Brand agency, Saltmine, has a soft spot for challenger brands and that has resulted in a series of standout brand identities.

So the Real Pet Food Company asked Saltmine to reimagine how a pet food brand could look and feel, for its new range of 60 products called Farmers Market, to be launched in Australia and the US.

Farmers Market does, as its name suggests, stand on the high ground for natural nutrition. It’s also in line with how Australians want to eat themselves.

Australians are taking more and more interest in what they eat and how it looks, and 46% of Australians now consider themselves a foodie, [NewsLifeMedia (NLM) research, November 2015]. Wholesome, natural food matters. For the brand’s target market that goes not only for themselves, but also for their pets.

It’s not a secret that pet lovers wish they had the time to shop for their pets’ food at farmers markets and prepare it lovingly at home, but the reality of a busy life means this doesn’t usually happen.

So the brand name, Farmers Market, was chosen to underline the new brand’s “real food from nature” appeal.

The masterbrand identity grew from the brand name. The brand mark is a circular device, a seal of quality which sits atop a dark, premium blue background to denote best in class, with a subtle pinstripe, reminiscent of a butcher’s apron.

Missing entirely is the cheesy dog picture. Instead the brand promise, real food, real flavour, from farm to bowl, is represented by photographic images of the real, natural ingredients in each recipe and three tick claims on the front of every pack.

Germaine Chua, category & strategy director at the Real Pet Food Company commented, “Key to the success of this project was creating a visual identity that looks good enough to eat and I think they’ve nailed it.“