Rakuten is a tech e-commerce platform that specializes in B2M E-Commerce. They were based in Tokyo only, at first, but quickly rose to success and expanded from there. They are now in partnership with some of the biggest e-commerce giants of the world, creating a partnership with their traders that seeks to uplift, empower, and inspire entrepreneurs – demonstrated in their apt business name. 

Like so many successful brands, they have a powerful name for their organization. With many entrepreneurs searching for names that will represent their ethos in a succinct manner, a number of people wonder how the founder came upon such a catchy and meaningful name. 

Before we get to look at the cultural influences and the meaning of the word “Rakuten”, we must understand the brand’s journey and how its name aptly umbrella’s its ethos under a single term. 

Understanding the company culture and its background

The e-commerce culture has always favored the store visitors, the shoppers, over the traders. This makes sense since the origins of the funding are where you need to be investing if you want good conversion rates and repeat business. 

Rakuten turned that upside down. They proudly state that they support disruptive ideas and forward-thinking businesses, and that might be because they’re somewhat disruptive in their approach to e-commerce, themselves. 

Instead of building a business that sells itself to online shoppers, they worked to appeal to the traders. Rakuten created a space that supports innovation, they chose a business name that expresses this. They want a dynamic approach to selling tech. Richard Brandson actually works with an idealogy that’s very similar as demonstrated by his famous quote: 

“Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of the clients.” 

-Richard Branson. 

Rakuten: The backstory and the business name

First founded under the business name Rakuten Ichiba in 1997, this online marketplace hit the world of trading with a fresh take. They wanted to offer the exact opposite of what larger and well established online marketplaces, like IBM, were doing. Instead of controlling traders to try and achieve uniformity among their stores, Rakuten Ichiba decided to appeal to traders rather than shoppers. 

They offered lower store fees, more flexibility in terms of customizing the appearance of the storefront, and great freedom to individualize their marketing and their products. 

This was an interesting new take because by targeting entrepreneurs and vendors rather than shoppers, they empowered the store owner to do the hard work – which is engaging the customers. 

The eclectic mix of stores naturally attracts a wider range of shoppers. The success of this strategy is clear as day. It became known as the Amazon of Japan, but it also operates in 29 countries outside of Japan until it officially expanded throughout the world. 

Rakuten: What’s in the name?

In June 1999, two years after the company was founded, they changed the business name to Rakuten (dropping the Ichiba as a second part of the name). The word “Rakuten” means optimism in Japanese, and the brand states that this is because, at their core, they want to empower businesses and individuals to embrace a great optimism when they think about the future. They chose a short single-word business name that aligns with this philosophy.

Their mission statement says: “Walk Together” expresses our dedication to building a better, more optimistic future by empowering individuals, businesses and societies to realize their dreams.” The word “Rakuten”, when used as a business name, certainly portrays a sense of hope, partnership, and creativity. 

The power of a business name

Choosing the perfect business name for your brand isn’t a task worth skipping over. It is worth it to think about the best possible way, to sum up, what you stand for and what you offer to the world, and how your brand’s name plays into that. Of course, it’s not always easy, It’s a whole lot simpler when you assist a brand naming agency.

Based in Los Angeles, Everytable is a true one-of-a-kind fast-food retailer. They’re not the traditional take-away food provider that comes to mind when you hear the phrase “fast food”. 

Their business practices and structures are based on equitability rather than equality, meaning they charge for their food in lower-income neighborhoods and more in higher-income neighborhoods. 

It works because the regions where they charge more effectively subsidize the costs of food in the lower-income areas. That’s not the only unique trait that sets this brand apart from its competitors. They don’t sell your typical greasy takeaway meal. They sell healthy wholesome foods that are ready to eat, absolutely indulgent, and at a similar price to regular takeout meals. 

What’s in The Name?

Everytable’s name really explains their mission very simply and beautifully. They want healthy and convenient food to reach every table in every neighborhood regardless of their buyers’ income brackets and outlook on healthy living. 

