Tate & Lyle Updates Sugar Range Design To Strengthen Brand

Tate & Lyle has updated the design of its entire sugar range to help build a stronger brand with a more clearly defined personality.

The company tasked Design Bridge to help move the perception of the brand on from its role as a household commodity to a brand with a rich heritage and personality.

As part of the revamp, Design Bridge examined the provenance and heritage of Tate & Lyle. It drew inspiration from vintage iconography, signage and old Tate & Lyle delivery trucks.

A gingham tablecloth background is used on the baking range of sugars, with the aim of evoking an affectionate sense of all-things homemade – a nod to the brand’s British heritage. This is coupled with a font that mimics the hand-written labels of homemade preserves.

Mike Stride, creative director at Design Bridge, said developing a distinct tone of voice through both on-pack copywriting and illustration was key to the refresh.

“Visually, we divided the range up using a series of quirky on-pack illustrations to communicate the usage of the different sugars while also revealing a playful, warm and witty personality. For example a fabric-covered jam jar for Preserving Sugar, a porcelain tea-cup and saucer for Granulated Sugar, and a mixing bowl with a stray dollop of cake-mix on the worktop for Caster Baking Sugar,” he added.

Elsewhere, Tate & Lyle’s heritage comes into play on the pack designs with illustrations of the founders – Henry Tate and Abram Lyle – and their signatures on the side of the box.

Other core elements of the new brand identity include a rustic, organic texture to the packs and beverage sweeteners, which plays on the homemade ‘perfect imperfections’ look and feel inherent in the new identity.

  Branding, Design Bridge, Food, New Look, Packaging Design, Sugar, Tate & Lyle, UK