a benchmark in the European market as a premium and exclusive brand. However, it lacked a strategic marketing plan and a consolidated team in this area. All marketing efforts had been carried out by the founding partners, without a formal structure behind it.
Ambitious Goals
Berria's long-term objectives were clear: to position itself as a premium brand in the mid-to-high range, build an image of excellence and added value, and transcend its national position to become a global brand. These goals were broken down into specific targets, such as establishing a strong presence in Central and Southern Europe, launching a new generation of products (Berria 2.0), increasing the average ticket value, and improving the customer experience at all touchpoints.
The Role of Gustavo Jaimes Lopez in the Transformation
To achieve this transformation, Berria partnered with Gustavo Jaimes Lopez, an expert in strategy and marketing. Over 18 months, Gustavo Jaimes Lopez worked closely with Berria to redefine its brand identity, thoroughly understand its customers, and design a comprehensive strategy to achieve its goals.
Discovering Berria's Identity
The first step was to uncover Berria's essence: its history, values, and differentiators. Key attributes supporting the high-performance brand positioning were identified, highlighting the story of the Vitoria brothers as a distinctive element. The brand's mission, vision, and values were established, and the customer journey was mapped to understand the customer's journey from discovery to loyalty.
Understanding the Customers
Gustavo Jaimes Lopez conducted an exhaustive market study to segment Berria's customers and define buyer personas. Berria riders were identified as experienced customers seeking high-performance products, and the market competition was analyzed. This deep understanding of the customer allowed for the design of a strategy focused on meeting their needs and exceeding their expectations.
Defining the Strategy and Plan
Based on the previous findings, a solid value proposition for Berria was established, highlighting its commitment to excellence, technology, and passion for cycling. A five-year brand strategy was outlined, and multi-channel acquisition funnels were designed to reach customers effectively. A detailed execution plan was defined, including the incorporation of specialized talent in all relevant areas.
Implementation Plan and Long-Term Vision
With Berria's long-term vision set to position itself as a premium high-performance mid and high-end brand, the implementation plan focuses on strategic initiatives to achieve these objectives.
Positioning Berria as a Premium Brand
The primary goal is to establish Berria as a top-of-mind brand among medium and high-end segment brands worldwide. This involves continuous product evolution tailored to the needs of experienced cyclists, emphasizing innovative designs to stay ahead of the competition.
Building Excellence and Added Value
A key aspect is enhancing customer touchpoints across digital, retail, communication, and services. This includes an emphasis on omni-channel customer service, transitioning from customer interactions to fostering a loyal fan base. Berria aims to become a reliable partner to its shops, investing in technology to enhance service transparency and efficiency.
Articulating the Plan
Berria's strategy is structured around annual marketing plans, meticulously designed to optimize each stage of the customer journey. This approach ensures a powerful impact while facilitating organic brand growth without compromising budgets or margins.
Structured Approach over 5 Years
The plan unfolds over a five-year period, commencing in 2022/2023, with a structured approach.
This implementation plan, guided by Berria's long-term vision and strategic objectives, sets the stage for sustained growth and prominence in the global cycling market.
1st Stage / 2022: Brand Identity
-Defining Berria's essence, values, and storytelling.
-Creating buyer personas and establishing a new visual identity.
-Building a basic digital ecosystem and launching global campaigns.
-Investing in sports marketing, including partnerships with the XC Team and corporate events.
-Strengthening Berria's presence in Central and Southern Europe by strategically enhancing visibility across specialized and mainstream media outlets
2nd Stage / 2023:
-Further development of the digital ecosystem.
-Continued global campaigns and sports marketing initiatives.
-Focus on digital improvements to enhance customer experience.
-Launching inaugural corporate brand events to introduce Berria's new identity and products to stakeholders and the global market.
-Debuting the first-ever global campaigns featuring Berria's latest products and refreshed brand identity, signaling a new era of innovation and excellence-
RETAIL EXPERIENCE & BRAND SPACES
o truly position Berria as a high-performance premium brand, we knew the new identity had to live beyond screens and presentations—it needed to come to life in the physical world.
That’s why we designed a store-in-store retail concept that reflects Berria’s DNA: high-tech innovation, clean aesthetics, and community spirit.
We created modular displays, immersive corners, and shared community spaces that not only enhanced product value but also fostered emotional connections with riders.
Every touchpoint—from the polished concrete floors to the lighting and visual materials—was carefully curated to express the factory spirit and the performance-driven soul of the brand.
Because a strong brand is not only seen—it’s felt
Marketing
Team
To enhance our marketing capabilities while maintaining cost-effectiveness, a strategic decision was made to reconstruct the marketing team by sourcing external talent. This approach allowed us to tap into senior expertise across various domains without inflating structural costs. Throughout this initiative, I had the pleasure of collaborating with individuals and agencies renowned for their excellence, including Shift Active Media, "We are Small" agency, Nitsnets Creative, Charly Evans, Miguel Angel Saez, Sebas Romero & Savage.art, and Arq. Santiago Benenati, among others. Leveraging my extensive network, I also facilitated the recruitment of talent for other key areas of the company, such as commercial leadership and product development.
