this is a walk-through of the rebranding effort of imperfect produce to imperfect foods that i managed and directed. aside from designing the logo and core imperfect brand attributes, I also produced and wrote the brand "cookbook" that was a driving force behind Imperfect's series c fund raising efforts.
The concept was simple enough: rescue produce that didn't meet the standards of conventional grocers and sell said rescued produce at a discount to consumers through an online subscription. The start-up proved to be successful. A few rounds of VC funding later Imperfect Produce was poised to offer their customers more than wonky produce.
A former Trader Joe's colleague reached out to me, "Oh hey, the company I am working for is starting up a private label program. Do you want to design it?"
Design a PL program from the ground up? Sign. Me. Up. There was one problem... the brand's early-stage start-up-y cobbled-together identity. As Imperfect was pivoting to a full grocery offering and adopting a new namesake, the timing was perfect for a comprehensive rebrand.
The first thing I wanted to understand was the brand's equity and core baseline attributes--essentially I conducted and documented an internal brand audit. This included a deep-dive into the existing brand guidelines, digging into "the why", and mapping out a holistic customer journey from awareness to activation.
Secondly, I conducted an external market audit to present how other retailers approached their brand execution into their private label assortments. I chose three different online retailers all with their own unique strategies; this was an important exercise to understand how Imperfect Foods products would differentiate and ultimately tell the Imperfect Foods story.
Before putting pen to paper, it was important to align with leadership and stakeholders to define a direction that upheld and supported Imperfect's story--more importantly, provided appropriate creative direction to the rebrand. Several food-pun concepts were created along with corresponding mood boards.
We all know a logo isn't a brand; however, the core characteristics of the Imperfect Foods visual identity balanced and embraced the tech-powered trajectory of groceries on a mission. It informed Imperfect's rescue narrative, propped up the brand positioning, and seamlessly integrated into the private label grocery program.
Additionally, I was responsible for the brand guidelines creation, including own-able illustration, tone & voice, UX/UI brand integration, photography standards, typography, and most importantly, codifying Imperfect Foods brand positioning and brand promise.
post-rebrand, imperfect foods utilized the brand guidelines as a hard-sell for series-c funding. imperfect would close the round with $72 million led by insight partners. the feedback i received from our CEO, "after reviewing our new brand guide, a lead investor told me it's very clear our brand is fighting above our weight-class."
This rebrand took place between Q3 and Q4 of 2019, just on the heels of Covid. In early 2020 I would go onto to build a robust creative team of package designers, visual designers, copywriters, photographers, and site merchandisers to further evolve the brand.
Graphic design - Angie Garland; Photography - Collette Krey
