Rise of The Black Anchovy
Infused in Vietnamese cooking for generations and relished by every household till today - Fish Sauce is synonymous with being Vietnamese. Until recently, this highly lucrative product category was dominated by local brands. For reasons that we reveal further below, International brands began gaining substantial market acceptance. Thuan Phat - a long standing local sauce brand, decided it was time to lift Vietnamese Fish Sauce into a new era with their new Black Anchovy Fish Sauce.
A Royal Stature
Our first task was to craft a sauce bottle for Thuan Phat that not only set them apart from the myriad of traditional "wine bottle" shapes in the market but expressed a more emotive identity for the brand. Thru' our Brand Archetype exercise, we discovered the message behind Thuan Phat's logo - "The Royal Splash", a communication long ignored in place of functional product messages. This inspired our Bottle Design we came to call "The Royal Stature".
Challenging Tradition
We went for a label design that could balance tradition and modernity well as we believe this to be a truer reflection Vietnamese society; And what Thuan Phat could represent well. Cultural arts can be a contentious point for brands in Vietnam as much of its heritage can be traced to diverse foreign influences (E.g. Chinese & French). So, while many brands choose to stay away from cultural references or limit expressions to socially accepted symbols (e.g. Ao Dai, Conical Hat, etc), we believed that brands have a responsibility in building social confidence & identity by expanding its ownership of its cultural arts whatever its original influence may be.
Coming Full Circle
From the fishermen who toil away under the moonlight to haul the black anchovies, to the salt bowls and fermentation barrels used to create the quality Fish Sauce, to the final circular bowl it is commonly served in, The "Ink Brush Circle" is a symbolic representation of Thuan Phat's complete, holistic process of creating quality fish sauce.
Enter The New Queen
The result is a brand new identity for Thuan Phat that is deeply symbolic but presented in a contemporary styling. And in a category dominated by heavy designs, red and gold color, Thuan Phat's stark neutral color tones were a breath of fresh air that stood out clearly on shelves while complimenting modern homes.
