The Walgreens Boots Alliance logo: A symbol of trust and care
For many individuals throughout America, as well as corporations worldwide, the Walgreens Boots Alliance logo is an instantly recognizable symbol. Produced to convey ideas of unity, compassion, and trust, this enduring emblem is both evocative and compelling.
But, how much do you know about Walgreens Boots Alliance logo history?
For some time now, the Walgreens Boots Alliance company, previously known simply as “Alliance Boots”, has held an important position within the healthcare landscape.
Bringing together numerous pharmaceutical distribution and manufacturing companies from across the globe, the company has committed itself to supporting consumers with a host of healthcare needs.
Today, the powerful combination mark of the Walgreens Boots Alliance organization is one of the most memorable emblems in the health and pharmaceutical space.
However, there are still countless consumers that don’t fully understand the meaning of the emblem. We’re going to be taking a closer look at the Walgreens Boots Alliance symbol today, to help you understand the enduring and powerful impact of this amazing logo.
Is it Walgreens or Walgreens Boots Alliance?
Before we begin discussing Walgreens Boots Alliance history, it’s worth learning a little more about the organization and its origins.
The Walgreens Boots Alliance company is a British-American-Swiss holding company, which owns the Walgreens pharmacy chain in the US, Boots in the United Kingdom, as well as various other pharmaceutical companies worldwide.
Originally, the organization was founded in 2014, when Walgreens purchased a 55% stake in the original Alliance Boots group. Previously, Walgreens had already purchased a 45% stake in the organization, with the option to purchase remaining shares in the following 3 years.
The Walgreens Boots Alliance organization specializes in the development of retail and pharmaceutical companies in the healthcare space, with operations spread across 9 countries worldwide.
Initially, Walgreens was a primarily US-based organization, while Alliance Boots operated on a multinational level.
As of 2022, the company was earning a massive revenue of $132.7 billion, and saw net earnings increase to around $4.3 billion. Walgreens Boots Alliance is also ranked at number 18 on the Fortune 500 rankings (from 2022), and is one of the largest corporations in the US according to revenue.
Walgreens owned brands
Walgreens is separate from the core Walgreens Boots Alliance corporation, which acts as one of the major holding companies responsible for pharmaceuticals in the company’s portfolio.
This holding company owns a variety of additional companies, including the Walgreens retail and pharmaceutical brand, as well as Duane Reade, Boots, and Alliance Healthcare.
Outside of the pharmaceutical space, the Walgreens Boots Alliance company also operates a range of health and beauty brands, such as No7, Finest Nutrition, Soap & Glory, Liz Earle, and Botanics.
The Walgreens Boots Alliance logo history
As mentioned above, the Walgreens Boots Alliance organization was only officially founded in 2014, after Walgreens purchased the remaining shares of the “Alliance Boots” brand.
Prior to this, Alliance Boots operated as an independent venture, though Walgreens still held an almost 50% stake in the group.
The current logo, which has remained the same since Walgreens finished its acquisition of Alliance Boots, is based on the purchased company’s previous visual identity.
For most of Walgreens Boots Alliance logo history, a consistent color palette has helped to differentiate and define the brand. The colors green and blue convey ideas of purity, reliability, health, and growth.
Let’s take a closer look at the transformation of the Walgreens Boots Alliance symbol over the years.
2006
Before Alliance Boots sold the remainder of its shares to the Walgreens corporation, it operated as a separate vendor, with its own unique emblem. Though this company was primarily located in the UK, it had a multinational presence, spanning across various regions worldwide.
The original logo was dominated largely by the name of the brand, depicted in a sleek and modern sans-serif font, in sentence case.
The letters are simple and friendly, offering excellent legibility against a white background. The rounded edges of the characters made the company seem more approachable and compassionate, compared to traditional serif-style fonts.
Perhaps the most eye-catching component of this logo are the two curved lines that appear to the top right and bottom left of the logo. On the top right, the curve is depicted in a gradient green shade, highlighting growth, and drawing attention to the organic, natural world.
