Five minutes with Maor Ofek
Maor Ofek, founder at brand consultancy Side St, chats to Transform about why brands in the food tech startup world need to be more daring with their brand and marketing.
What’s brand design currently like in the food tech sector? Is there a tendency for these brands to utilise ‘safe’ creative elements typified within the broader FMCG sector?
Over time, each category in the food industry has come up with its own idea of how a brand should look and feel. These have become visual and thematic norms that consumers recognise and expect.
While big FMCG brands have set these design standards, food tech startups are shaking things up. They’re not only promising to change the nature of food but also have a chance to get creative with their branding.
However, it's key for new food tech startups to keep some sense of the usual categories, which are super important in the food sector. Their innovative products often shout "I'm unique," but sometimes this can be confusing if they stray too far from the norm.
Do you believe this sector can take inspiration from other industries in how it approaches brand design? If so, how?
Being a startup in a traditional industry means challenging old norms.
You can see this with other industries where startups are competing against global corporations and, therefore, have to come up with a distinctive brand.
We can see it in the insurance and finance industry where insurtech and fintech companies like Lemonade and Afterpay introduced a fresh attitude to their brand with flashy colours and unique visuals, but at the same time, kept familiar elements and messaging to avoid confusion and build trust.
How do you think this creativity can be infused into design in the food tech sector, practically speaking?
Keeping this balancing act in mind, food tech startups can utilise consumers’ familiarity with ingredients and ready-made dishes in their regular form to push the boundaries of industry conventions. This can be achieved through creative imagery or illustrations, unique colour schemes, and other design elements. By leveraging these familiar aspects, startups can generate curiosity and excitement while still maintaining a connection to traditional concepts.
Tell me about some of the insights you’ve learned at Side St from working with food tech startups
Food is a critical component of our everyday lives and impacts many aspects of our existence. While putting the spotlight on the ingredients themselves is the most straightforward thing to do when working on such a brand, it is better to convey its positive impact, whether on the environment, society, health, economy and so on. This is one of the key motivations not only for customers but also for manufacturers and investors looking to invest in food alternatives.
