Arla

Overview

As the world moves towards more audio-visual, interactive mediums and attention spans get shorter, Arla discovered a need to have an audio branding element as a consistent element that will work across all brand assets. They wanted to use music and sound’s unique ability to communicate in ways that words and images can’t – to create an emotionally intense expression of who Arla is.

In creating the sound and music DNA, we took inspiration from the breadth and richness of the Nordic landscape and the life and culture it has made possible for its inhabitants.

The challenge

Arla wanted to have an audio logo originating from a musical expression that intuitively reflects their brand essence. That’s how we discovered Kulning.

Music DNA

The Arla Audio Logo and Music DNA originate from the old Nordic music style called Kulning. The traditional singing style was used to call down sheep, goats, and cows from high mountain pastures where they have been grazing. The Swedish term “kulning” (pronounced “coolning”) is a contraction of the words “kuh” (cow) and “lock” (to call or coax).

Kulning is powerful and beautiful, considered by musicologists to be the essential sound of the Nordic folk music tradition.

A video was produced to introduce the new Audio Logo and its meaning to the whole organization.

The solution

The Arla Audio Logo is designed with two different expressions: masculine and feminine. The two versions have the same melody but with various percussion and harmonics underneath.

Listen to the masculine version:

Listen to the feminine version:

The result

The resulting audio logo gave Arla a highly distinctive sonic marker that rolled out across European markets, creating a recognizable and unified soundscape for the brand across all customer touchpoints.

2025 Arla rebrand

In 2025, Arla underwent a major brand evolution under their new ‘Feed Life’™ initiative, shifting from a cool Nordic aesthetic to a vibrant, warm sound world. To complement this renewed direction, Sonic Minds evolved the original ‘Kulning’ audio logo – created in 2019 – into a warm, vocal-rich sonic landscape validated through European consumer audio testing.

Learn more

Words from client

Katie Reed

Vice President

Arla Brand Europe