Brand Identity

Foodies have been around forever since the age of fire to microwave, but today the competition in the food industry has reached newer heights. With so many restaurants and F & B brands competing to establish a premium brand and snatch the number one spot, what can you do to stand out?

For anyone working in the food business - launching your brand by creating the buzz around “insta-worthy” food items, pretty pictures, and tv shows-inspired interior may help jumpstart the business but novelty eventually wears off and people move on. To create a sustainable relationship with your customers it is important to go beyond the quality and services and craft exquisite brand experiences that stay with them and help forge an emotional or even better gastronomic connection.

While the nuances of food branding aren’t obvious and are a bit tricky to pin down, in the article, we will discuss ways to make the right impression and eventually create a signature brand identity.

1. Concept

For an F & B brand, a concept is defined by its culinary style, prices, interior design, service, seating, and ambiance. So, are you a premium dining restaurant, pop-up bar, pub, fast-casual, food truck or online order only spot? Your concept basically dictates how your product and services work.

Choosing a unique and appealing concept will make your brand stand out and give prospective customers an easy way to find your business with unique keyword combinations. In this digital age of highly targeted campaigns and keywords, your customers are likely to define their food preferences in their searches using the key phrase “vegan chocolate ice cream” instead of generic “ice cream.” Your concept has the potential to become your brand’s USP or Signature. Apart from everything, the concept will act as a primary tool for branding and work efficiently with word-of-mouth strategy, ideal to find your perfect set of audience.

2. Brand’s Philosophy and Vision

Your brand’s vision and philosophy lay the foundation of your values that your eatery hopes to achieve. A mission statement will allow your brand to connect with your customers, staff, and stakeholders. Your philosophy will also act as the element that will differentiate you from your competition. More often than not, brands with undefined mission and vision tend to struggle to find their brand identity and later the position in the market. Work on your mission statement, you can use it as a guide for the rest of your decisions regarding the visual elements of your brand.

3. Work On Logo & Tagline

You have heard it a million times that logos are the face of the brand but when it comes to food brands, it becomes the centerpiece of your entire branding strategy. Still not convinced? Suppose you are driving in the city, you will recognize the golden arches on a bright red background of McDonald’s’ in the sea of brands.

Also according to colour theory, warm colours like red, orange, and yellow work best for food branding. Green on the other hand is associated with natural and organic brands. And blue is recommended to be avoided as it has the least effect on the appetite.

While the logo visually represents your brand, the tagline on the other hand sums up the defining feature of your brand in line and is meant to strike a chord with your audience.

4. Tell Your Story

Everyone loves a good story. Storytelling is critical, it connects people and helps form new connections. So, if you are still contemplating or haven’t figured out how to tell your brand’s story well, you’re missing out on the huge revenue-boosting potential of your content marketing strategy.

How does it work with F&B brands?

The food and beverage marketplace is crowded with brands fighting for the attention of tech-savvy and socially connected customers, delivering great taste and optimal nutrition is no longer enough. To win a share of your consumer hearts and wallets, your brand must deliver an experience driven by emotions - design and content are the perfect channels to wield a story’s true magic.

5. Create A Website

The world is amid a pandemic, social media channels and online deliveries are the saving grace of the food and beverage industry. With contactless delivery and social distancing norms in place, your prospective guests and loyal customers might want to check out your website for your product range, menu, opening hours, or to simply learn more about your brand.

For an industry as dependent on visuals as f&b, we recommend you invest in a high-quality website and photoshoots, it will help you set the tone, voice, and aesthetics for your brand. While you are at it, keeping an active Instagram is highly recommended as a medium to express your aesthetics, new additions, and essence of your brand through images and videos. Being consistent with socials is worth it.

6. Invest In Visual Identity

The term visual identity imposes a huge selection of elements such as logo, typography, colours, shapes, images, etc. Though each element is crucial in design, when it comes to food branding, the packaging is the cohesive effect powerful enough to attract the customers.

While food is a sensory experience, your customers first experience your product through their eyes, not their taste buds, so the way you house your food or drink matters a lot. While it is easy to get swayed by the creative freedom, it is important to ask yourself: who is my customer? Will my customers have expendable income or are they on a strict budget? Are they eco-conscious or experimental? It is essential to understand your product and the people who will be purchasing your products, packaging them accordingly will increase the sales.

While we are at it, packaging also helps customers distinguish your product from the zillions of other options crowding shelves. Distinguishing yourself from your competitors is a great way to pave the way to signature brand identity.

Conclusion

By this time, you’ve settled on the major components of your brand, after they are made it’s important to make sure they make sense together. Though experimentation is a strong suit of the food industry, it is wise to tread delicately as it might miss the mark and leave your audience confused. When you aim to create a signature brand identity, take your time, and put thought into it, a great effort is always appreciated consciously and subconsciously by patrons and loyal customers.