GLOBAL CAMPAIGNS
Campaign: New Bravo. The hardtail evolution
Video > New Bravo. The hardtail revolution
Campaign: New Mako. Emotional Engineering
Video > New Berria Mako. Emotional engineering
Video > Why do we ride? New Belador Allroad
Campaign: Where do we start. Berria History
Campaign: 10 Anniversary Berria Belador Unlimited
MEDIA
Berria's strong presence in major European media platforms, coupled with its efforts in building a significant Google footprint and fostering trust, reinforces its message as a specialized high-performance brand.
Other tittles:
https://www.fiets.nl/wielrennen/racefietsen/berria-belador-allroad-gravelbike-met-bijzonder-kontje/
https://www.fiets.nl/nieuws/berria-belador-unlimited/
https://www.velovert.com/news/17671/berria-mako-hybrid-gt
Ces VTT électriques ultra premium veulent dompter chaque terrain délicat - Inovamakerlab
https://www.veloderoute.com/news/17732/berria-belador--une-dition-limite-anniversaire
https://www.vojomag.com/nouveaute-berria-mako-loffensive-continue/
https://www.vojomag.com/nouveaute-berria-bravo-revolutionner-le-hardtail/
https://esmtb.com/berria-belador-allroad-26-mm-de-suspension-para-su-nueva-gravel-rapida-y-comoda/
https://esmtb.com/gama-berria-belador-allroad-precio-y-montajes-de-su-nueva-bicicleta-de-gravel/
https://www.mundogravel.es/material/ya-esta-aqui-berria-belador-allroad_259963_102.html
https://mountainbiker.es/berria-belador-allroad-gravel-de-alto-rendimiento-con-esencia-manchega/
-https://www.goride.com.es/nueva-berria-belador-allroad-una-nueva-dimension-en-el-gravel/
-https://ciclo-news.com/new-belador-allroad-the-gravel-bike-berria/
https://esmtb.com/berria-belador-br-unlimited/
https://www.bikeradar.com/news/berria-belador-allroad-gravel-bike/
https://off.road.cc/content/news/berria-launches-belador-allroad-gravel-bike-10381
https://business.facebook.com/pg/BikeRadar/posts/?ref=page_internal
These Ultra-premium E-MTBs Want To Tame Every Tricky Terrain - Zipponews
Berria Bikes heads for the hills with full-carbon all-mountain ebike
These ultra-premium e-MTBs want to tame every tricky terrain - Gearrice
Berria Mako Hybrid GT eBike is powered by 400% Assist Polini Motor - Bikerumor
Berria launches flagship Mako Hybrid GT eMTB | The Loam Wolf
https://pedfire.com/berria-bikes-heads-for-the-hills-with-full-carbon-all-mountain-ebike/
https://sixtypluscycling.com/berria-mako-hybrid-gt-ebike-is-powered-by-400-assist-polini-motor/
https://www.bicidastrada.it/nuova-berria-belador-allroad-dallendurance-al-gravel/
https://www.mtbcult.it/tecnica/full-da-xc-pronto-gara-sotto-i-5000-euro/
Anteprima BERRIA, arriva l'elettrica Mako Hybrid GT motorizzata POLINI
Berria Mako Hybrid GT: telaio in carbonio, motore Polini - MtbCult.it
https://www.bicidastrada.it/berria-belador-br-unlimited/
https://bici.pro/tecnica/zoom/berria-compie-10-anni-bici-belador-br-unlimited/
https://swiss.dayfr.com/technology/293772.html
https://bikerumor.com/new-berria-bravo-soft-tail-boast-sub-1000g-frame-with-28mm-of-travel/
https://bikerumor.com/2024-berria-mako-dc-in-link-suspension-frame-integrated-shock/
https://www.bikeradar.com/features/bike-of-the-week/bike-of-the-week-berria-belador-allroad
https://www.brujulabike.com/berria-bravo-2024-informacion-modelos-precio/
https://www.mountainbike.es/noticias/berria-mako-2024-todos-modelos-sus-precios_281946_102.html
https://www.motor.es/movilidad/berria-mako-2024-doble-carbono-amortiguador-invisible-202397662.html
https://www.neo2.com/mtb-macko-2024-berria-bikes-precios/
https://esmtb.com/berria-mako-2024/
https://www.goride.com.es/nueva-berria-bravo-2024-una-rigida-a-la-altura-de-las-dobles/
https://www.brujulabike.com/berria-bravo-2024-informacion-modelos-precio/
https://esmtb.com/test-berria-bravo/
https://esmtb.com/la-nueva-berria-bravo-pasa-a-ser-softail-peso-recorrido-geometria-y-detalles/
https://www.expansion.com/catalunya/2023/03/15/64121e87468aebcb318b4685.html
Results and Future Outlook
The transformation of Berria Bikes has been a resounding success. The brand has achieved a new position in the market, with a solid identity and a growing reputation. Its high-performance products and customer-centric approach have resonated throughout the cycling world. However, this transformation journey is far from over. Berria continues to progress towards its vision of becoming a leading global brand, driven by excellence and passion for cycling.
In summary, Berria Bikes' case study demonstrates the power of a solid, customer-focused marketing strategy to transform a brand and take it to new heights in the global cycling market.
