Arguably, pizza doesn’t need branding – it sells itself.
We’re sold one bite of crisp crust, concealing a comfortingly doughy middle, topped with oozing molten cheese.
But pizza branding exists to set your delicious Italian creation apart from the rest.
The humble pizza box has remained relatively unchanged since its inception in the 1960s. It was the brainchild of Tom Monaghan, who founded Dominos Pizza. Until then, takeaway pizzas had been served in bags on cardboard discs – not the most portable set-up. Monaghan reached out to a local corrugated cardboard factory to create a box that was easy to fold but strong enough to keep your pie safe.
The design has remained relatively unchanged in the last 60 years, although it was recently reported that Apple had patented a space-age pizza box.
Some worldwide pizza brands are instantly recognisable – there’s a meme doing the rounds suggesting that a Pizza Hut building remains recognisable long after the signs come down – but we’ve found a collection of clever pizza branding that you might not have seen before.
Stoned Pizza Kitchen
The name of this restaurant is both a nod to their authentic stone-baked pizzas and the fact that they hit the spot if you find yourself with the munchies. They’re also located in Stone Mountain, Georgia. Their branding takes traditional stoner iconography and notebook doodles and transforms them into a quirky, hand-crafted aesthetic.
Al Dente Pizza
Fabula Branding was tasked with creating a visual image emphasizing the laconic and comfortable nature of a modern bistro while simultaneously showing the light and cheerful Italian character of Al Dente Pizza & Pasta. The result is fun, modern and distinctive; it also manages to be effortlessly Italian without many cliched chefs with moustaches.
Subito
Pizza is one of the first street foods embraced worldwide, so it can be difficult to stand out in a saturated market. Subito understood the assignment, creating a sharp and minimalist pizza box that looks more at home on a designer coffee table than in the recycling bin. Subito also throws out the tri-coloured palette inspired by the Italian flag in favour of a vibrant coral.
The Mean Tomato
Mascots don’t have to be friendly and inviting – just ask The Mean Tomato, a food company which sells New York-style pizza and will be delivered by GoPuff, who wants to stand out in a crowded market. At first glance, they appear to be just like any other pizza company… but look closely, and you’ll see their chaotic spherical mascot to “ruin as many brand touchpoints as is physically possible”.
The brand’s choice of typefaces is equally important, paring the retro Deep Pan Sans with the Sandwich Maker Pro typeface used for Tomato’s handwriting.
Gentile Pizza Parlour
Sometimes you don’t need to reinvent the wheel; just make a great one.
That’s what happened with the branding of Gentile Pizza Parlour, where all the traditional elements of pizza branding are just polished to perfection.
There’s a retro feel here, with snippets of the 50s, 60s and even the 90s.
Every aspect is so ideally considered that you wouldn’t be surprised to find the cast of Goodfellas sharing a pie or three in the back.
