By Adam Peek, host of the People of Packaging podcast and a VP at Meyers Printing
If you were asked to draw the logo of a popular food and beverage brand, which would you choose?
Chances are you would go with McDonald’s. For one, its logo is easy to render on paper. Plus, all you need is one color: yellow.
If you were more gifted than the average person in calligraphy, maybe you would go with Coca-Cola. Those strokes might be more challenging to pull off, but they are nonetheless easy to capture from memory.
Two reasons may explain why these logos have embedded themselves in our collective consciousness. The first is ubiquity. The second is perfection.
There’s no denying that logo design is at the core of branding. Luck out on an excellent logo, and you give your brand a face that stands out, worthy of being remembered. That’s why brand specialists devote hours to logo creation.
For 2023 and beyond, here are logo design trends for food and beverage products you might want to get behind.
Whet the appetite
When you’re selling edible products, it’s crucial to whet the consumers’ appetite even before they get to see and hold the actual food. That’s why snack food packaging usually uses drawings of what’s inside the package. You’re giving that potentially hungry person on the street a taste of your product.
To take that up a notch, you can include a representation of whatever sumptuous treat you have on offer on the logo itself. That hungry person on the street will have to fight their urge to pass up doubly hard.
Consider Mr. Frosty’s Ice Cream. The brand doesn’t shy away from selling what it’s selling. Even if it looks a bit of an oversell, you have to admire the persistence and consistency.
Highlight your unique value proposition
All brands have that one thing that makes them unique. Perhaps it’s your commitment to protecting Mother Nature. If that’s the case, get eco-friendly with your marketing efforts. Consider designing a logo that automatically paints your branding green.
Take inspiration from Planet Protein, which sells vegan protein powder. The company logo is a green leafy vegetable—or perhaps it’s a sketch of a tree abundant with leaves.
Either way, it captures what the brand is all about: organic, sustainably sourced ingredients. Who would have thought you could sufficiently replenish your body’s daily protein needs without harming animals and Mother Earth? That’s what Planet Protein promises, which you won’t miss even if you only have their logo to go by.
Take a nostalgia trip
Humans can’t run away from their memories. That explains why nostalgia is a thing. You look at the past and see it from a much more positive perspective. As such, you may realize that nostalgia also has a place in logo design, especially in 2023 and beyond.
The grunge movement will see a resurrection logo design-wise. And it’s most suited to food and beverage products that champion edginess. Think energy drinks and craft beers.
Nostalgia extends beyond the 90s all the way to the groovy 70s. Look out for playful color palettes accentuated with fun and hip graphic elements. Think juice drink logos symbolic of peace, love, and all things positive.
Go minimalist
Of course, the oldies but goodies will remain. Again, think McDonald’s. That’s a simple-looking “M” right there, but it does the job. In 2023 and beyond, this simplicity and straightforwardness in logo design will continue to reign supreme. As long as you have an excellent grasp of color and font psychology, the minimalist design trend is something you can maximize.
Leverage word marks
This is another classic type of logo that won’t go away anytime soon. It’s font-based, highlighting the name of a business. Here, the most straightforward example might be Coca-Cola. Those carefree white letters on red are recognizable everywhere you go. Other noteworthy examples include the logos of Subway, Baskin Robbins, and Outback Steakhouse.
Pick pictorials
You can’t blame new brands for getting inspiration from successful brands regarding logo design. In fact, some of the most popular brands right now rely solely on icons. Think Twitter, Target, and Apple. It won’t be long until the food and beverage industry catches up on this design trend. In the meantime, we have Chili’s.
Wrapping It Up
The food and beverage industry ranks high in the competitive market. The success of a brand like McDonald’s and Coca-Cola doesn’t happen overnight. It’s the result of careful business strategies sustained for years and years. Integral to that is excellent branding, which covers logo design.
A logo is a brand’s representation at its most distilled. It tells a story, and logos that have evolved throughout the years make history.
If you’re in the process of designing a new logo or tweaking an old one, give it the utmost care. Let color and font psychology inform it in such a way that it can resonate with your target market.
Adam Peek is the host of the People of Packaging podcast and a VP at Meyers Printing. His passion for changing the world has led him to be a sustainability consultant, sales trainer, global keynote speaker/preacher, soon-to-be Children’s Book author, and a part-time rapper.