On the lower left, the curve is conveyed in bright shade of blue, a color commonly associated in color psychology with trustworthiness and reliability. The oval shape highlights the company’s commitment to community and connectedness.
2014
When Walgreens purchased its remaining shares of Alliance Boots, it rebranded the organization, creating a new name, and an updated emblem. However, many aspects of the original logo have inspired the components of this new design.
The new emblem, created by the Straightline brand features a similar color palette to the original, with various shades of blue as well as green flourishes. Additionally, the typeface is relatively consistent, with the same rounded edges on the lines, and a compelling, modern sans-serif font.
The new logo was designed to look like a growing, open globe, symbolizing the company’s commitment to serving customers from all over the world, with a variety of products and services to enhance wellbeing and health.
What is the Walgreens Boots Alliance symbol?
Similar to the preceding logo from Alliance Boots, the current Walgreens Boots Alliance symbol is a combination mark, made up of two distinctive parts.
On the right, we see the name of the newly formed organization, depicted in a friendly and highly legible sans-serif font. The inscription is written in a dark shade of blue, often associated with professionalism.
On the left is the new symbol for the Walgreens Boots Alliance logo, designed to look like a globe made up of various interconnected components.
The geometric shape highlights unity and connectedness, demonstrating the commitment of the company to serving customers with a variety of services of products, delivered around the globe.
The color palette of this globe builds on the previous shades used by the Alliance Boots brand, using green to demonstrate growth and nature, alongside shades of bright blue, and a softer, pastel shade.
The design of the globe is almost three-dimensional in nature, with various separate, rounded lines, intended to highlight all of the different components of the company that come together to make the Walgreens Boots Alliance corporation.
The Walgreens Boots Alliance symbol: Colors and fonts
Unique and evocative, the Walgreens Boots Alliance logo tells us a great deal about the nature of the brand, and its commitment to its target audience.
The color palette, based on the previous design of the Alliance Boots logo, is meaningful and symbolic. It showcases the company’s commitment to providing a trustworthy, reliable service to people all over the globe.
The simplistic, but highly legible font choice depicts the company as a modern venture, with a focus on the future. However, this logo also appears friendly and charming, separating the company from other highly corporate and business-like brands in the pharmaceutical space.
You can find some great examples of the Walgreens Boots Alliance symbol in the links below:
What color is the Walgreens Boots Alliance logo?
As mentioned above, the Walgreens Boots Alliance logo colors have remained relatively consistent throughout the life of the company. Even before the official new organization was launched in 2014, elements of the new logo were already present within the Alliance Boots symbol.
Today, the Walgreens Boots Alliance logo colors include a mixture of light blue for purity and reliability, dark blue for sophistication and professionalism, and green for health and nature.
What font does the Walgreens Boots Alliance logo use?
The color palette of the Walgreens Boots Alliance logo isn’t the only thing inspired by the previous design of the Alliance Boots symbol. The distinctive rounded ends of the typeface used in the former logo appear again within the new design.
The overall design of the new typeface is similar to many popular sans-serif style logos, with classic, balanced proportions.
An enduring symbol of trust and care
Looking back at Walgreens Boots Alliance logo history, we can see how the new company took inspiration from its predecessor to create a new, engaging emblem. The font style and many aspects of the color palette have remained consistent through the years.
Today, the Walgreens Boots Alliance symbol aims to convey ideas of trust, community, and reliability, while giving the company a friendly and approachable personality.
The design is instantly eye-catching and far more complex than many of the other logos used in the pharmaceutical landscape today. It instantly differentiates the company from its competitors, and connects with consumers on an emotional level.
Fabrik: A branding agency for our times.
As Fabrik’s creative director, Stephen oversees complex branding programmes. He advises our clients on their tone of voice, creates logos and visual identities and crafts names for companies, products and services. Writing for Brand Fabrik Stephen reflects his love for logo design and visual identity.
