Pearlfisher refreshes Saudi-based confectionary brand Gandour

The agency’s redesign of Gandour’s design assets and touchpoints sought to bring a fresh face to the historic Middle Eastern brand by becoming more consumer facing. Pearlfisher’s work involved the evolution of the brand’s iconic logo and creation of a new tagline.

Having accumulated a large number of sub-brands since its inception in 1857, including chocolate brand Unica and chewing gum brand Baloona, Gandour felt the strengthening of its master brand would aid its future development and expansion plans.

Pearlfisher design director, Rich Wilson, says, “We needed to devise a creative strategy to leverage the emotion at the heart of the brand and create a unique platform for activation across the brand portfolio. We did this by bringing together Gandour’s foundational values: its history, its operational expertise and its human side.”

The agency attempted to inject a more joyful personality into the brand by adapting its famous bellboy logo. This was achieved by enhancing its face with a larger, more generous smile, which was complemented by the addition of a more fluid wordmark. Keeping to the cheerful theme, a new tagline – ‘What smiles are made of’ – firmly connects the refreshed confectionary brand with its historic mission of making people smile.

Wilson adds, “We also created modern, stand-out frames that can be used in a multitude of different ways, across all corporate and consumer touchpoints to frame products, social media, photography and moments in life that conjure up the wider world and rich heritage of Gandour.”

By becoming more in touch with its human side, Gandour managing director Rafic Ghandour hopes the brand will now be led into a new chapter.

He says, “A smile is a universal symbol of connection and emotion. How Pearlfisher has framed our smile and our values will connect with each and every member of our different audiences and speak to the different moments in life that we pride ourselves in catering for.”