mara behrens

About Me

Hi, my name is Mara Behrens. I'm an innovative, creative leader with 20+ years of experience driving brand growth, creative strategy, and consumer adoption across beverage, food, fashion, art, and tech industries. I'm passionate about mission-driven brands that raise consciousness and create lasting change. Known for building and mentoring high-performing teams, achieving rapid success through strategic creativity, and fostering inclusion and collaboration, I have a proven track record in leading companies to market leadership, resulting in successful acquisitions and substantial business growth.

My professional path is a combination of my passion for learning, my holistic experiences with diverse cultures in countries like Venezuela, Mexico, France, and the US, and my work across multiple design platforms that have allowed me to reach a very diverse, fascinating, and compelling group of people.

A few highlights:
• 2011, I co-founded a venture-funded luxury fashion e-commerce startup ModeWalk, which was a pioneer in blending online and offline retail experiences and personalized shopping experiences using data and a human touch. It was sold to the leading luxury e-tailer Moda Operandi. ModeWalk was featured in Vogue, The New York Times, and Harvard Business Review.

• 2014, I led a major rebrand of a fast-growing startup, EAT Club, including a new identity system, website, packaging, presentations, digital, events, etc. My role ranged from design and marketing. Leading comms, digital marketing, UI/UX, product marketing, and others.

• 2018, Introduced the world to the first fresh food robot by leading marketing, design, PR, and UI/UX. Spearheading initiatives that helped placed the company at the forefront of food robotics with 350+ robots sold in a little over two years. The company was acquired by DoorDash, furthering our mission to deliver fresh food at any time, anywhere, and for everyone.

• 2020, I joined DoorDash Labs as Head of Marketing and Design, where we partnered with great brands, including Kellogg’s and General Mills, to launch interactive, customizable “food” experiences; created a beyond-the-breakfast concept; reduced GM’s plastic waste

• 2023, I joined Botrista as SVP of Marketing & Design, where I elevated Botrista to industry leader status with creative strategies that drove business growth, FOMO, and over-target conversion rates for key launches.


In my free time, I love traveling, discovering culinary treasures with friends and family, visiting museums, baking, biking, practicing compassion meditation, and learning... about everything!

I'm always excited to:
• Strive for innovative creative solutions.
• Build inclusive cultures that embrace diversity and creativity.
• Lead talented teams to produce UI, UX, branding, and creative content.
• Work effectively on multiple projects simultaneously.
• Focus on user-centric experiences.
• Use my expertise in different tools and techniques that lead to detailed-oriented products.
• Thrive in fast-paced entrepreneurial environments that require cross-functional collaboration.

Botrista

Botrista

At Botrista, I had the privilege of building and leading an exceptionally talented team to drive innovation in the beverage industry. Radical honesty and collaboration were at the heart of our success. We consistently pushed beyond our comfort zones, bringing bold ideas to life. By fostering a culture of trust and openness, we delivered memorable work that was both creatively and strategically impactful.This page is a work in progress, showcasing some of our branding efforts where we positioned Botrista as a market leader, significantly enhancing engagement and driving substantial business growth. Together, we set a new benchmark for innovation and excellence across the industry.More on our B2B2C work here
Planet X

Planet X

At PlanetX, I collaborated with a powerhouse team of seasoned founders and executives to create a groundbreaking consumer sustainability signal. By analyzing 370 million data points, we delivered personalized discovery and recommendations based on users' core values, impacting 3 million products and brands. My contributions included brand strategy, visual direction, go-to-market strategy, website development, user journey design, market insights, and creating compelling decks and videos. Although the project lost financing before launch, the work we produced set a new standard for how consumers engage with sustainable choices. Here is a sneak peek of the work in progress visuals
DoorDash

