You Don't Make Your Brand Anymore - HelloFresh

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Overview

In this keynote from the CMO & CAIO Inspired Summit at Syon Park, London, in October 2026, James Hurst of HelloFresh, whose career also includes Google, Tinder and Pinterest, argues that the old one-to-many model of brand building is over. Brands have become shared objects, and what people say about a brand now matters more than what the brand says about itself.

Drawing on his book Weird the Normal, Normal the Weird and on work across HelloFresh Group brands including Factor, James shows how a flexible design system, local activations and a campaign with Serena Williams bring the brand to life, and why teams need to move from owning the message to owning the meaning.

Key takeaways

  • Aim for coherence rather than consistency: show up in a way that makes sense in each place your brand plays.
  • Chasing ever more volume and variants is creating brand slop; the move from one-to-many to one-to-one means being clear about who you are and why you matter to each individual.
  • The familiar gets you into the room, but the unfamiliar gets you remembered.
  • Perfection is fear in a tuxedo: give your community the tools to talk about your brand, rather than guidelines designed to control them.
  • Build brands with head, heart and hand: ask the right questions, win the emotional choice and obsess over craft, which remains an unfair advantage.

Watch the full session on YouTube: You Don't Make Your Brand Anymore

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