Learn How a Better Brand Gave This BBQ Startup Instant Credibility and Results
John and Jim, two Massachusetts natives with day jobs in the finance industry, started a BBQ catering company called New England Smokery as a side business with a goal to put New England BBQ on the map.
The Goal
New England Smokery wanted a brand that gave them instant legitimacy and credibility. Their brand needed to feel rustic, bold, and have a touch of high-end style. It needed a visual identity system that pushed it past the competition, positioning it as a higher-end product that not only appealed to local New Englanders, but to larger businesses in the area that wanted a catering company they could trust.
The Solution
Taking cues from classic New England folk art and combining those aspects with a bold type and color palette, we created a versatile mark that helped push NES to a new level of operation.
Beyond the mark is an easily extensible visual system consisting of a custom high-contrast color palette, a range of reusable patterns and textures, and easy-to-understand typographic and visual guidelines. This system encouraged the NES team to feel comfortable using their own brand throughout the various collateral they needed (from clothing to cornhole boards).
With a robust yet simple visual system, it’s easy for New England Smokery to extend the brand without requiring extensive design resources. This kind of consistency across all brand touchpoints was absolutely crucial in setting New England Smokery apart from the countless other side-business catering companies out there with generic/nonexistent branding.
Since New England Smokery launched with the new branding, they sold out of their first batch of “Wicked Good Sauces” very quickly — winning first place in Saucekers BBQ sauce competition in the process — and already have enough demand for another production run. Moving forward, they plan to extend the line of sauces with possible new flavors and run head-on into the food truck business.
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If you liked what you saw here, check out some of the other branding and creative campaigns we’ve done for a major credit union and a tech startup.
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