Belmont Estate: Rebranding Resilience
A heritage revived. A symbol rebuilt.
In 2004, Hurricane Ivan tore through Grenada and left Belmont Estate, one of the island’s most historic plantations, devastated. Buildings collapsed, crops were destroyed, and its growing agri-tourism business ground to a halt. For most estates, this would have been the end.
Belmont chose the opposite.
After three years of rebuilding, the estate reopened with renewed purpose: to preserve its history, empower local agriculture, and create a richer visitor experience rooted in food, culture, and community. The relaunch required a brand identity that could match its evolution, one that honoured tradition while signalling a new chapter.
Ogilvy Caribbean led the strategic and creative revitalization. I was tasked with redesigning the Belmont Estate logo: transforming it from a dated emblem into a modern mark capable of carrying the estate’s story forward.
The Challenge
The original mark featured a literal bell and leaf cluster, but lacked emotional resonance and visual flexibility. It functioned as an emblem, but not a narrative. The estate’s rebirth demanded a symbol that:
- carried the weight of its heritage
- honoured the Nyack family who rebuilt it
- reflected cocoa agriculture, the heart of Belmont
- worked across merchandise, tourism, and packaging
- and importantly, functioned in modern brand environments
The redesign had to correct what wasn’t working and create a visual system that finally “closed the circuit.”
The old symbol looked complete but didn’t behave complete.
The new mark needed to do both.
The Solution: A Living Symbol
The Cocoa-Bell Fusion
At the logo’s core is a stylized cocoa pod transformed into the form of a bell a nod to both the estate’s name and its agricultural heritage.
The internal lines echo the ridges of cocoa pods and the dynamic movement of the plantation landscape.
The bell is not static, it “dances,” referencing the traditional cocoa-dancing process where workers walk through cocoa beans to polish and dry them.
Heritage becomes motion.
History becomes energy.
The Estate Ring: Closing the Loop
Surrounding the bell is a circular frame inspired by the undulating lines of cocoa fields and the estate’s surrounding greenery.
This replaces the previous mark’s open, incomplete outline. The new frame resolves that weakness with a deliberate, continuous form—one that communicates stability, restoration, and unity.
The result is an identity with a clear boundary, a defined presence, and a reinforced sense of heritage. The mark stands complete, coherent, and fully grounded in its purpose.
Embedded Initials and History
The internal shapes subtly form the letters B and E for Belmont Estate, and an N honouring the Nyack family who purchased the plantation in 1944.
This turns the logo into a vessel of lineage and pride, not decoration.
Colour System Rooted in Place
- Deep reds - ripe cocoa pods
- Warm oranges - sunlight across the plantation
- Greens - the estate’s lush agriculture
The palette reflects the richness of Grenada while giving Belmont a contemporary, ownable colour DNA.
Outcome
The redesigned identity became the foundation for Belmont’s new presence across merchandise, uniforms, packaging, digital platforms, and visitor experiences.
It preserved the soul of the estate while elevating it into a modern agri-tourism brand.
It honoured the past while signalling progress.
And most importantly, it functioned: iconically, flexibly, and emotionally.
Belmont Estate’s revival was physical. The brand identity made that revival visible.
BRAND IN USE
Logo Redesign & Brand Identity: Richard.Qm.Lewis Working with Ogilvy Caribbean.