Alalaho
Services
Brand Strategy
Brand Messaging
Creative Direction
Copywriting
The project
A full brand refresh and new website for Alalaho, Europe's original legal psychedelic retreat, where registered therapists guide participants in safe, therapeutic psilocybin journeys.
We started with a new brand strategy, which turned into creative direction and copywriting for the full brand rollout across web, email, and social.
The challenge
A brilliant, pioneering organization with a brand that didn't reflect who they were — or who they wanted to speak to.
By the time Alalaho came to us, the organization had outgrown its brand in almost every way.
Two of the original co-founders had left. They'd been central to shaping the early identity. So what remained was a brand built by people who were no longer there, for a version of the business that no longer existed. On top of that, nothing they had created so far was actually the right fit for their ideal customers.
They were coming across like any other generic wellness brand. There wasn't anything to make them stand out from other retreats in the market.
It was all vaguely spiritual, and a little bit too hippie. Especially since their actual target customer wasn't a hippie at all.
What they needed was a brand that actually reflected who they were now (and gave them a clear position in the market). But first, they had to figure out what that was.
How we tackled it
A brand new brand — one based both in who Alalaho was, and what their customers needed to see and feel to trust them.
We started with a brand strategy sprint, working directly with Alalaho's founders to get clear on her vision for the company, and for what she wanted from the brand.
We then worked on customer research and messaging, which included a survey of all previous retreat participants, and deep dive interviews with five participants who loved Alalaho.
What we found out was that Alalaho's real audience wasn't spiritual seekers or psychedelic enthusiasts. It was curious, grounded professionals. People who felt stuck, suspected there was more to life, and needed a company that felt credible and safe enough to make them say yes to something they'd never done before.
From there we created the brand identity, leading creative direction (and collaborating with an amazing designer) on brand development and all subsequent brand and marketing collateral. We wrote all new website copy, and built out a full customer onboarding experience, so the brand voice came through in every document a participant would ever touch: welcome emails, preparation guides, retreat journals, and everything else.
Then we turned to marketing. A newsletter onboarding sequence, ongoing email campaigns, and a content strategy across newsletter and social.
The Strategy
Our strategy workshops made it clear that we needed to find a way to balance two very different energies:
A sense of professionalism and authority that would make people feel like they'd found a trusted guide (and make sure the brand communicated Alalaho's standing as the first legal retreat of its kind in Europe).
The sense of warmth and humanity that comes through in the people behind the brand, and the way they've created a place where people go to crack their hearts open in the best possible way.
A deep teal that feels grounded and safe, alongside pops of sunshine-y yellow and warm terra cotta that wake you up.
Fonts chosen for their mix of classic + quirk, with open, rounded letters that feel friendly without being juvenile.
Hand-drawn illustrations made just for us, to add just a dash of playfulness and a human touch.
New brand photography that's full of light (and happy humans), and captures the lush vibes you'll experience when you're there.
Lots and lots of social proof, with testimonials that speak both to Alalaho's professionalism AND the magic you'll encounter when you get there.
Every decision we made was intentionally set up to convey that very specific combination:
The result
A fresh look — and messaging — that are completely aligned with what Alalaho is all about, and what their customers are really looking for.
The new Alalaho is warm, clear, and confident. It looks like the pioneering, professional organization it actually is.
The copy speaks directly to customers in their own language, hitting all the points needed to make them feel seen and safe. And, of course, to convert. The overall feeling (and the thing that's hardest to manufacture) is trust. For an organization asking people to do something genuinely brave, trust is everything
Big wins and results
Here’s what happened…
A brand identity that finally reflects who Alalaho actually is, and speaks directly to the people they most want to reach
After the website rewrite, organic monthly search traffic jumped 60%
The proportion of visitors exploring beyond the homepage jumped from 57% to 79% — people weren't just landing on the new site, they were staying and going deeper
A welcome sequence averaging 75% open rate per email across the full sequence of 7 emails — 24 points above industry average, without a significant dropoff
Every email we wrote beat the 2024 open rate baseline. Every single one.
Retreat sales grew 63% year on year, with the marketing infrastructure we built supporting the business as it scaled its offerings
Before & After
Want to see what made such a big impact? Here's exactly what changed after Alalaho worked with us.
BeforeAfter