Oake Woods Logo and Brand Positioning

Background to the Brand Identity

A picture becomes a brand when passion and love are poured into it. People can feel it, and they connect to it. When Kristi shared her description of why she chose the elements she did, I realised it was a moment of true transformation, when an ordinary picture becomes something alive, infused with meaning.

What makes it remarkable is how we all connect to her emotions and observations. Yet the power lies not in making it general or universally applicable, but in the singularity of Kristi’s moment. It speaks to her personally and directly. And what follows is no longer just brand communication. It is a testimony of magic, of the extraordinary, of those rare moments when life is breathed into inanimate objects and symbols connect us to higher realities.

It is akin to the first person who painted a hand on a cave wall or carved a mark into bone, gestures that bound emotion to memory and thought to matter. In the same way, Kristi’s vision turns a symbol into something living.

So I give the description exactly as she experienced it.

Kristi’s Reflections

Kristi wrote:

“I fell in love with the Karoo Desert. And the Karoo Desert is famous for its purity, where there’s no light pollution. The Southern Cross is also the logo of Elmar’s managed retirement home, Negester, in Hermanus.

We (she and I) saw the Einstirn during a romantic full moon with the red wine bottle in Graz, and we said we’re two stars that are like one, do you remember that? The Einstirn is also visible very brightly in the southern sky at the same time as the Southern Cross.

The windmill represents the indomitable spirit of the Afrikaaners and their ability to make something out of anything.

The Hantam Mountains represent the immortality and eternal constancy of nature. The oak wood is used for smoking bacon, and bacon is also cut on the oak board. (Though I know that Oake comes from a name).

We share the passion and the symbols. Elmar has long made the Langenhoven poem Negester his personal mantra, a reflection of the core values he brings to his life and work. In the same way, we all share this spirit: the love for the Karoo, the grounding in tradition, and the looking to the stars for guidance and meaning. Kristi expressed it so beautifully, giving words to what we all feel, turning shared experience into a vision that connects us, strengthens us, and shapes the brand we build together.

Interpreting the Overall Brand Position

The Oake Woods brand operates on two levels: how it is positioned to the consumer and how it is positioned to partners. Both perspectives are essential to ensure clarity, consistency, and impact.

Brand Positioning to Consumers

For the consumer, Oake Woods is about vitality, energy, and trust. It reflects heritage and conservative values but presents them in a modern, confident way. The brand connects directly with people’s desire for health, strength, and authenticity. The imagery of the Boer Afrikaner and the Austrian Bergbauernbuam brings this to life.

The Austrian Bergbauernbuam literally means “sons of the mountain farmers,” a term from Austrian German (Berg = mountain, Bauern = farmers, Buam = boys) that refers to the young men raised on small family farms high in the Alps. Life in these mountain communities is tough, demanding strength, endurance, and discipline, and the Bergbauernbuam are celebrated in folk songs and festivals as symbols of vitality, independence, and resilience. For a South African audience, the closest comparison is the young Boers of the Karoo and Highveld, who, like the Bergbauernbuam, grew up in harsh farming environments, close to the land, proud of their traditions, and unafraid of hardship. Both groups represent strength, vitality, conservative family values, and resilience, becoming cultural icons that embody the spirit of their people.

Among African cultures, too, there are designations for young, fit, and energetic men and women. They are like the Boer sons and daughters and the Bergbauernbuam of Austria. They grew up with traditional values in the hills and valleys of the great African continent. For generations they played with Boer boys and girls, shared life, and exchanged skills. This has been Africa for a long time, and we honour all these traditions.

The young African men were stick fighters, hunters, and herders, testing themselves in contests of strength, courage, and discipline. Through hunting, they learned endurance and respect for the land; through games, they built camaraderie and resilience. The young African women carried their share of responsibility too—drawing water, tending gardens, caring for the home—while also joining in song, dance, and games that gave them presence, pride, and strength. Together, these young people embodied vitality and energy, carrying forward traditions that made their communities strong.

Both the young Boers and the Bergbauernbuam represent resilience, vitality, and unshakable spirit, young men and women unafraid of the world, grounded in their traditions, yet brimming with energy and strength to take on life. Their link is more than symbolic: in the Anglo-Boer War, Austria publicly supported the Boers, even creating its own Burenwurst (Austrian Boerewors) in solidarity. This showed the respect between two small nations standing together against global domination. That same spirit of mutual respect and the right to live in safe, well-managed communities flows into Oake Woods.

Both the young Boers, the Austrian Bergbauernbuam, and their African counterparts represent resilience, vitality, and an unshakable spirit—young men and women unafraid of the world, grounded in their traditions, yet brimming with energy and strength to take on life. Whether in the mountains of Austria, the farms of the Karoo, or the hills and valleys of Africa, they grew up close to the land, toughened by hardship, and strengthened by play, work, and communal life. Stick fighting, hunting, farming, and traditional games gave African youth the same courage, discipline, and independence that farming life gave to Boer sons and daughters and to the sons of Alpine farmers.

Their link is more than symbolic. In the Anglo-Boer War, Austria publicly supported the Boers, even creating its own Burenwurst (Austrian Boerewors) in solidarity. This showed the respect between two small nations standing together against global domination. Likewise, across Africa, generations of youth lived in shared traditions with the Boer children, exchanging skills, games, and values. Together, they embodied the timeless spirit of people rooted in land and culture, standing resilient in the face of challenge.

That same spirit of mutual respect, cultural continuity, and the right to live in safe, well-managed communities flows into Oake Woods—where vitality, energy, and trust are not just ideals, but living traditions.

Kery Brand Features
• Vitality and Energy: Food that supports an active lifestyle, rooted in strength and natural living.
• Health and Strength: Bacon, ham, sausage, and biltong positioned as wholesome, life-giving foods.
• Heritage and Authenticity: The Boer and the Bergbauernbuam as cultural anchors, symbols of purity, endurance, vitality, and shared history.
• Mutual Respect: A tradition of solidarity across cultures, reflecting the right to do things properly and strive for the betterment of all.
• Family and Community: Conservative values, loyalty, and reliability as lived realities, not marketing slogans.
• Key Messaging Words: Vitality, Strength, Heritage, Trust, Family, Respect, Energy.

Brand Positioning to Partners

For partners, Oake Woods represents trust, dependability, and long-term stability. It is not a transactional brand but a platform that values integrity and relationships. The handshake principle, business built on trust, is central. The same indomitable spirit that characterises the Boer and the Bergbauernbuam underpins Oake Woods partnerships: reliability, resilience, and shared values that outlast short-term gain. Just as Austria stood with the Boers, so Oake Woods builds partnerships on mutual respect and the belief that communities flourish when they are stable, safe, and well managed.

Kery Brand Features
• Trust and Integrity: Built on the belief that commitments matter, reinforced by conservative family values.
• Dependability: Clear structures, guaranteed offtake, and long-term predictable growth.
• Partnership Model: Producers and Almi are not suppliers but co-creators in an integrated system.
• International Outlook: A brand with global ambition but rooted in family-led leadership.
• Shared Values: Stability, honesty, mutual respect, commitment, and resilience form the foundation of all partnerships.

Source Documents