Discovery

Percept was chosen as the brand designer with food packaging expertise for this food manufacturer and retailer that was seeking a rebrand.

Early conversations with The French Kitchen revealed they had built a good brand, but there was clear limitations holding their business back from reaching the next level. Brand assets were confused and misused, their messaging lacked clarity, and the overall branding felt inconsistent and outdated.

The French Kitchen has an extensive range with over 100 products which had outgrown the system designed to support it. Clearer cohesion between their marketing communications, retail store and product packaging design was essential
for a more holistic brand experience.

Despite this, The French Kitchen had developed long-standing customer relationships — built on quality and care.
Their branding simply wasn’t reflecting it.

Rebranding Strategy

As a brand designer, Percept’s response was to bring clarity and cohesion to the brand — elevating how
it shows up while preserving what makes
it loved.

A unified visual identity and verbal system now creates consistency across food packaging, retail stores, and digital presence. Simplification become the rebranding strategy, used as a tool to improve recognition, navigation, and production for better efficiency.

At the same time, the branding will now lean into a more expressive space. Celebration, warmth, and lightness come forward through illustration, photography, and tone of voice — reframing The French Kitchen as both nostalgic and current at the same time. This brand expression is carefully balanced to let the product remain the hero.

The result of the rebranding strategy enables the brand to be built to scale, while harnessing a sense of joy.

Brand Positioning

Brand designer, Percept, developed the following brand positioning that applies to all company branding and food packaging design.

The French Kitchen is where everyday indulgence meets meaningful celebration.

It brings people together through thoughtfully crafted sweets and savouries; made with care, designed to delight. From casual cravings to milestone occasions, every product plays
a role in creating moments that matter.

The brand honours its heritage, but it isn’t defined by it. It moves forward with energy, optimism, and intent.

Because when food is created with care,
it’s more than a treat — it’s a memory
in the making.

The French Kitchen, where celebration starts.

Branding

The branding expresses a balance of heritage
and play — grounded in quality, lifted by
warmth and personality.

A flexible branding suite allows adaption
across contexts while maintaining a consistent presence. Subtle patisserie-inspired shapes
anchor it in tradition, while the execution keeps
the branding contemporary and accessible.

Colour plays a strategic role in the branding with a distinctive pale blue that creates standout and ownership across retail environments, particularly at third-party stockists. This is paired with rich chocolate brown
to signal depth and indulgence. An energetic burnt orange adds punch and is supported by lighter browns and off white.

The branding has distinct typography and photography that work together to
create an appetising appeal. Bold, confident headlines sit alongside product-led imagery, ensuring the product remains central while the branding elements add character. Hand-drawn illustrations introduce moments of charm and guidance across packaging and in-store touch-points, inviting interaction and reinforcing a sense of celebration.

Packaging Design

The food packaging is resolved into a clear and scalable system for the packaging design across the full product range. Standardised formats improve recognition, while belly sleeves allow flexibility, production efficiencies and cost savings.

This made for a cohesive result of expressive branding and packaging design — built
to perform across a growing range of food packaging, while continuing to create moments of joy.