WMH&I & IFFCO CREATE A NEW PLANT-BASED FOOD BRAND ROOTED IN MIDDLE EASTERN CULTURE

In collaboration with IFFCO’s Plant-Based Venture, WMH&I creates THRYVE™; a new plant-based food brand born in the Middle East. The brand sets out to spearhead a movement of change towards healthier and more sustainable eating in the Arabian Peninsula, at the same time celebrating local cuisines and traditions.

After appointment, branding agency WMH&I discovered that many existing plant-based food brands have entered the Middle East from outside the region, and do not have a meaningful connection with the local market.

Welcome to THRYVE, serving up the future of Arabic cuisine. The brand’s plant-based meat range is not only crafted with culturally native to the region faba beans but is also flavoured with local signature spices to work with regional dishes such as shawarma or kabsa. Rather than asking people to adopt a Western style of eating when choosing plant-based meals for their family favourite recipes.

Celebrating how eating locally produced plant-based sustainable food allows people and the planet to thrive, WMH&I generated a brand name that comes directly from this purpose, supported with the ‘Born to Thryve’ strapline.

The brand visual identity brings to life this thriving power of plants. It is a bold yet elegant marriage between the vigour of plant life and with the artistic flowing characteristics of Arabic script. The visual language sees flourishing plant vines metamorphose into the fluid lines of Arabic calligraphy.

The logo has been drawn with careful attention to regional nuances. It has been developed in collaboration with the team at Archetype led by illustration artist and designer Ruh Al-Alam. The type uses high contrasting strokes and flow from Arabic script with subtle organic touches that visually communicate plant growth.

Archetype was also chosen to support on the illustrations for visual identity expression on the packaging. The plant vine calligraphy gently holds and presents the delicious food photography. These plant-like shapes link from pack to pack across the range, to create a single movement, one plant, one life-giving energy that is THRYVE on the store shelves.

The brand’s colour palette represents the endless cycle of growth. The palette is centred around the gold colour inspired by the Arabic Sun that gives energy to plants. The wider colour scheme is a combination of fresh greens of seedlings with darker greens of flowering plants and the taupe of the ancient crops, such as faba beans.

“THRYVE captures nature’s vigour and free flowing energy, which is nurturing and resilient. Thriving involves resilience. It is not despite, but because of, adversity that we flourish and thrive.’’ says Valeria Krynetskaya, Head of Plant-Based Venture at IFFCO.

Mark Nichols, creative director at WMH&I mentions: “We set out to create a brand that inspires Middle Eastern consumers who are new to the category and want foods with the taste that they love, as well as being healthy and sustainable. THRYVE combining the familiar with the future in Arabic cooking.”

The brand launches across the region in Spring 2023.

Source: WMH&I

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