Araku, an organic, biodynamic and environmentally-sustainable coffee purveyor, represents so much more than its products — it is the culmination of its team’s passion, expertise, and community values. With its roots planted deep within a valley of the Eastern Ghats Tableland in India, Araku and its team have managed to create a variety of coffees grown and cultivated through biodynamic methods with environmental sustainability and transparency between farmer and consumer top-of-mind.

With a well-defined visual identity behind them, Araku tapped OJC Artisan of Sound to add audio elements to the existing brand, unifying its identity across a variety of channels.

As we set to work to craft an authentic and modern sonic logo and theme for Araku, we asked ourselves — how can we create a signature sound for a brand that celebrates its cultural roots and carries its consumers away to the valleys of Ghats Tableland without falling victim to cliché?

We pulled in an eclectic mix of traditional Indian percussion, self-built sample instruments, native voices and humanized sounds to draw listeners into Araku’s deeply human experience. Above all, we aimed to capture the passion, joy, transparency and respect that emanates from each individual along an Araku coffee bean’s journey to your cup.

“The various steps of the creative part went smoothly. I specifically appreciated the first workshop where we heard various sound collages. The methodology was very clever: it really helped us to verbalize and hierarchize our brand’s values, just by listening and reacting to various music excerpts. And on the top of that it was very entertaining and fun”,  says Marie Stoclet Bardon, CEO of Araku France.

Araku’s first implementation of their sonic theme is a 2-minute corporate video featured on their website to educate consumers about the journey their coffee beans take from valley to cup, and the individuals who make this process possible.

According to Araku’s CEO, the project was a great success. Araku is now ready to deploy its sonic DNA for further promotional vehicles.