Ölz makes handicrafts the campaign theme.

Ölz, the master baker, is not focusing on new products or technical innovations in its new brand identity, but rather on a step in the process that has been part of everyday life at the Dornbirn-based family business for decades: hand-braiding the butter braid. To mark the product's 45th anniversary, this traditional craft becomes the central theme of the new "Baking with Love" campaign.

The new TV campaign launches on August 17, 2026 in Austria. The core message is "Baking with love. Braided by hand." With this, Ölz connects the story of one of its best-known products with a communication strategy that focuses more on people, production, and meticulous craftsmanship.

The hand-braided braid becomes the main character.

The new commercial focuses on the question of how consumers can actually recognize or taste that care and handcraft play a role in baking. Ölz answers this with images from the production process: employees braid the butter loaves by hand, and real scenes from the bakery are combined with staged breakfast and enjoyment moments.

This is quite remarkable from a communications perspective for a large bakery manufacturer. While industrial production is usually talked about in terms of efficiency, availability, or consistent quality, Ölz deliberately focuses on a manual step in the process. The butter braid is particularly well-suited for this: its braided shape is not only a visual trademark, but according to the company, it has been handcrafted for 45 years.

“Every single Ölz braid has been hand-braided for over 45 years,” emphasizes Doris Wendel, who is responsible for marketing in the management team. The campaign also aims to highlight the appreciation for the employees and their daily work.

From TV commercials to new sound branding

The campaign is not limited to traditional television advertising. Plans include 25- and 15-second TV spots, digital video formats, social media activities, and a radio campaign. In addition, the brand will receive a modernized sound branding.

Ölz is thus pursuing a consistently cross-channel approach. Visual language, tone, and brand message should remain recognizable across different media. For brand communication, this means a stronger focus on a few clearly defined values: craftsmanship, care, enjoyment, and the people behind the products.

Craftsmanship as part of an industrial brand world

For the baking industry, the campaign's deliberate portrayal of handcraft is particularly interesting. Terms like craftsmanship and artisanal production are no longer reserved exclusively for small bakeries. Large manufacturers also incorporate elements of traditional production when these are genuinely part of their manufacturing processes.

Ölz can illustrate this connection very concretely with the Butter Zopf (Butter Braid). The focus is not on an abstract craft tradition, but on a visible activity: braiding. This gives a production process that normally takes place behind the scenes a prominent place in brand communication.

For artisan bakeries, this presents an interesting observation. Activities that seem commonplace in daily work often hold high communicative value for consumers. Shaping, braiding, laminating, glazing, or decorating are not merely production steps. They convey skill, time investment, and the personal contribution to a food product.

Ölz focuses on people rather than glossy products.

With its new campaign, Ölz shifts the focus more from the finished product to its creation. The employees in the bakery thus become part of the brand presentation, and the craftsmanship itself a visible mark of quality.

The Dornbirn-based company states that it carries more than 100 products as well as around 30 seasonal items. Its sustainability profile includes, among other things, 100 percent green electricity , FAIRTRADE -certified cocoa, and free-range eggs with cibus certification.

In the current brand presentation, however, these company details are deliberately not the focus. Ölz is relying on a much simpler story: A product established for 45 years is still woven by hand. For a brand of this size, this very combination of modern brand communication and a very traditional production process is the interesting core of the campaign.