We live in a fast-paced world. Home-cooked meals are longed for but not always practical, especially in lower-income areas where people tend to work longer hours for lower wages. In these circumstances, fast-food tends to make its way into family life more frequently. Everyone has a right to healthy and wholesome food that tastes delicious and arrives at the table, prepared and ready to eat. Everytable even goes so far as to feed those that need to eat on the go – so not even every table. 

The moms and dads that are eating while they’re doing the school run or arriving home late from work are able to nourish themselves and their children with healthy food. 

Their Mission and Their Story

The company started when its founder, Sam Polk, identified a need for something new. He observed the skyrocketing health issues developing in the struggling areas of LA and made it his mission to bring affordable whole food stores to the community, through his initiative called Feast. He also engaged the locals in cooking classes and education. 

When this failed to give the amazing results he had expected, he learned that the families are often living fast-paced lives with little time for cooking, thus they resort to fast food for convenience. Sam then launched Everytable to brig health, convenience, and affordability to the residents of LA. 

Understanding the Everytable Demographics and Their Branding

Everytable has to play an interesting juggling game here, they need to appeal to two separate demographic groups. They need the support of the affluent shoppers in the higher income areas so that they can afford to subsidize the food in the lower-income areas. 

Fortunately, the power of their name has earned them a reputation as a “go good” brand which automatically instil a sense of trust in their buyers. They’re also offering a genuinely fantastic service, even if you remove the affordability (to a degree) for the more affluent buyers. 

Statistics reveal that those who can afford it are willing to pay more products that are healthy. 

This has been proven as non-GMO and organic products continue to increase their sales despite the prices being (often) around double the standard versions. Everytable offers a unique combination of health and convenience – plus – their food is delicious. 

Choosing an Inclusive Brand Name

This company has chosen a fantastic brand name for themselves. Everytable sounds inclusive, it conjures the image of abundance, and it’s got a decidedly positive note to it. 

Not only do affluent shoppers have the opportunity to feel good about the choice they make to nourish their own body, but they’re also empowering lower-income individuals with the same opportunity. Everytable has chosen a powerful brand name that will serve its reputation. 

Do you need assistance to find a brand name that will inspire trust in your buyers? This is a fundamental step in establishing your business. Don’t take shortcuts, try our a brand name generator to come up with a name that’s catchy, and inspires those who encounter it. 

Founded by Chip and Joanna Gaines, the Magnolia Market is only one of the couple’s many businesses, that all contain an emblem of a magnolia tree in their brand. “We love magnolia trees,” Chip explained. “It really embodies our company. It’s basically become our mascot… Every project we do, we love to plant a magnolia gem.”

What is Magnolia Market?

Locals in downtown Waco, Texas, are aware of the landmark 120’ high silos that were erected in the 1950s as part of the Brazos Valley Cotton Oil Company. Now that the silos are no longer being used for storage, and the surrounding land is open to the public, two famous TV personalities acquired two blocks and turned them into a shopping complex. The shopping complex is sometimes called by its nickname, “the Silos”. It’s been a major hit with the locals since it has resulted in a massive influx of new business – the restaurant industry got a major foothold and the shopping complex now attracts tourists regularly enough to warrant daily visits from tour buses.

The entrepreneurs behind the brand

The TV personalities behind the popular brand Magnolia’s Market are a husband and wife team,  Chip and Joanna Gaines. The couple is well-known because they host HGTV‘s popular TV series, Fixer Upper. Joanna Gaines actually studied a completely different profession and completed her academic career at Baylor University with a degree in Communications. Her husband, Chip, had an interest in construction form a decor and remodelling perspective. Since they shared a passion for aesthetics and living spaces, they launched their own TV series “fixer-upper” which turned into a massive hit, making them famous. The couple now owns a series of businesses under the word “Magnolia”, including Magnolia Homes, Magnolia Market, and Magnolia Table. 

