Kumho Swift

Our role

Brand creation, web design & development, writing & video production

In a nutshell

In record time we helped Kumho Swift bring their innovative composting bio-reactor technology to a global market

Kevin Alkema (Kumho Swift):
Up to 40% of our garbage that is disposed of is actually food waste. We've had conversations with universities, restaurants, fruit and vegetable suppliers, grocery store chains, a lot of times their food waste may end up in a dumpster and ultimately end up in landfills that produces greenhouse gases. We offer a solution that can divert that food waste from the landfill. It's pollutant free. It's odor free.

Pratap Sandhu (Kumho Swift):
The benefits of having no odor is that it does not generate any methane gas as well as does not attract any pests. You're able to continuously feed it. Any type of food waste, any type of organic material, in about 24 hours, you're able to decrease the amount of food waste from anywhere from 70 to 95%, and you're left with a soil amendment, which you can put back into the earth.

Narrator:
Kumho Swift's composting buyer reactors are the product of 20 years of R&D. And all that research translates into real benefits for our clients and for the environment. Our proprietary mix of enzymes and bacteria decompose and aerobically ferment organic waste, turning it into a soil amendment that can be used in agriculture.

The heat from the fermentation process supplements an internal heater and together they evaporate all water content. This means that our units produce no waste water and no leachate, and that the compost they produce is dry and light. Organic waste is reduced by more than 70% in weight and 98% in volume.

The natural decomposition and fermentation processes are accelerated by stirrers designed to prevent breakage that can result from the introduction of foreign materials. Not only does this mean we can offer a three-year warranty, it also means that organic waste is processed in just 24 hours.

What's more, all gases produced by decomposition pass through a patented deodorization device, which uses microorganisms to break down any noxious gases. As a result, the units produce no odor, they don't attract pests and can be kept close to other facilities.

As an added security feature, the units are tamper-proof. They are completely sealed closed systems that can only be opened with a password. This prevents both human and rodent access.

The units come in seven sizes. The smallest has a footprint of three square meters, draws 0.9 kilowatts per hour, and can process up to 70 kilograms of organic waste a day. While the largest has a footprint of 14 square meters, draws 5.7 kilowatts per hour and processes 700 kilograms of organic waste a day. This makes them suitable for a range of industries and scales, from restaurants and grocery stores, to commercial entities that deal with waste, to farms and wineries, to municipal waste treatment facilities.

For all of our clients, the benefits are the same. Organic waste is turned into a light dry soil amendment with agricultural value in just 24 hours without creating any secondary pollutants. This reduces the cost associated with waste disposal and contributes to a greener environment in their communities.

Amardeep Garcha (Kumho Swift):
We felt compelled to bring this to North America because we knew that it would significantly reduce the carbon footprint. Customers are attracted to that, and they want to make decisions that are aligned with their values.

Kevin Alkema:
I have four children and three grandchildren, and you want to see that you're leaving the world a slightly better place than you found it. And so if I can be involved in something like that, that changes regulation and changes society norms in terms of our habits with food and waste, I find that meaningful work.

Challenge

When Kumho Swift contacted us, they had recently acquired global rights to sell commercial composting machines developed by an established company in Korea. They had garnered some serious leads for their innovative technology, but didn’t have the language or tools to communicate about their product or brand. Their first foray into developing a brand and marketing materials left a lot to be desired and did not live up to the values of the team or the quality of their product. Given some promising leads there was a pressing need to get a refreshed brand and promotional materials out the door in a few weeks. Kumho Swift needed a world-class brand, video and landing page to tell their story. That’s where we came in.

Kumho Swift brochure showing old marketing — Previous marketing materials

Approach

Tasked with developing a basic brand to get them up and running and producing a short video to capture the story of the team and their technology we got straight to work. The brand, web and video teams worked in parallel with regular check-ins. This allowed our respective explorations and insights from each team to inform the other while ensuring we were on the same page when working independently toward a fast approaching deadline. Inspired by their zero-waste technology, and the closed-loop micro-environment of their composters, we got to work exploring visual metaphors we could incorporate into the brand to reflect these concepts and serve as a through-line across the various communication materials.

Logo explorations

Building a brand

As a general rule, pinning down a brand takes time. It’s not uncommon to spend weeks and months on strategy alone before even starting to consider how that strategy might come to life in a visual context. Time was not a luxury we had for this project so with a lean strategy session we moved quickly into visual exploration. Without a tonne of time to build out of fully realized visual language, we knew a lot of the heavy lifting would have to be done by the mark. In order to hit the mark ;), we wanted a logo that would be timeless. It should hold its own alongside Mitsubishi or Caterpillar or other trusted industrial manufacturers. It had to look great embroidered on a shirt, or embossed on the side of a machine. We also wanted to reference the infinite loop as a connection to circular economies and the closed-loop composting process.

Outcome

After a whirlwind month we delivered a lean but solid brand, a captivating video and a great first step towards building out a fully realized web presence, on time and on budget. Our clients couldn’t have been happier and we were thrilled to be able to use our skills to help Kumho Swift in their mission to build a more sustainable future.

The video

The video started with the owners introducing the technology, the research that went into it, and some key benefits from a client perspective. This was followed by a section explaining the unique features of the technology. The video closed with the owners speaking about the reason they got into the business, and what they wanted their legacy to be.

The visuals were grounded in the real world. We showed the owners, the technology, and images of nature. Our animation design gave life to the Kumho Swift logo and brand, which was built upon the infinite loop representing a closed food-waste system.