The
gap˙most
brands
ignore
is often the one place that grows the business.
That’s where I work˙
Sandeep Sura˙ Strategy & Creative Direction
Global experience, Kenyan instinct. 25+ years across DDB, Ogilvy and BBDO, from Unilever and Coca-Cola to EABL, Britam and Kenya Tourism Board.
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A unified brand for seven coffee-producing counties.
The situation:
Seven coffee-producing counties. Seven origin stories. No shared way to present Kenyan coffee on global markets. The country was being sold as a commodity; region by region, cooperative by cooperative; when the opportunity was to present as one origin with seven characters.
The work:
Field visits across the seven counties. Interviews and workshops with cooperatives and county marketing teams. A brand framework that gave each county its own identity inside a shared visual and verbal system. Architecture that had to work on a single 60kg bag of green coffee and on a global trade exhibition stand.
What it produced:
A unified Kenyan coffee identity used by seven counties to access international buyers. Currently being rolled out across cooperatives, county marketing materials, and global trade events.
Partners on the work:
Kenya Coffee Board, Government of Kenya, AICS (Italian Agency for Development Cooperation), ISA, E4Impact, county-level cooperatives.
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A strategic pivot for a beverage challenger brand.
The situation:
Jumping Monk had a product, packaging, and presence, but the brand was trying to be everywhere at once. Multiple audiences, multiple occasions, multiple messages. The team knew growth wasn't matching the effort.
The work:
A workshop that audited twelve functions of the business before making any creative recommendations. The conclusion: One area. One product. One occasion. One message. One 90-day cycle to test it before scaling.
The creative work:
A visual system, voice, a simple ritual and content direction, followed the strategic call.
What it produced:
A repositioned challenger brand with a tight first-win zone and a 90-day operating rhythm. The team moved from spreading thin to building density in a single Nairobi neighbourhood before expanding.
Partners on the work:
Founders, distribution lead, production specialist.
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Repositioning the Stewsday line inside NatureLock's broader business.
The situation:
Stewsday; NatureLock's ready-meal range, had a product that worked but a story that didn't. Inside the parent business, it didn't have clear positioning or a defined value proposition. Target audiences kept shifting; messaging stayed inconsistent.
The work:
A category audit followed by a two-day USP refinement session with NatureLock's CEO, internal teams, and product team. The output was a sharper brand promise, a cleaner positioning, and a messaging framework specific to Stewsday that aligned with NatureLock's broader architecture.
What it produced:
A clearer, ownable position for Stewsday that gave the design and packaging team a clear brief, and gave the business confidence to commit to a specific audience and occasion.
Partners on the work:
NatureLock CEO, internal teams, product designer, business consultants.
The work moves through 3 steps: Brand Read. Brand Break. Brand Build. Read the business. Find what's in the way. Close the gap.
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Each step has its own job.
Brand Read˙ An honest look at the business. Field visits, interviews, competitive audits.
Brand Break˙ Where the gap shows up; between what's true and how it comes across. The phase most projects skip.
Brand Build˙ The strategic and creative move that closes the gap. Sometimes a rebrand. Sometimes a sharper offer, a different operating rhythm, or a hard recommendation about what to stop doing.
Then the work itself: naming, identity, design, packaging, content, communication. Polished through the craft of photography, film, 3D, copywriting and art direction. All from my hands, not handed off.
Every step is tested against the same three things: Truth, Tension, Traction. Is the read honest? Is the tension real? Is the move one that actually creates traction? Work that doesn't answer yes to all three doesn't move.
Every engagement starts with a free 30-minute Intro˙
Brand Read˙
$1,200˙
2 week engagement˙
What's involved:
✔ Deep dive into your business
✔ Meet & compare notes
✔ 3 hour facilitated session
✔ Summary & direction
✔ 1 session to walk it through
Online or in person.
Already know what you need?
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![Susan Makau, Founder of the International School of Advertising in Kenya, on Sandeep Sura's strategy thinking and concept development.]()
"Truly impressive in strategy thinking and concept development."
Susan Makau / Co Founder. International School of Advertising. KE.
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![Joanne Land of Organizational Culture and Respect, USA, on Sandeep Sura's work delivering visual messaging consistency.]()
“Exactly what we needed to execute consistency in our visual messaging.”
Joanne Land / Organizational Culture and Respect, USA.
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![Jayna Kika of the International Trade Centre, Geneva, on Sandeep Sura's design precision, creative flair, and strategic thinking.]()
“His mix of design precision, creative flair and strategic thinking, set him apart.”
Jayna Kika / Senior Programme and Research Assistant ITC, Geneva.
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![Janice Kemoli, Brand & Marketing Strategy Advisor for Africa, on Sandeep Sura's rare combination of global and African experience.]()
“Has Global and African experience, a rare combo; much needed today.”
Janice Kemoli / Brand + Marketing Strategy Advisor for Africa, KE.
