A fresh rise: Spinach rethinks Paul Rhodes Bakery for a new era

When former Michelin-starred chef Paul Rhodes approached Spinach Branding to rebrand his artisan bakery, The Art of Baking was born. This simple yet powerful idea captures the company’s commitment to craft – using the finest ingredients and staying true to traditional techniques. Spinach branding director Leigh Banks shares the process.

How exciting was it to work with such a prestigious brand as Paul Rhodes?

It has been a genuine pleasure working with Paul (MD), Craig (FD), and Michelle (Marketing Consultant). From our first meeting, they were nothing but the perfect client: passionate, interested, great at feeding back, whilst offering good and valid direction where needed. Also, Paul would always provide us with a bag of fresh, delicious bread straight from the ovens. What more could you want?

What was your brief?

Paul Rhodes had developed a fantastic reputation with its clients for high-quality products. However, their brand identity gave a very different impression of their offering. With ambitious plans to grow the business, we were asked to help the company create a new brand identity, then roll the identity out across a range of communications and assets, including their website, packaging, event stands, vehicle livery and uniforms.

How did you approach this?

As ever, we broke the project down into a series of stages, which included auditing their business, undertaking a series of brand development workshops, helping the team develop their brand platform, then creating a brand identity reflective of the company’s unique values, personality, and positioning. Part of this was coming up with a new brand promise ‘The Art of Baking’, which we found was perfect in reflecting Paul’s background as a Michelin starred chef and his approach to his craft.

What have you learned from the series of workshops you’ve run at Paul Rhodes?

That the most successful client workshops are based on confidence – the confidence to leave the client to get on with the workshop exercises without leading them. Set the task, then come back once the allotted time is up, and then discuss. The results are insightful, often surprising, yet always rewarding.

What has been your takeaway from the project?

With the launch of the new brand, Paul Rhodes has experienced significant growth and won various new contracts. Generously, the team has said much of the success can be traced back to how they are now perceived by a wider audience, with the new identity being pivotal to this.