Name It From A Different World: what Studio Underd0g actually did
Richard Benc started Studio Underd0g during the 2020 UK lockdown by posting a watermelon-themed watch sketch to social media. The response was immediate. He built an independent watch brand where every model takes its name and identity from food: the Watermel0n, the Av0cado, the Passi0n Fruit. The zero-for-o spelling is carried across all products and the brand name itself. By 2025, annual revenue had reached £8.08 million.
The tension it resolves
A new watch brand either earns its place on the Swiss prestige ladder or gets ignored. Studio Underd0g made the ladder irrelevant by refusing to speak the language the ladder depends on.
The challenge it solved for Studio Underd0g: How do you build a new brand in a category where heritage and Swiss credentials are the only accepted proof of quality?
The mechanism
The brand names every product after food, not horology. This means a buyer cannot reach for the usual watch comparison. The product sits in a different mental category, so it is judged on its own terms.
The proof
Revenue reached £8.08 million (approximately $10.45 million) by the end of the 2024-2025 fiscal year. The brand co-released a watch with H. Moser and Cie, sold exclusively as a pair for $64,900, with a global limit of 100 sets.
The lesson
Most brands entering an old category try to win on that category's own terms: better spec, lower price, stronger history. Instead, borrow the naming and look of a completely different world. This works because comparison needs a shared frame. If your product does not speak the category's language, the comparison cannot start.
In another world
A new gym supplement brand naming its protein flavours after pub meals, Chicken Tikka and Sunday Roast, so buyers stop reaching for the usual side-by-side with clinical sports nutrition and start thinking of something they already love.
Source: nytimes.com
FAQ
What is the Name It From A Different World pattern?
The brand names every product after food, not horology. This means a buyer cannot reach for the usual watch comparison. The product sits in a different mental category, so it is judged on its own terms.
Which brand proved it works?
Studio Underd0g, in independent watch brand (Global, digital-first). Revenue reached £8.08 million (approximately $10.45 million) by the end of the 2024-2025 fiscal year. The brand co-released a watch with H. Moser and Cie, sold exclusively as a pair for $64,900, with a global limit of 100 sets. jugnu's Kosh tracks 497 such patterns across Indian and global brands.
How do I apply this to my brand?
Run your brand challenge through jugnu. It diagnoses the tension underneath your problem, checks whether this pattern fits it, and builds ideas on the patterns that do.
This is the story. Every Kosh card also carries a transfer layer: the consumer insight underneath, the principle that moves across categories, and the boundary conditions where it breaks. jugnu applies that layer to your brand when it builds ideas.
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