Description:

When it comes to plant-based meal delivery, there’s a monotonous swathe of earthy tones and lentils sitting in lettuce leaves. Not IKU though.

IKU was one of Sydney’s first plant-based eatery. They came to us in search of a brand refresh that would not only nod to their rich history, but also maintain their local vibe as it grows to a national level, all the while presenting a more exciting, vibrant and youthful identity to a new younger market.

In a category that’s quite literally greenwashed, the colour palette is a deliberate divergence from the muted, natural, green tones the audience has come to expect from plant-based brands. It feels delicious, exciting and celebrates the colours of some of IKU’s favourite ingredients — like lemon yellow, red lentil, and deep purple aubergine.

This bold approach to colour fed into our photography style. Having noticed that much of the photography in the category felt humanless, stark and uninviting, we wanted to give IKU a clear point of difference that strayed away from the “perfect” overhead meal shot. We produced and art directed a suite of images that not only celebrated the food itself, but the beautiful moments (and colourful mess) that shared meals at a homely kitchen table create.

Packaging was also an opportunity to use the extended colour palette to visually categorise IKU’s extensive menu, making it easy for the customer to distinguish between curries, savoury snacks, desserts and more.

Since the brand’s launch in August 2021, IKU have seen proven resonance with their target audience of Millennials and Gen Z. They’ve seen strong month-on-month sales growth, above average conversion rate and retention, with 60% of IKU customers choosing to come back and shop again (that’s more than double the industry average).

The rebrand also helped IKU gain coverage in some of Australia’s most prominent urban publications like Broadsheet, The Daily Telegraph and 9 Honey, reaching a total of just under 14M people in under 12 months.