A British Baking High Street Revolution
This story begins in 2008, winning my first corporate rebrand pitch essentially with mini cake boxes covered in a repeating wheat pattern printed from my A4 printer and tied with ribbons. A nod to nostalgia and a reminder of what makes us love the gift of giving. Little did I know this was the beginning of an eight-year project that would pave my career path and lead to changing the landscape of baking on the British High Street.
Relationships are at the heart of change
Starting as a Junior Designer with my understanding of branding acquired from blogs and books, this project was led largely by intuition and nurtured with courage and trust instilled in client, team, and employer relationships. The connection between my Managing Director at the time, myself, and the client was rather unique—a camaraderie and loyalty that ignited belief and fostered creative freedom in reimagining what a high street bakery chain could and should be. Inspired by the passion behind Jamie Oliver’s school revolution and Pret a Manger’s ambitious takeover of every corner in London, our client aspired to do for bread and pastries what Pret was doing for sandwiches.
Following a trip to Paris and a lot of indulgent time spent with coffee and croissants, our client saw a space on our British high street to make café culture more accessible in the UK. Euphorium Bakery started on Upper Street with an anti-brand, one I wasn’t adverse to and found to be challenging the status quo at the time, but it didn’t sell its delicious baked goods. All of Euphorium’s breads and cakes were baked passionately by hand on-site by European Artisan bakers and loved by everyone lucky enough to stumble through the door. Our primary goal was to increase brand recognition and footfall.
We re-branded the bakery and all touch points to inject the same level of heart and soul into customer experiences as their bakers kneaded into their speciality breads. Collaborating with our in-house wordsmith, we developed a new verbal and visual language that conveyed what set apart good from great bread, pastries, and cakes. In a playful and proudly British manner, we candidly shared how ‘imaginary ingredients’ like passion and skill contributed to the flavour as much as flour, water, yeast, and a pinch of salt.
This was during a time when Artisan meant something. Not a buzzword, but a key differentiator to Gregs and Coffee Republic at the time. We not only realigned how the brand looked, but how it felt to staff and customers alike. This emotional connection imbued the brand with a warmth that had been absent, proving to be the vital ingredient needed for its growth.
Within five years, Euphorium Bakery grew into a small chain, with locations in Islington, Belsize Park, Hampstead Heath, and concessions in Covent Garden and London’s Whiteleys Shopping Centre. In 2013 a two-storey flagship opened on the corner of Threadneedle Street incorporating a carvery, swiftly followed by a merger with Tesco PLC and the establishment of 124 stores in London and its surrounding areas.
As Creative Director and Brand Guardian, I worked closely with the architectural and build teams overseeing the store variations and roll-out. By this point every brand vision the client had I was able to translate, create and maintain brand consistency and recognition until Euphorium was sold in 2015.
Although this project didn't win any prestigious design awards and faced its fair share of challenges, what truly made a significant impact were the strong and genuine relationships that threaded through every aspect of the brand. These connections were not typical professional associations; they were grounded in authenticity and mutual respect. They formed the key ingredient upon which Euphorium Bakery's success was built, demonstrating that dedicated, trusting relationships serve as the driving force behind meaningful transformation and substantial growth.
+ What truly fuelled the brand's rapid growth and local popularity was our commitment to simple and engaging storytelling. We meticulously connected the dots, weaving a narrative that provided a platform for a quality bakery café to rise, shine, and sell itself. These efforts, combined with the genuine relationships we nurtured, became the cornerstone upon which Euphorium Bakery's success story was built. Showcasing that authentic connections, compelling storytelling, and dedicated people are pivotal catalysts for transformative growth.
From high street chain to retail success
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High Street Revolution
The turning point for the Euphorium Bakery brand; when the flagship store on the corner of Threadneedle Street brought quality coffee, bacon rolls and brioche to the City’s finest.
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Tesco Merger and 124 Site Roll Out
The opportunity to offer artisan alongside Tesco’s daily bread launched in South Kensington and transformed Euphorium Bakery into a high end on the High Street retail experience.
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Christmas Retail Product Development
With retail comes the demand for products that entice as much as they delight. The Christmas campaign created stocking fillers that made ITV’s top ten gifts under £10.
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High-Level Advertising Campaigns
Euphorium needed imagery and assets that matched the artisan quality grade ingredients and products. A brand photography vision was collaboratively brought to life with the UKs leading food photographer Howard Shooter.
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The Bakery Project Concept
Part of a new Tesco initiative to restore old-school classics, work with local suppliers and charities, but most of all make simple, straightforward, great bread and cakes. A utilitarian brand to sit alongside Euphorium in over 100 UK stores.
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Restoring Great British Classics
Creative campaigns and vision for The Bakery Project. Working closely with food photographer Howard Shooter to visualise a contrasting utilitarian brand palette used on everything from billboards to cake boxes.
Team credits
To Euphorium Bakery Founder Danny Bear, whose gut feeling I hold a huge amount of respect and gratitude.
Crumpled Dog, whose small but mighty team I was part of and then led, delivered the Euphorium vision and far beyond branding, every day, for a solid 10 years.
We applaud the original bakers whose recipes were consistently delivering on our brand promise.
To our suppliers, builders, architects and friends who all got stuck in, grubby and built Euphorium from the ground up. I salute you all.
