Leading food and drink company Princes Ltd. is shaking up the plant-based category with the launch of a new disruptor brand, Plot 9. The brand creation offers zero-compromise plant-based meal pots, which aim to honour the power and glory of plants through a bold attitude and symbolic visual system. BrandOpus, the global branding agency behind the punchy design, has developed the positioning, name, identity, packaging and brand guidelines.

To stand apart in the rapidly evolving and competitive sector, Princes was on a mission to create an unconventional disruptive brand presence that matched its zero-compromise product offering. BrandOpus was tasked to create a brand from scratch that connected with a younger flexitarian audience.

A deep dive into the category uncovered that plant-based had traditionally been defined by literal interpretations of goodness and nature – often denoted through green plant codes, natural colourways and leafy textures. The BrandOpus team saw this as an opportunity to drive more of a positive and emotive narrative for both the brand and category, by heroing the product’s epic ingredients and quality.

The new work aims to give power to plants by metaphorically capturing their potency, strength and mightiness through a rustic and unapologetically supersized pitchfork icon. Connecting honest good quality ingredients with the land, it echoes the brand’s bold and confident attitude of digging in.

Design details: The name Plot 9 transports you to a specific type of land where vegetables are grown. The black and white identity is set in colour blocks of ripped paper, encompassing a vibrant and energetic colour palette. Coding each flavour variant, it creates a strong distinctive on-shelf presence – standing out from competitors who opt for neutral or moody tones. Earthy graphics of grass, birds and the stamp texture bring to life the feel of the surrounding allotment on pack, giving another nod back to the natural origin of plants. The warm on-pack photography style creates depth with rich colours, drawing out the taste and freshness of the adventurous ingredient combinations. A bold, confident and playful tone of voice echoes the brand’s ‘embrace epic’ attitude of no vanilla, no nonsense, no compromise.

Paul Taylor, chief creative officer and founding partner, BrandOpus commented. “To achieve standout on shelf and deliver against the brand’s ambitions, we needed to create a brand with a bold plant-based attitude. Plot 9 digs in to the power of plants with a name that evokes the spirit of the allotment, a garden fork symbol that heroes how we harness the land and a naturally raw visual expression to meaningfully connect and engage consumers”.

Alan Eriksen, marketing director, Princes added, “Plant-based food is often perceived as a compromise when it comes to flavour and texture. Plot 9 is about squashing this misconception and showing consumers the true power of plants. Setting out to disrupt the disruptors, we believe BrandOpus has equipped us with the right brand tools to cut through in an increasingly crowded category”.