Background: TasteTech is a specialist ingredient supplier that provides additives and flavourings – typically found in bakery, confectionery, and chewing gum – to the food industry. Over the past 17 years the business has grown from innovative start-up to international supplier.

The challenge: TasteTech suffered a major shock in 2007 when founder and MD, Roger Sinton, died suddenly. Following the tragedy, Janis Sinton assumed a lead role, building on earlier business success to achieve significant sales growth and a more strategic approach.

TasteTech’s new focus? Becoming an international market leader, and achieving ‘top ten’ status in its field. To meet this goal, the business was considering improvements to communications, sample packaging and exhibition collateral. However, as an established and successful brand, any changes to its original identity needed careful consideration.

The response: After several exploratory meetings with the Designing Demand Design Adviser, Lynne Elvins, TasteTech met with several agencies to discuss the project. The company was particularly impressed by Bath-based designers Brand Tonic, and commissioned the agency to redesign its brand identity and exhibition materials.

To explore the client’s requirements, Brand Tonic toured the TasteTech factory, met the team and gained an understanding of the business before providing initial concepts. Options ranged from slight modifications to radical redesign.

The results: An updated identity, comprising strapline, strong revised logo and a clear, fresh blue and white colour palette, all explained by clear brand guidelines.

Simon Rumble of Brand Tonic explains his agency’s thinking:

“B2B brand identities are often very functional with a low emotive content. TasteTech offers a more personal, problem-solving technical service that differentiates it in the market. The new brand encapsulates this sentiment, with a double T logo contained in a soft scientific bubble that is both modern and approachable.”

This identity has been rolled out across a range of materials, from website and stationery to exhibition collateral, launching at the Food Ingredients Europe show in Frankfurt. TasteTech certainly made an impact, generating more interest and appointments than they’d ever expected.

Was it worth contacting the SWDP? The experience has been an eye-opening, rewarding one for the TasteTech team – it has brought the team together and helped them move forward strategically. Robert McCarthy, internal project manager, explains:

“I certainly think that our new branding helped us present ourselves in a much more professional, contemporary and modern way.”

“Getting a Designing Demand Design Adviser involved helped significantly. Lynne Elvins encouraged and lead us through what could potentially have been a very time consuming and stressful process with relative ease.”

“They (the South West Design Programme) helped us take stock and look at our image from the outside, providing impartial advice to see us make the right decisions during the design process.”

SWDP services. We can offer your clients FREE support with:

  • developing new or improved products or services
  • refreshing or creating brands
  • packaging
  • communications
  • upgrading work or retail environments
  • researching trends and customer needs
  • designing and introducing sustainable practices

Please call 0117 962 9671 or email design@businesslinkwessex.co.uk if you’ve a client you’d like to recommend….