• by Larissa Faw , April 16, 2021

San Francisco-based Butchershop Creative is acquiring Maniak, a design and tech firm based in Guadalajara, Mexico to strengthen its capabilities in digital services.

Founded over a decade ago by entrepreneurs Christian and Carlos Dominguez, Maniak now focuses on building digital experiences including websites, e-commerce platforms, and other digital products. The shop serves markets in the U.S., Europe and Latin America.

Butchershop — founded in 2009 — works with brands, such as Nike and Good Eggs, for digital experiences ranging from brand building to creating HR career portals.

Under the deal, Maniak will continue to operate under its own name with the same leadership team of Hector Garcia, who will transition from CEO of Maniak to Chief Innovation Officer of Butchershop. The 56-person team will join Butchershop to form a 100-person company.

Maniak founders Christian and Carlos Dominguez will operate and lead a new joint venture created by the acquisition called ImaginedBy. This incubator will focus on building and launching digital SaaS products and platforms from the company's portfolio as well as via product partnerships with outside venture-backed founders.

The acquisition formalizes a longstanding working relationship between the two agencies, who have worked together as partners on campaigns for Nike, Converse and Snappy.

“As an international agency, we are focusing our efforts to provide client partners with solutions for connecting their brand, business, and product to their customers and internal cultures,” says Trevor Hubbard, Global CEO, Butchershop. “We're continuing to invest heavily in the ‘digitization of brand’ to solve problems and create opportunities for our client partners. And Maniak is a key part of our collective growth.”