Café Sol

Café Sol came to us to develop and roll out a brand refresh for their 20 year old company. The café had a loyal following and was familiar to every one that passed it on the street. But what became immediately apparent from our first meeting with the client was that some of Cafe Sol’s best assets weren’t translated into their branding.

The company is smart, efficient and empathetic to its customer base. They make their produce fresh, in-house everyday and deliver it personally to each location around the country. Quality, freshness and friendliness are all part of Cafe Sol’s backbone but we weren’t seeing these traits in their design, collateral or communication. We also found that the current branding wasn’t evolving with Cafe Sol’s customers. It was heavy and tired but their visitors were the opposite. We conducted customer observation sessions and noted that the Café Sol customer was full of energy; they were busy, they were stopping at a Café Sol for a quick pick-me-up during their day.

To ensure a smooth brand transition for Café Sol's existing customers it was important to us to retain the elements that were working within the current Café Sol branding. We developed a clear brand strategy over the course of several months and we expanded upon the visual language in places we felt would aid communication. We brought freshness, friendliness and quality into each element a customer would touch. We tested and trialled packaging and signage to help the customer's journey be more fluid and enjoyable. We had several meetings with the client looking at how the Café Sol brand intended to grow in the coming years and we made sure the brand was robust and malleable enough to work alongside and enhance this journey.