Born Ugly Leeds

ABOUT


What needed doing
Delwyn Tuanui, a seventh generation Chatham Islander, takes his fish very seriously. He founded the Chatham Island Food Co. in 2011 to share his island’s extraordinary produce with the world. Hang on… where? The Chatham Islands 
– a tiny unheard of archipelago, roughly 800km off the coast of New Zealand.
It was for this very reason that we were briefed: to create a place brand for the Food Co that would put Del’s beloved produce on the map,
hooking premium restaurants all over the globe.

The brand needed to have immediate emotional impact, communicate quality and sustainability, and ultimately, it needed to resonate with the tiny community of 600 people. It needed 
to truly tell their story.

How we went about it
We dived straight into the Chathams 
with a research trip, living and breathing island life. Endless photos, videos and journal scribbles later, the real essence 
of the Chathams unfolded to us through one all-important tradition... storytelling.

It was through yarns with the locals that we discovered the Food Co’s greatest point of difference – the Chathams are 
the first place in the world to see the 
sun – and it was this enduring insight 
that formed our big idea, ‘Food from 
the Edge’.

To bring our big idea to life, we told 
the story of the Chathams and the Food Co so that every element of the visual language echoed ‘Food from the Edge’.

The brandmark was designed to capture the elemental winds and make an instant connection with the raw conditions. Shaped by the elements like the Chathams themselves, the brandmark pushes the boundaries by propelling typography right over the edge.
The brilliant blue colour, which hints 
at the stormy, unpredictable weather, 
also makes links to Chathams’ hero fish 
– the mighty Blue Cod. Even the packing tape was designed to tell a story about 
the origins of the produce!

With community and sustainability right 
at the heart of the story, we managed to create an extraordinary identity for an extraordinary place, with produce like nowhere else on Earth.

Results
Since launching in July 2012, the Chatham Island Food Co. has gone from strength to strength, almost doubling Del’s sales target and customer base for the year. Not only did we meet our key objectives, we exceeded expectations by improving staff morale and behaviour, increasing employee recruitment and engagement, as well as improving everyday life and economic growth for the Chatham Island community…

MADEIT CREDITS

  • Chatham Island Food Co.Client
Add yourself to this project

Who liked - Chatham Island Food Co.

Back to Chatham Island Food Co. project