BETTA Becomes BESTA, Explaining the Rebrand

As you may have noticed, our online presence has evolved. For one thing, the website is no longer at bettawear.com, and instead has relocated to besta.biz. The site was also redesigned with a contemporary theme (improving aesthetics and functionality). Not least, the brand has changed from BETTA (Wear) to BESTA, and the logo was updated to reflect the new name. There are a few additional changes to note, but first let's address the burning question, WHY?

We could offer a vague narrative that highlights only the positive, but we pride ourselves on being transparent and authentic with our audience. To start with, our original elastic belt was a new invention and the website was made to test the concept and see if the product would resonate with consumers. The name "BETTA" was chosen because (as our About Us page used to explain) the founder was from Hawaii, where you don't just say something is "better" you say it is "mo' bettah." BETTA was shorter, sounded cooler and lent itself to a logo. Plus, the name virtually implied that the brand and its products were better.

Unfortunately we weren't the first ones to think of that and, though it wasn't actively being used, this prevented registry. A couple years (and a real-life education in trademark law) later, we now have the registered trademark BESTA®. How did we arrive here? Well, realizing that we might need to change brands at some point, we started utilizing the Circle B logo instead of BETTA on products and packaging. This would facilitate transitioning to another brand that started with the letter "B." After brainstorming numerous potential names and literally skimming the entire B section of an unabridged dictionary, we compiled a long list of prospects. Most of these were eliminated when it turned out they were already taken or otherwise unsuitable. Of those that remained, BESTA came out on top, for several reasons.

First, BESTA was a relatively subtle change--after all it's only one letter different! This was great because we weren't rebranding to escape prior associations. In fact, the less noticeable the change the better, since there was no need to disrupt the overwhelmingly positive feelings customers already had for our brand. A nice added bonus was that BESTA only has one obvious pronunciation, whereas for some BETTA rhymed with Jetta and others pronounced it "bay-tah" (like the fighting fish).

Even the logo could be readily modified and would look very similar to the previous version at a glance. This is helpful, because it would be nearly impossible to turn over all inventory to the new brand immediately. Most belt buckles in stock now feature the Circle B symbol, which we'll continue to use going forward, but there will be some carryover of packaging and labels until all can be transitioned.

Like BETTA, the brand name BESTA implies superior offerings. In fact, the word "besta" actually means "the best" in Icelandic, which is pretty cool. Claiming to be the best can come off somewhat pretentious, however, so we prefer to position our brand as striving to make the best products and helping people to realize their best potential.

The final compelling reason to elect BESTA was that we were actually able to register the trademark. Even with no extra USPTO delays, it still took eight months from initial application to eventual registration. Some marketplaces like Amazon now require registered trademarks in order to take advantage of features like their Brand Registry. The world of retail and ecommerce is stacked against small businesses trying to make their way through red tape and compete with established brands and corporations. Having a registered trademark offers some protection and access that was previously unavailable.

If you read this far, hopefully you found the story of our long trademark adventure interesting or at least educational. In addition to changing our brand name, logo, domain name and website design, we have also updated our social media pages, which can now be found at:

• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/bestasocial
• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/bestasocial/
• Twitter - https://twitter.com/bestasocial
• YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmKctsLiH5iKuGItUxQrErg
• Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/bestasocial/

In anticipation of this rebrand, we haven't been posting much to social media lately. Now that the transition is mostly complete, we will be promoting the new BESTA brand with more fire than ever, so please like or follow us to stay in touch. Thanks for your continued support on this perpetual journey.