Stella Artois' Logo Is Older Than The Brand Itself

It's rare when a company or product logo has been in use for centuries, and even more rare when that logo predates the company or product. There are often interesting stories surrounding the logos of familiar products, and that includes Stella Artois beer. To fully understand its logo story, you need to turn the clock back to the 15th century.

The brewery where Stella Artois began in Leuven, Belgium, was originally called Den Hoorn — meaning "the horn" in Dutch — and was first really recognized as a brewery in 1466. In 1717, after nearly a decade of employment, Sebastian Artois bought the brewery and re-named it La Brasserie Artois, or Artois Brewery.

It wasn't until 1926 that the first Stella Artois beer was produced and the name became an official trademark. The beer was presented as a Christmas gift to the town that year, and the logo featured a star (or "stella ") as a tribute to the event. The logo, complete with the familiar horn — a nod to the brewery's beginnings — and now its new star, is still seen on the label of every bottle.

Stella Artois has seen a reconfiguration of its brand image over its tenure. In an effort to appeal to a younger generation, the logo has been slightly updated. One notable update was increasing the lettering size and turning it sideways so it can be seen when you're pouring the beer. The old logo's elements, such as the horn and the eponymous star, remain with the new branding.

In 2008, Anheuser Busch acquired Stella Artois, making it another of the brewing giant's many beer brands. Although it is now brewed in the United States, Stella is still considered a Belgian beer. Belgian-style beers are known for their distinct fruity or spicy flavors due to the type of yeast used to make them.

Other familiar logos have a long history like Stella's beloved one. Twinings Tea has the distinction of being the world's oldest unaltered logo, which was designed and put to use in 1787 and includes the Twining family crest. Campbell's Soup has used a version of its iconic red and white logo since 1898, although a change could be coming soon as it may be dropping the word soup from the label.