About Magnolia Market’s customers

Magnolia Market has taken their ability to brand themselves well and they have really run with it, seizing every single opportunity they can use their branding. This includes vertical surfaces, signboards, and other decorative methods. ANother branding element that has truly made this couple a popular due that people look up to (and love to buy from) is their use of humor. Chip can be incredibly entertaining with his odd antics – it adds personality to their brand. ANother reason this brand has really taken off? They’re nos rangers to social media. In fact, they invest very heavily in this method of marketing. Joanna won the “TV Personalities on Social Media Chart” and it’s easy to understand, she’s natural and authentic online. 

Magnolia Market at the Silos: The brand story 

This family-friendly brand appeals to people from every walk of life They’re straightforward and down to earth but together, they have a fantastic eye for aesthetics. Being a husband and wife duo, they’re relatable and create quite the image that DIY couples look up to. Chip and Joanna leave the boundary-pushing tactic to other brands, sticking to family-friendly, relatable, and relaxed content that you can use to learn from or simply enjoy in the background. 

So, why did they choose magnolias to symbolize their brand and as a uniform element across all of their business names? During one of the shows, Chip explained it to one of his children: “You know what’s interesting about a magnolia tree?” One of Mama and I’s first dates, I climbed up a magnolia tree and I pulled her off a magnolia bloom and I gave it to her.”

Choosing your brand’s “forever name”

If there’s anything we can learn from Magnolia Market, it’s that sometimes the simplest gestures of kindness or affection can leave us remembering a particular flower, a tree, or even a date in the calendar. These kinds of experiences stand out in life. They’re little placeholders of joy. These experiences create a perfect opportunity to choose a brand name and build your companies identity around that happy memory. Do you have a good idea of what you’re wanting, but battling to nail it perfectly? Take your experiences and memories and put them into a business name generator for some inspiration.

Home Depot got its start in 1978. It broke into the marketplace as a no-fuss one-stop-shop for everything related to home improvement, decorating, and DIY. Far from the pretentious perfection that many other brands were portraying back in the day, Home Depot decided to brand themselves as approachable, laid-back, and the warehouse where DIY solutions and bargains are readily available. So, they chose a simple and straightforward e-commerce business name idea: Home Depot. 

What’s in the name “Home Depot”?

Home Depot is a straightforward no-frills business name idea. The definition of the word depot is as follows: “a place for the storage of large quantities of equipment, food, or goods. Or, a place where buses, trains, or other vehicles are housed and maintained and from which they are dispatched for service.”

Home Depot immediately brings to mind a warehouse that is probably abundantly stocked with items for the home – it’s a DIYer’s dream come true. They’ve played well on both definitions there, the first one suggesting abundance, the second definition of the word depot plays into the thought that has gone into their branding. 

Home Depot branding

That big orange sign has become synonymous with DIY and home improvement. Home Depot explains the inspiration: “The team developed a logo inspired by crates used to transport freight, keeping in line with the “depot” theme. Stamped at an upright angle to symbolize success and christened in orange to help simulate activity, the logo has aimed to inspire more doing since its debut.”

Home Depot started when founders, Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank got the boot at their place of employment. They wanted to start a brand that’s unpretentious, raw, and provided the abundance of no-frills and no-fuss DIY tools and materials. The bright colors not only stimulate creativity, as they suggested, but also gives the brand a memorable element to it. No one can forget the iconically bright hue. 

Home Depot’s statement regarding stimulating creativity through their use of color is incredibly insightful. It indicates that they have an in-depth understanding of their target market. DIY and home improvement, on face value, appears to be handyman and task-related. In actual fact, when you’re working on a home to improve its appearance, there’s a great deal of creativity involved. Home improvement, design and decorating make a house a DIYer’s blank canvas. As a business name idea, Home Depot is memorable and simple.  

Home Depot encourages their shoppers to exercise their creativity and experiment with brave new ideas. 

