Strategy
Brand and counter analysis. What the customer sees at the moment of purchase. Which roles need their own look. Where the current wardrobe is breaking down.
Retail & artisan trade
NGAVA Counter
A wardrobe and packaging set that reads as one brand across every counter you run. From the one artisan shop to the hundredth.
Most artisan groups own the brand on the box and rent it on the apron.
An atelier-made wardrobe for bakeries, cafés, patisseries, florists, butchers and delicatessens. Staffwear, customer-facing packaging and reorders that scale from one counter to industrial volumes, all on one signed contract.
Best fit.
Bakeries, cafés, butchers, delicatessens and florists. Single artisan shops scaling up and industrial groups dressing every counter.
Not the fit.
Print-only or apparel-only engagements. First runs under fifty garments. Engagements without staffwear.
Who this is for
- Artisan bakeries & patisseries
- Cafés & specialty coffee
- Butchers & charcuteries
- Delicatessens
- Florists
- Multi-location food retailers
- Industrial bakery groups
What we solve
- 01
Generic kraft packaging that contradicts the quality of what is inside the box.
- 02
Aprons and caps that look like uniform-rental, not your brand.
- 03
An identity that drifts from counter to packaging to carrier bag, and reads as three different brands by the time the customer is at the door.
- 04
No premium supplier willing to take small artisan runs at a serious quality level.
- 05
Reorders that arrive after the season has started, every time.
- 06
Packaging volumes too small for the big factories, too large for local printers. Nothing in the middle until now.
What changes after deployment
What the team notices, once the wardrobe is in use.
- 01
One visual signature carries from apron to packaging to carrier bag. Every customer touchpoint reads as the same brand.
- 02
New locations open with a pre-packed identity kit, not a last-minute scramble at the printer.
- 03
Seasonal packaging drops land on a calendar, sized to the season, ready before the season starts.
- 04
Volumes scale from the artisan run to the industrial without changing supplier. The same Porto workshops cut the fiftieth apron and the fifty-thousandth.
- 05
Replacement aprons, damaged stock and new-hire kits run on a standing programme.
- 06
One signed contract. Design in Zurich, production in the named Porto workshops, QC on the bench in Porto, and the reorders that follow.
What we hold from brief to reorder
Three sets of work on one signed contract. The pieces we design and make. The operations that bring them to a counter at any scale. The supply that keeps the wardrobe alive season after season, whether you run one counter or a hundred.
01
Scope
What we design and make
- 01 Aprons & staffwear
- 02 Caps & headwear
- 03 Customer packaging
- 04 Carrier bags
02
Operations
How we bring it to life
- 01 Paid samples
- 02 Small-run production
- 03 Industrial scale-up
- 04 Per-counter delivery
03
Lifecycle
What stays running
- 01 Reorder programme
- 02 Seasonal drops
- 03 New-location kits
- 04 Replacement cover
Six layers behind every wardrobe
Every retail and trade engagement runs on the same six-layer template, adapted to your brand and your scale, never started from zero.
Design
Apron, headwear, packaging and carrier concepts. Colour, materials, embroidery and print, coordinated as one visual identity from counter to delivery.
Sample
Mandatory paid sample phase. Apron weight, packaging haptics and print fidelity validated on the bench in Porto before any production cut is approved.
Production
Small runs and industrial volumes, both made inside the named partner workshops in Porto. One contract from the fiftieth apron to the five-hundred-thousandth packaging unit.
Logistics & Reorder
Per-counter or kit delivery. New-location opening kits, replacements and seasonal drops, all running on the standing programme that grows with every new counter you open.
Governance
An approved catalogue, care guides, packaging specifications and reorder thresholds, so the wardrobe stays consistent across every counter and every season, whether you run one shop or a hundred.
How we build NGAVA Counter
Six phases. Each one paid for and signed off before the next begins. Each one closing a specific category of risk on the way to a wardrobe that ships. The phases hold at any scale, from the single artisan shop to the factory bakery.
Timeline ~14 weeks from kickoff to first delivery · lifecycle programme ongoing thereafter
- 01
Discover
Week 0We learn your goals, your team, your standards and your timeline.
- 02
Concept & Design
Weeks 1–3Sketches, materials, tech packs and a costed brief — approved before any sampling.
- 03
Sample Development
Weeks 4–7Hand-built prototypes, fit sessions and refinement until the sample passes for production.
- 04
Production
Weeks 8–14Manufactured by our long-standing partner workshops in Portugal. Small and large runs.
- 05
Quality Control
Weeks 14–15Multi-stage inspection on-site in Porto. Defects don't leave the workshop.
- 06
Delivery
From week 15Packaged, kitted and shipped on time — per-piece or in bulk, EU and international.
Three ways to engage
Start with a paid diagnosis, commission the full identity, or move into a managed supply programme that scales with every new counter you open. Pricing on request, scoped to your business.
Concept Package
Paid diagnosis. Direction before commitment.
- Investment
- From CHF 6,500
- Timeline
- 3–4 weeks
- Discovery workshop with the founder or operations lead
- Counter and brand analysis
- Moodboard and product direction
- Initial apron and packaging concepts
- Sample roadmap
- Production estimate at your target scale
Identity System Package
The full NGAVA Counter.
- Investment
- CHF 50,000 – 250,000 typical
- Timeline
- 10–14 weeks
- Full apron, headwear and accessory design system
- Customer-facing packaging and carrier design
- Paid samples for fit, weight and print fidelity
- Tech packs and production specs
- Production in the named Porto workshops, small run or industrial
- Per-counter or kit delivery
Managed Supply Program
We run the supply. You run the counters.
- Investment
- From CHF 1,800 / month
- Timeline
- Annual programme
- New-location opening kits
- Replacement and damage cover
- Seasonal packaging drops
- Reorder portal access
- Approved catalogue across staffwear and packaging
- Recurring quality control
What this system is not
A clear refusal list is part of the work.
- —
Print-only or apparel-only engagements. NGAVA Counter is one integrated wardrobe, not a single-discipline supplier.
- —
One-off branding without a recurring supply commitment.
- —
Production split between our named Porto workshops and any third-party supplier not on your contract.
- —
First runs below roughly fifty garments or five thousand packaging units. The sample economics do not break under that line.
- —
Engagements where staffwear is excluded. We are not a packaging-only shop.
Proof: Chair Airlines
The most public reference today is a complete Swiss airline programme. Cabin-crew uniforms, pilot detailing and a custom sneaker with the airline's mark cut into the sole. Designed in Zurich and made in the Porto partner workshops, on one contract. The same contract holds every NGAVA Counter engagement, from the single artisan shop to the national bakery group.
Read the caseSample policy
We sample by hand before we build. Footwear from €1,500 per model. Textile pieces from €350. Paid up front and non-refundable. The fee covers materials, master patterns and the time of the Porto team. When a programme moves into production, a portion of the sample fee may be credited against the order.
Footwear sample · €1,500 Textile sample · €350
Where the wardrobe starts
Begin with the Concept Package
We answer inside one business day with a scoped Concept Package proposal. Mutual NDA on the first call.