DoorDash

To deliver on DoorDash’s promise to help merchants grow, we developed Dash to Go as a new brick-and-mortar experience that connects merchants with consumers wherever and whenever they want. We rebranded Chowbotics under the DoorDash umbrella, simplifying the brand architecture and leveraging DoorDash’s equity to enhance consumer trust and recognition.  My team and I worked on the strategic positioning, a new name, premium industrial design, and a complete overhaul of the user experience. This involved UI improvements, user testing, training resources, engaging videos, an enhanced unboxing experience, and comprehensive sales enablement tools. See Ease of use for Operators . Brand Guidelines . Sales Intro Deck
DoorDash

DoorDash

Our holistic approach to the B2B2C experience for Dash to Go begins the moment a consumer first hears about or sees the robot and extends through their interactions with it. We partnered with our consumer research team to conduct hundreds of experiments, gathering critical insights on the new industrial design, UI/UX, and marketing language. These extensive experiments allowed us to refine our messaging and enhance the consumer experience and informed a series of targeted campaigns designed to improve consumer adoption and engagement, ensuring a seamless and compelling interaction from start to finish.

Chowbotics

Chowbotics

Chowbotics, the creator of the world’s first Fresh Food Robot, made healthy, custom meals accessible 24/7. The company was acquired by DoorDash, advancing its mission to deliver fresh food anytime, anywhere, and for everyone. As Head of Marketing and Design at Chowbotics, I played a key role in establishing the company as a category-defining brand in food robotics. My team and I spearheaded the rebranding, developed our go-to-market strategy, and led efforts in UI/UX, demand generation, PR, and creative. Our work garnered significant recognition, with Chowbotics being named one of The World’s Most Innovative Companies in Robotics by Fast Company and featured in leading publications such as the WSJ, NY Times, and CNBC.
Chowbotics

Chowbotics

In my role at Chowbotics, I worked with an exceptionally talented team to disrupt the food and robotics industry, aiming to make fresh food accessible anytime, anywhere. Our B2B2C efforts included impactful campaigns that shaped new consumer behaviors.  One notable campaign introduced Chowbotics with the powerful tagline: “#FreshForAll” This campaign effectively communicated our mission of delivering personalized, nutritious food at the touch of a button, creating a significant impact and inviting consumers to embrace a new fresh food experience.
ModeWalk

ModeWalk

We crafted the positioning, visual identity, and brand story for ModeWalk.com, a luxury fashion e-commerce startup. As a curated marketplace for top-tier designers, our work helped shape its unique brand, ultimately leading to its successful acquisition by a leading luxury e-tailer.At first, we allowed our users to discover the Parisian Haute Couturier Designers. Later we pivoted building a platform that redefined fashion retail, connecting stylists, brands, and clients to deliver a personalized and pampered online experience... See the campaign to introduce ModeWalk, here
Harper's Bazaar

Harper's Bazaar

"Harper's Bazaar has been a global authority in fashion and taste since its inception in 1867, showcasing extraordinary talent and setting the standard in the industry." As Art Director for the Mexican and Latin American editions, I played a crucial role in shaping the magazine's visual identity. I managed the entire creative process, from coordinating graphic contributions—spanning designers, photographers, and illustrators—to collaborating closely with the editor on timelines. I also directed the design team, crafted magazine layouts, and personally designed all covers and select spreads, ensuring each issue reflected the highest standards of style and elegance.
AW Architect

AW Architect

This project was developed by Maroma Design to showcase the talent of the AWA architectural firm. Our goal was to create a beautiful frame to highlight the architects' work and allow them to update their work with a simple CMS. One of the highlights of AWA architects is the talented, charismatic and warm personality of their team + their attention to detail. To accentuate these qualities, we enabled a quote section for each project where their clients can talk about their experiences with the firm. We also added another section where they could show their process, all done in a seamless and elegant way where the stunning visuals are always the center piece.
Smithsonian

Smithsonian

The four projects I created for the Smithsonian were an amazing experience. For this particular project, I worked closely with the Film and Video Center of the National Museum of the American Indian, NYC office, for their video festival that celebrates the creative energy of Native American directors, producers, writers, and many others who support their endeavors. I developed the brand identity and all the collateral materials for this festival including, brochures, invitations, signage, banners, posters, and others