If you wish to rebrand your own business whether it is a logo design, a website design, refreshed messaging, or a complete brand makeover, it’s time you get in touch with professional branding agencies like Vowels to make your vision come true. We specialize in brand consultancy, strategy, brand guidelines, CI manual, brand presentation, and corporate branding.

Extended across multiple countries like the Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain, we believe in providing exclusive solutions to all your brand problems.

Also read - Brand Storytelling is Your Sales Team Head

Contact Us

Check out our work at Vowels

We are always available at [email protected].

Want to get in touch over a call?

(+91) 97858 40004

“Products are made in a factory but brands are created in the mind.” - Walter Landor, Founder, Landor

Mr Landor wasn’t mincing words when he said this. The founder and CEO of globally renowned brand consulting firm Landor emphasizes the importance of perception in the marketing and advertising realm. People’s perception of a brand can literally make it or break it.

With the advent of social media, people are constantly connected to each other and to the brands that they love. If you can create an aspiring and inspiring image of your brand in the minds of people, then your brand is already successful.

Just like every country has its own unique language, culture, and cuisine, every country also has its own bespoke marketing dos and don’ts. To make the most out of a market, a brand needs to be sensitive towards this, and work alongside to create maximum impact.

Saudi Arabia, also popularly known as the KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) is famous for many reasons such as oil, Arabian coffee, the world’s largest sand desert, the world’s largest oasis etc. With a population of 34.54 million, it’s also an emerging marketing and business sector. The land of Sheikhs have about 72.38% active social media users. Globalmediainsight.com which makes it a marketer’s dreamland who is looking to put their brand out there.

Social media for branding. Really?

A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn a reputation by trying to do hard things well. - Jezz Bezos, Founder and CEO, Amazon

You name it. And social media has it. Every product that you can ever think of, is now active on social media. And why not? With the arrival of technology, everything is online and it becomes imperative for a brand to have and maintain a relevant social media reputation.

With the COVID-19 pandemic affecting the world, it has now become the need of the hour to give consumers an insight into your brand story, right in the palms of their hand, in an electronic device of their choice.

Consumers are adapting to the changing times, and it’s important for the brands to keep up and innovate and invent to continue being a part of their consumer’s life.

Just like any other market, the KSA also has some cultural nuances that should be kept in mind while curating a brand story.

Some ground rules before you break ground with your brand

The language

Arabic is the primary language in Saudi. A large number of Saudi Arabians use Arabic in the common parlance.

Saudi welcomes people from all over the world therefore English becomes the secondary language because many of these expats use English for their everyday communication. Keeping your brand bi-lingual and using both English and Arabic SEO keywords is your best bet to ensure that it is inclusive and reaches a large and diverse audience.

The culture

Just like a lot of countries in the gulf, Saudi Arabia strongly adheres to local customs. Traditional viewpoints and customaries are followed in dressing, salutations, hospitality etc. Although no laws specifically regulate the culture content of ads, insensitivity may destroy credibility and prove to be a strong blow in your overall brand story. The moral of the story is steer clear of ambiguity and stick to the things that will respect the local customs and affirm the consumer’s faith in your brand.

YouTube

Out of all the social media platforms, YouTube scores the highest when it comes to consumption by the Saudi Arabian population. The users spend a notable amount of time on the website, making it a lucrative avenue to explore for your brand. So the next time when you think of an idea, ask yourself “Can I make a YouTube video of it?” and if the answer is yes, reach is almost guaranteed provided you use the right media mix to deliver your message.

Social Media

In general, the social media users in the KSA are increasing at a rapid pace. No matter what you do, having a relevant social media profile will allow people to get a glimpse inside your brand and its story before they decide to delve deeper. As a brand, it also enables you to be present where your audiences are, so even before they interact with the brand, you can use this opportunity to engage with them by becoming a part of their lives.

So keep an eye out on the latest geographical trends and curate a story that your audiences will understand and love.

At Vowels, we live and breathe the beauty that is Saudi Arabia. We are constantly learning and widening our horizons about the KSA. And the more we get into the bloodstream of the culture, customs, and heart of the country, the more we are able to create a bespoke brand that aligns with the values of the locals and delivers the brand truth in an honest and sensitive way.

If you have been planning to launch a new startup or rebrand an existing one, now is the time to get started. Whether it is a logo redesign, a website redesign, refreshed messaging, or a complete brand makeover, it’s time you get in touch with professional branding agencies like Vowels to make your vision come true. We specialize in brand consultancy, strategy, brand guidelines, CI manual, brand presentation, and corporate branding.