Carrying over a century of legacy, the Aboitiz Group continues to evolve towards becoming the Philippines’ first Techglomerate. As part of its Great Transformation journey, the multinational conglomerate is making waves in various sectors through its vast portfolio of companies. With the expansion of its food and agribusiness arm across the Asia-Pacific region, the challenge now lies in unifying the food group’s multi-country businesses under one cohesive corporate identity that not only embodies the Aboitiz legacy but drives the purpose of sustainably feeding Asia’s growth.
In this case study, we explore the recent rebranding effort for Aboitiz Foods, and how it successfully rolled out said initiative to give the public a better representation of its well-established companies – Pilmico and Gold Coin – under a single identity.
The Challenge
In 2018, Pilmico, the food and agribusiness subsidiary of the Aboitiz Group, acquired Gold Coin Management Holdings Inc. (Gold Coin), one of Asia Pacific’s leading animal nutrition companies. This milestone expanded Pilmico’s reach from a Philippine-based business to a regional player with presence in eight countries. But as the business grew, so did the brand challenge: How can the conglomerate unify two well-established companies—each with its own legacy, culture, and markets—under a single identity that signals progress while honouring the history?
For years, the names “Pilmico” and “Gold Coin” existed alongside each other, creating confusion internally and externally. Customers, partners, and even employees were unclear on how to refer to the organisation as a whole. This fragmented identity limited brand equity and made it difficult to communicate a consistent value proposition in the region. The lack of a cohesive brand also posed challenges for unlocking synergies, scaling innovation, and building a unified culture.
It is for this reason that the conglomerate launched Aboitiz Foods—a new masterbrand that brings Pilmico and Gold Coin together under one bold, cohesive identity. Rooted in the 100-year legacy of the Aboitiz Group, Aboitiz Foods is more than a name change—it’s a deliberate and strategic shift to signal a future-ready, purpose-led company committed to sustainably feeding Asia’s growth from mill to meal.
The Objective
The Aboitiz Foods rebrand aimed to solve three key challenges:
- Brand Unity – Create one brand that could unify operations across multiple markets, cultures, and teams.
- Clarity and Recognition – Clarify its identity to external stakeholders, making it easier to do business, build partnerships, and attract talent.
- Purpose and Progress – Communicate a forward-looking vision that connects the legacy of the Aboitiz Group with the innovation needed to lead in a complex, fast-changing food industry.
Addressing these challenges was essential not just for marketing effectiveness but also for unlocking growth and transformation at scale. Through this rebranding, Aboitiz laid the foundation for a stronger, more agile organisation—one that’s primed for innovation, united by purpose, and ready to nourish the future of food in Asia.
The Methodology
The rebranding to Aboitiz Foods was grounded on a clear strategic vision: to unify a multi-country business under a single corporate identity, while preserving the value of legacy brands and empowering future growth. It was not just a matter of visual identity, but of establishing a cohesive brand architecture that could support business transformation, clarify market presence, and enable regional scale.
The core of the strategy was built on three pillars:
- Unify under a strong corporate masterbrand – The conglomerate leveraged the equity of the Aboitiz name to elevate the new entity beyond its component parts. As a trusted 100-year-old conglomerate in the Philippines and a rising player in Asia, Aboitiz gave the new brand instant credibility and signaled stability, scale, and purpose-led growth.
- Clarify the brand ecosystem – Aboitiz introduced a tiered brand structure:
- Aboitiz Foods as the corporate brand, representing the totality of what it stands for.
- Producer brands (Pilmico, Gold Coin) to highlight its manufacturing and operational capabilities across markets.
- Product brands (The Good Meat, Maxime, Salto, Vidalix, etc.) to connect with customers and end-users through differentiated value propositions. This architecture allowed Aboitiz Foods to maintain equity in established brands while enabling consistent storytelling across stakeholders.
- Balance global consistency with local relevance – Operating in eight Asian markets, Aboitiz Foods had to respect regional diversity while projecting one voice. The company’s strategy was shaped by insights from regional business leaders, internal culture surveys, brand audits, and stakeholder interviews.
To bring the strategy to life, Aboitiz Foods combined data and creativity:
- Internal engagement first: The group first launched the brand internally before going public, rallying nearly 4,000 employees across Asia through roadshows, digital kits, and leadership-led messaging to embed the vision from the inside out.