Home Depot’s target audience

We’ve mentioned home-improvement enthusiasts and DIYers. Their target market includes a wide range of people, since people from every walk of life live in a house. The most prolific shoppers that love to get their hands dirty and enjoy some recreational DIY tasks around the house tend to be young couples. 

Newly weds, couples welcoming a new baby into the family, couples that are moving house, and those purchasing their first home together. Since these people spend a significant amount of time researching the “look” they want to create, they’re not likely to want ready-made and fancy solutions. They want fairly neutral materials that enable them to create what they’ve envisioned. Home Depot’s brand speaks to those who value the ability to customize their look. 

The “Depot” element in their business name idea speaks to their target audience. It’s raw. It’s blank. It’s suggestive of abundance in terms of choice and variety. 

What we can learn from Home Depot’s business name idea

Their goal was to be different. They were not the first, the biggest, or the most unique retailer in their niche but they wanted to meet the needs of their target audience. It helps that both founders were experienced in the industry and had been client-facing – they understood what people visiting their stores really wanted. Their success comes from that. The genuine desire to make it easier for the average DIYer to get what he or she might need. 

In the age where business name ideas – whether it be for schools, brands, art, or music bands – don’t have to make sense or reveal anything of the namesake, the meaning of names can get confusing. Speaking of strange business name ideas, think of Amazon and Apple, neither of them reveals anything of the brand they represent and yet they’ve become household names. Thinking of Amazon as a rainforest is almost secondary to the online marketplace that goes by the same name. Redbubble is another brand that’s going places in the digital world, but the cryptic name gives almost no clue as to what their services might relate to. 

What kind of brand settles on Redbubble as its best business name idea?

Redbubble is a platform that unites creatives and artists with clients, enabling the buyers to select the art they want and have it printed on a clothing item. Redbubble provides the safe and secure meeting point for the transaction to occur, and they facilitate the actual printing and sending process, enabling relatives to do what creatives do best – create – without having to worry about the administrative headaches. Redbubble enables buyers to create the t-shirt design they really want, using the creative works of artists. Much like Etsy, artists start by opening a store where they can display their wares. Buyers can peruse the items displayed in various stores until they find a million-dollar idea that seals the deal. Unlike Etsy, Redbubble handles everything outside of the artistic work, making the entire process easy for all parties involved. Redbubble’s biggest claim to fame is the uniqueness of their art. The works often spark controversy and stay true to the true culture of art – to ignite feelings in the viewer, whether those feelings are positive or negative depends on the individual. 

The Rise Of Artsy Business Name Ideas

Not long ago, the rise of punk rock and teenage bands raging from their parent’s garage brought a surge of seriously strange names. Brands like “Bowling For Soup” and “Simple Plan” were all the rage, and it seemed, the stranger the name the more they were favored. In fact, the very name of the group had to speak an artistic or thoughtful truth of some sort. The name had to make a statement and illicit feelings in the audience. Many of the names were seemingly random – like they were an ensemble of random words drawn from a hat. All of that started with a simple band name that conveyed a powerful sentiment. The name of a musical group, an art establishment, or a business name idea that promotes alternative beauty sets the tone and creates expectations among consumers. What kind of expectation and tone does “Redbubble” set, as a business name idea? 

Why Visual Business Name Ideas Are So Powerful

Redbubble is one of the very visual business name ideas, and rightly so as it’s associated with art. Red is one of the most iconic colors when we think of something vibrant and bright – like art. In art, red is also highly favored for its symbolism, it represents danger and blood, passion and courage, as well as featuring quite prominently in pop culture where contrast is valued. Bubbles are equally iconic – they represent daydreams and fantasies, and also feature in art in various ways. 

Have you heard another visual name that really grabs your attention? When your line of work relates to sensory stuff – like art, food or music, a brand name that contains rich sensory elements can go a long way in creating a catchy name that clearly conveys your creativity.