Building a Lifestyle Brand Through Extensions: Bhumi Organic Cotton

This case focuses on a small Australian-based organic cotton brand, Bhumi. Motivated to do something to improve the living standards of cotton workers in India and Bangladesh, Vinita Baravkar founded the brand in 2011. Over time, Bhumi has grown from a small homewares-based brand that focused on bedding, to a proto-lifestyle brand that is focused on owning the ethical cotton lifestyle space. This has involved brand extensions, including line extensions (expanding the brand within the same product category) and category extensions into new areas such as yoga and athleisure. Within this case, the logic behind each of Bhumi’s extensions is explored and the challenges in expanding an ethical brand are considered. This case encourages students to examine and evaluate brand extension as a means both to grow and to stay relevant through innovation. Students are also encouraged to think critically about the challenges in extending brands, including how they might balance strategic needs by reinforcing parent brand identity and avoiding the dilution of brand meaning.