- Brand storytelling: The group then rolled out a visual identity and messaging system anchored in Aboitiz’s purpose and values, telling one consistent story across corporate, producer, and product brands.
- Reputation-focused external rollout: Rather than a mass-market campaign, they prioritised credibility-building through executive communications, strategic PR, and thought leadership—especially in B2B and regional business media.
This strategic rebrand aligned with broader marketing goals: to position Aboitiz Foods as a regional powerhouse in food and agribusiness, reinforce trust with partners and regulators, and lay the foundation for long-term brand equity across Asia.
The Execution
The journey to redefine themselves as Aboitiz Foods began after they acquired Pilmico and Gold Coin. However, it was not without challenges. The pandemic, for instance, forced everything into a pause — including the brand name they had initially chosen to define the organisation.
As its organisational priorities and focus shifted, the original proposed brand name seemed increasingly misaligned with the new direction. To validate this through data, the organisation conducted a Name Acceptability Survey in March 2023 involving employees, key customers, investors, and the media as primary participants.
The results pointed them toward a name that embodied both their heritage and future: Aboitiz Foods.
- “Aboitiz” pays homage to the legacy of the century-old conglomerate it belongs to, the Aboitiz Group
- “Foods” conveys its holistic offerings across the value chain — from mill to meal
- And the Infinity Sign that signifies the integration of its companies, Pilmico and Gold Coin, for a sustainable future
Alongside the new logo, the group introduced a refreshed color palette, predominantly green to symbolise growth, sustainability, and its future as a purpose-led food and agribusiness company.
At the heart of the rebrand is the brand promise: “Together, We Nourish the Future,” a commitment to its stakeholders, customers, and communities. This encapsulates the collaborative spirit and shared responsibility that define its approach to business. More than a visual refresh, it was a strategic repositioning aligned with the vision to become an integrated regional food and agribusiness leader in Asia.
Internal Engagement: The group adopted a top-down approach to the rebranding effort, starting with executives during the inaugural leadership conference in March 2024. By engaging them early, they were able to address concerns, establish alignment, and ensure that they became brand ambassadors to their respective teams.
This culminated in a successful internal launch on August 1, 2024, where they rallied nearly 4,000 employees across Asia in a virtual event.
Brand Storytelling: The group introduced a unified visual identity and messaging system to tell one consistent story across corporate, producer, and product brands.
To strengthen the brand from within, it conducted internal hyper-localised brand roadshows across eight countries to introduce Aboitiz Foods and align team members around its new identity and purpose.
Reputation-focused external rollout: Rather than launching with a mass-market campaign, it gradually built credibility through executive visibility, strategic PR, and thought leadership, positioning Aboitiz Foods as a serious player in the regional space.
The Results
Launching a corporate brand served a more powerful purpose: to unite people behind a shared vision. The rebranding campaign sparked a renewed sense of pride and morale among its team members, fueling alignment, engagement, and collaboration across the organisation. The shift toward a high-performance culture played a key role in achieving record-breaking results in 2025.
Beyond profit growth, the strength of its internal launch laid the groundwork for measurable impact — from deepened employee engagement to strengthened external visibility.
Nearly 4,000 employees across Asia participated in the virtual launch—a first of its kind— followed by localized brand roadshows and the launch of internal brand assets.
Post-roadshow evaluations further showed a significant improvement in overall brand understanding, reinforcing the effectiveness of its internal brand activation efforts.
Aboitiz Foods’ new social media pages and revamped website became key touchpoints, leading to a significant growth in overall social media metrics. With now over 140,000 followers across channels, its digital platforms continue to amplify its “mill to meal” story, driving visibility across the region.
Since the launch, Aboitiz Foods has rolled out purpose-driven campaigns that build on its unified identity: every meal, its flagship ESG and sustainability campaign; Feed Your Future, its employer branding campaign that highlights its people-first culture; and thought leadership, which positions executives as key voices and strategic leaders in the industry.
Beyond the launch, the rebrand signified the beginning of a new chapter. By uniting its once-fragmented producer brands under one banner, Aboitiz Foods has transformed into more than just a name. It has become a platform that drives its growth and unites its team regardless of distance, differences, and industry complexity.
