a box of long grain rice featuring a repeat pattern of a bowl of jollof rice
Packaging for long grain rice, featuring a shopping list to encourage customers to make jollof rice.
let’s talk about food one
West African food is widely unavailable in most British supermarkets. Many ingredients can only be found in specialist shops, rendering it inaccessible to many consumers who will never be given the opportunity to discover this rich culinary culture themselves.
let’s talk about food two
This project was one strand of a wider project examining how West African food could be successfully introduced into mainstream British taste. View its sister project here.
Talking through the universal language of food.
a roundel that says 'plantain' a packet of plantain chips with a repeat pattern of plantains
The bold, repeated patterns are inspired by the Dutch ink style of printing found in pagne prints.
a small box of Yassa spice mix featuring a repeat pattern of a fish
Packaging for a spice mix inspired by a Senegalese dish called Poulet au Yassa.
perception vs. culture one
Without access to cultural outputs from West Africa, along with negative portrayals in film and on television, negative perceptions of the region can flourish. Fascinated by the link between the way we access and enjoy the food of other cultures and how we view those cultures outside of their culinary produce, I began researching how creating accessible, mainstream brands for West African food products in the UK could help to create more positive perceptions of the region.
a roundel that reads 'jollof rice everyday' two jars of jollof rice cooking paste, featuring a repeat pattern of a bowl of jollof rice'
Jars of cooking paste which feature matching colour palettes and illustrations with the rest of the range.
getting familiar one
Food of Paradise is a brand inspired in name by 'grains of paradise', an ingredient prevalent in West African cooking, but seldom found in British shops. It uses illustration inspired by pagne prints, an unusual colour palette and bold typography to encourage an unfamiliar audience to try something new.
getting familiar two
The brand is carefully designed to reduce potential feelings of alienation or fear the audience may experience when trying totally unfamiliar food. Each product's packaging contains shopping lists, recipes and a light-hearted tone of voice to encourage the potentially wary audience to give West African food a try.
two jars of curried goat cooking paste in yellow
Cooking pastes are an easy alternative for new cooks who may struggle to find some of the more inaccessible ingredients.
two packets of stickers featuring illustrations of a goat, scotch bonnet peppers, fish, jollof rice, plantain and a chicken
A packet of stickers found free inside Food of Paradise products, featuring the chance to win a trip to Lagos.
outside of the brand one
Beyond simply introducing a new audience to West African food, the brand seeks to create direct connections between the British public and West African identities and economies in a tangible way. One advertising campaign, for example, allows the audience to win a trip to a villa holiday in Lagos, helping to generate excitement surrounding the potential for tourism in West Africa.

Thanks for taking a look at this project!

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