Food & Drink Branding
Food and drink might be the hardest category in branding to get right. Your product gets about a second of attention on a shelf or in a feed, usually sitting next to someone with a bigger budget. Win that second, and it becomes exponentially easier to sell.
We’re a London-based branding and packaging agency, and we are passionate about food, drink and wellness brands. First-time founders right through to names like Budweiser, Tesco and Lee Kum Kee. We handle the strategy, the identity and the packaging, and we judge all of it on one thing: does it get picked up and bought?
Capabilities
- Brand Strategy
- Brand Identity
- Packaging Design
- Brand Activation
- Range Architecture
Why food & drink brands work with us
Food and drink is its own thing. What lands a listing in Tesco doesn’t always fly in Waitrose or an M&S Food Hall, and a pack has to look as good shrunk to a thumbnail on your mobile as it does in your hand. We’ve been at this for ten years, so we know how the category works: how a chiller aisle differs from ambient, the best way to bring a challenger brand to market, what small decisions quietly decide whether something sells or goes to die with a yellow sticker. We have gained this knowledge because we believe you should work with the designers actually making your brand, not an account manager relaying messages. It’s faster, more cost-effective, and nothing gets watered down on the way through. And we find that when the strategy, identity and packaging are built together, the brand holds up wherever someone runs into it.
Featured food & drink work
White Rabbit Pizza Co.
Helping gluten free pizza hop to the top
Lee Kum Kee Chilli Sauce
Turning up the heat for a new range
FAQs
What's different about food & drink branding?
It’s brutal on attention. You get a second on a shelf or in a feed, usually up against a brand spending more than you, and your strategy, identity and packaging all have to land in that second and in a listing on your mobile. It’s a harder brief than most sectors. It’s also the one we’ve done for ten years, so we’re not learning your category on your budget; we are using it in the most cost-effective way possible.
Should I do strategy, identity and packaging together?
Usually, yes. Build them together and the brand stays consistent everywhere. The pitch deck, the shelf and the social feed all feel like the same company, strengthening trust. Heaven Soda’s a good example: we built the strategy, identity and packaging from a blank page, ready for launch. That said, if you’ve already got some of it sorted, we’re happy to pick up just the bit you’re missing; we want to help you grow your business.
Do you work with pre-launch startups?
Often. A launch is a different job to a rebrand. There’s no sales data or shelf history to lean on, so you’re working from category research, the founder’s instinct, and where the brand wants to be in a few years. We’ve taken plenty of food and drink brands from blank page to shelf, and we’ll tell you honestly if we’re not the right fit for your stage or budget.
Have you worked in my category?
Probably, or something close. We’ve worked across craft drinks & craft beer (Heaven Soda, True Story Brewing), snacks (Gr8nola), Asian condiments and noodles (Lee Kum Kee), functional health (Phizz), food (White Rabbit, Jamie Oliver) and more. So we already know how your shelf behaves. If we haven’t done your exact category, we’ll say so and tell you straight whether it matters.
How much does it cost, and how long will it take?
Both come down to scope. Packaging for a single SKU is usually 8 to 12 weeks; a full strategy, identity and packaging build for a launch or rebrand is more like 3 to 4 months. On budget, it is hard to say; each project is so specific, and we have never come across two brands that have required the same outcomes. The thing that slows projects down most is sign-off, so the quickest ones tend to have a single person who can make the call. Easiest is a quick chat; we can give you a better idea of cost.
More on food & drink branding
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