Corny Goes Global: Bringing a Beloved German Brand to the World

Schwartauer Werke GmbH & Co. KGaA, founded in 1899, is a leading German food manufacturer based in Bad Schwartau. Known for their jams and muesli bars, Schwartauer Werke positioned themselves as a trail blazer and market leader in the category with their brand, Corny. Corny has a well-established presence in multiple regions/countries with a wide variety of offerings, tailored to the needs of the corresponding markets.

In the spring of 2019, Schwartauer Werke was in search of an agency to form a consistent web presence, brand and user experience for their brand Corny. Previously fragmented across regional websites, the lack of central structure created a challenge for the Corny brand to maintain a cohesive brand identity across markets. Schwartauer Werke hoped to partner with an agency that would develop a scalable, multisite platform that would unify their regional offerings under the Corny brand umbrella while still catering to the international markets accordingly. Schwartauer Werke selected wendweb GmbH as their partner for this project as they met all the requirements to bring this vision to life due to their extensive experience with TYPO3 and proven track record with providing solutions for complex digital projects.  

Ensuring a central brand identity while delivering localized content tailored to different countries and regions was the cornerstone of this project. The established goals from the beginning included implementing TYPO3 as an efficient content management solution. Due to its scalability and multi-site capabilities, TYPO3 was the selected CMS to redefine the Corny brand across regions. TYPO3 supports future growth, has the ability to handle high volume traffic while complying with General Data Protection Laws (GDPR) and adhering to regional regulations/local laws. 

Before starting their work, wendweb conducted an initial assessment of Corny’s established digital presence. This comprehensive audit included identifying weaknesses, areas for improvement and helped inspire the team for new ideas. Next, the team shifted into the design and development phase which included developing a customized TYPO3 theme that aligns with the Corny brand identity while meeting the requirements of other countries where the brand has an established presence. It was determined that the site would be upgraded to TYPO3 v12 with a special emphasis on the implementation of flexible content structures to ensure content across a global or local scale can be managed easily and efficiently. Due to the offerings in different countries, it was also critical in the development phases to include support for multiple languages to provide localization in the respective markets. 

After the kickoff meetings and initial workshop, wendweb developed the initial framework for the relaunch. Through their design and development phases, the team worked closely with the client to ensure the theme would reflect Corny’s brand identity while simultaneously meeting the needs of the various countries. A critical point in this phase was integrating a mutli-lingual framework that would facilitate localization in the respective markets. The wendweb team developed a customized TYPO3 theme which catered to these needs. 

"We also want to convey our claim to the Corny brand experience through our digital brand presence. Wendweb's implementation, which is designed for a mobile user experience, enables our customers to discover the entire product portfolio in a lively and playful way.” 

Once the theme was determined and the design was agreed upon, the project entered the testing phase. The wendweb team conducted an extensive round of tests to check the functionality, performance and security of the platform. A strong focus was placed on enhancing the user experience which was accomplished by testing and optimizing loading times. Following this, wendweb entered the final phase of the process which was training and deployment. Their team conducted training sessions with the content managers from various regions. In these training sessions, the wendweb team worked closely to ensure a smooth transition and provided the opportunity for editors to familiarize themselves with the new systems and ask questions. 

The new, international Corny website went live in June 2020, almost one year after the initial kickoff meeting. As a result of the relaunch, the multiple country website successfully centralized management and reduced overall administrative effort. The goal to maintain a cohesive brand identity across regions was accomplished by the uniform design and structures across country versions. The different country websites receive streamlined content updates and maintenance to keep things moving efficiently. To ensure it was handling the robust and high-volume traffic, loading times were optimized and the prioritized user experience allowed for an enhanced experience for visitors across regions. At its core, the flexible, custom TYPO3 architecture allows Corny to add new country sites with ease and supports their expansion plans for the future. In an ongoing partnership, the wendweb team provides support and maintenance to encourage continuous development and adaptation. 

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