HOME-COOKED AFRO-CARIBBEAN

CUISINE ANYWHERE YOU GO

De’s Cuisine is a bold and daring CPG brand on a mission to bring African and Caribbean cuisine to mainstream American retail markets. In the current landscape, African and Caribbean foods are severely underrepresented.

The founder of De’s Cuisine, Dede Nyeplu II, had a dream to bring fresh, authentic, ready-to-eat meals to the market that could be enjoyed by anyone.

Our major challenge was to create a brand identity that was culturally authentic, but also approachable by a wider and modern market. Our goal wasn’t just to appeal to people of African or Caribbean descent, but to people of all ethnic backgrounds in order to discover a unique flavor they had never experienced before.

A round container of jollof rice with a plastic lid, orange and white packaging, and a label that says "Déjà Cuisine Jollof Rice" with a picture of cooked rice and some graphics, set against an orange background.

EXPERIENCE HOME-COOKED AFRICAN CUISINE

Sometimes it can be hard to explain how a brands visual identity can entirely change the course of a business and how it can be used to position your business.

But I think this project we did for De's Cuisine is a perfect example of how design is instrumental to the way people view and interact with your brand.

De's Cuisine is on a mission to do something BIG. When you visit a supermarket here in the United States, you'll be greeted by products from all sorts of cultures across the world.

You'll find Mexican food, Asian food, American Food, but there's a certain culture that's seemingly always left out of the conversation - and that's African and Caribbean culture.

Billboard advertising African cuisine with a cartoon woman wearing a headwrap, text 'Experience African Cuisine', and a picture of a rice dish with vegetables.

A wall covered with colorful advertisement posters for Jollof rice, showing images of prepared rice dishes with vegetables, and bold text emphasizing that the rice is vegan, nutritious, and African, with a blurred person walking in front.

Outdoor billboard advertising De' Cuisine West African pepper sauce featuring a cartoon illustration of a smiling woman with a traditional headwrap, and an image of a jar of the pepper sauce with a green lid.

FRESH FROM DE’s KITCHEN

In Liberia, De means “mother”. To help make the brand feel friendly and accessible we created De, a personality packed mascot to act as the face of the brand to put the comfort in comfort food.

Line drawing of a smiling girl with a flower on her cheek and earrings, wearing a headscarf.

Traditional African Modu hat honors brands cultural background and adds unique character to the mascot.

Line drawing of a smiling woman's face with earrings and flowers on cheeks, her hair in a bun with a patterned headscarf.

Confident, friendly and approachable expression helps the brand the comforting and accessible to a wide audience.

Black and white illustration of a woman's face with an intricate hairstyle and hoop earrings, smiling.

Flowers represent the brands connection to nature, commitment to clean ingredients, and add a feminine touch.

Stylized illustration of a woman's face with earrings and a headscarf against a red background.

Line drawing of a woman's face with traditional hairstyle, earrings, and flowers on her cheeks.

Line drawing of a woman's face with a colorful headwrap, earrings, and flowers on her cheeks.

Illustration of a woman with a patterned headwrap, earrings, and flowers on her cheeks, set against an orange background.

Three packages of Dé's Cuisine Jollof Rice, a traditional African rice dish, in red and green packaging, displayed against a beige background.

ACCESSIBLE AND CULTURALLY RICH.

The challenge for creating De’s Cuisine was to bridge the gap between cultural authenticity, and modern accessibility. De’s Cuisine is meant to be enjoyed by everyone of all ethnicities and backgrounds, so it was vital that it felt uniquely Afro-Caribbean, while rooting the brands visual identity in simplicity and accessibility.

Two boxes of De's Cuisine Jollof Rice, one in red and one in green packaging, featuring images of rice dishes and labeled as sweet vegetable African rice, set on a green background.

A round container of Jolof Rice with a clear plastic lid, orange and gold labeling, and a picture of seasoned rice inside, on an orange background.

A jar of West African pepper sauce with a green lid and bright orange label, set against an orange background.

A person walking past a colorful display of rice product advertisements with various phrases such as "Sweet, Savory, Savvy," "Vegan Rice Has Never Tasted Better," and "All Natural, Nutrient Rich, Authentically African," on a wall featuring multiple panels with images of rice dishes.

FIRM FOUNDATIONS READY TO SCALE.

De’s Cuisine’s long-term goal is to introduce an expansive line of flavor packed Afro-Caribbean products. This visual identity acts as the solid foundation laying the brands core identity, with room to continue to scale as the brand launches new products.

A laptop displaying a website for De's Cuisine, featuring products like Original Jollof Rice, Ready to Eat Jollof Rice, and African Pepper Sauce, on a red and orange background.

A person walking past large colorful advertisements for Jollof rice, featuring images of rice dishes with vegetables and spices, with the person appearing blurred.

Outdoor sign advertising African cuisine with a picture of rice and a cartoon illustration of a woman with a headwrap.

CLIENT TESTIMONIAL

“Kyle is very engaging, and he delivered high-quality work for my company. He was receptive to suggestions, listened carefully to our vision for the website and branding project, and offered valuable feedback and creative critique for us to consider. His fees are also transparent from the beginning to the end of the project. Bigelow Design Co will also remain my go-to company for future projects.”

Dede Nyeplu II

Founder of De’s Cuisine

A white graphic of a hammer and a fountain pen crossing each other on a black background.

READY TO SCALE YOUR BRAND?

Let us help create a hard-hitting brand that will get you the growth and recognition you deserve.

GET STARTED