Designing Women: Food Brands That Do it Great.
Daniela - Burger King
To be honest, I’m not a huge Burger King fan. In fact, my own mother works for McDonalds Latin America, so I can be a bit biased when it comes to American fast food brands. But when I saw Burger King’s recent rebrand, I nearly tossed all family loyalty aside to swoon at the brilliantly executed refresh.
With its playful illustrations, chunky typefaces, and bold color palette, the rebrand taps into the nostalgia factor that keeps on bringing people into fast food chains. The retro aesthetic somehow manages to make my inner child want to run to Burger King right away. And although it is drawing from visual influences from the past, it still feels incredibly modern and relevant. It feels like an incredibly thoughtful process, not just flattening their logo to match current minimalist trends.
Simplifying the brand logo, limiting the color palette and choosing illustrations that are almost elementary are all part of the effort to align the visuals with Burger King’s new strategy/ethos that involves removing ingredients from artificial sources from the menu and a commitment to sustainability.
There’s something to say about a food brand that would make me want to buy their merch (oh, Hii Dunkin!) Burger King has definitely done that. Don’t be surprised if you see me rocking Burger sneakers.
Moira - Poppi
I first picked up a can of Poppi at my local Sprouts because I was drawn to the can. The bright colors, fun fonts, and bold fruit shapes instantly caught my eye. This was a classic case of “Oh that’s pretty, I need to buy it.” Turns out I loved the good-for-the-gut, soda-like beverage too!
Poppi began as Mother Beverage in 2018, but after running into trademarking issues with word Mother, Poppi was born along with a complete rebrand. The original bottle design focused on highlighting the apple cider vinegar component of the drink while looking dated and medicinal and appealing more to an older generation. With its Pop Art inspired designs (bright color palette and fruit inspired graphics) the new cans appeal to a younger generation. After the rebrand, Poppi shifted to focus on being marketed as a healthy, prebiotic soda rather than an apple cider vinegar drink. This pivot in brand and marketing has allowed them to stand out in the oversaturated beverage space. Poppi is vibrant, quirky, nostalgic and fun.
I didn’t know much about Poppi before researching them for this piece, but I enjoyed learning more about one of my favorite beverages and how they ended up from where they started.
Zoe - Magic Spoon
I still eat cereal every day just as I did when I was a kid. If I’m busy or feeling lazy, I tend to gravitate towards easy meals and snacks. I recently saw Magic Spoon in my grocery store and immediately fell in love with the branding and bright colors. What kept me looking was the fact that this seemingly sugary, kid cereal was in fact healthy and high in protein. Normally low-carb, high-protein foods are branded exclusively for gym bros or health-conscious soccer moms (think Special K or Quest Protein Bars). Magic Spoon steps away from this by leaning into funky, bright colors and graphics.
The Magic Spoon mission on their website reads:
Remember the carefree days of childhood, when you didn't feel guilty about eating mountains of cereal with questionable nutrition? Well, now you can have your cereal and eat it too. We re-engineered that same great taste with grown-up ingredients for a game-changing cereal 2.0.
The branding is absolutely gorgeous. Each cereal has its own color scheme and identity but fits in with the Magic Spoon brand through their stylized characters and sleek yet bold typography. The character design uses simple shapes as their structure and grainy shadows and gradients to give them slight depth. Like most healthy, small health food brands, the price sits a little higher than expected at $10 a box. But, I can honestly say I would have picked up a box even if it wasn’t healthy because I love the brand that much.
Tatiana - Dang
I am a huge fan of foods for snacking. Like Zoe I grab what I can when I’m feeling lazy or busy, which is how I discovered Dang’s delicious coconut chips. These little coconut strips are so dang good and an easy go to when you need something to snack on. Dang was created by Thai-American brothers Vincent and Andrew Kitirattragarn, who were inspired by their Mother “Mama Dang,” to bring these Asian-American snacks to the market. Dang’s coconuts are sourced from Thai family farms and all their snack products are plant-based, non-GMO, and gluten-free.
It also just so happens Dang recently underwent a rebrand in 2020 to accommodate for more flavors and products. The newest redesign for Dang features a vibrant color palette and photography of the snack inside. This redesign also seeks to further push the brand as an Asian American snack company, through multiple references such as the large circle inspired by the Japanese flag. I believe what most stands out about this new redesign is how each flavor’s unique taste is showcased through the color palette. With this approach, it ensures the brand has room to continue creating unique flavor options, while also maintaining a consistent look and feel.
As someone who tried their coconut chips with the original packaging, I am very excited to see how they continue to grow in the future. I also have to give a shout out to their website as well, which features vibrant colors, fun illustrations and plenty of storytelling through interactive elements.
Kristie - Taco Bell
A brand’s identity – especially these days – extends far beyond the in-store experience. Graduating a brand known to be a somewhat boozy, late-night, I’ll-regret-this-tomorrow “Forth Meal” into a revolutionary lifestyle brand with pop-up locations, hella creative swag, Vegas cantinas, Palm Spring hotels and Comic-con experiences—Taco Bell has grown into a fully alive and forever 25-year-old. Similar logo, same company but they know how to dress up and act differently depending on what party they're attending. Adapting to current trends, pulling from pop culture and remaining active, relatable and comical on social media gives Taco Bell a real and beating pulse. And people like to interact with people, even if it's still really just chalupa wrappers and pool floaties in the shape of hot sauce packets.
Explore further thoughts from the tastemaking minds of CSG’s design team.