Salash Delicatessen is a small, family-run smallgoods business based in Kumeu and a regular at food markets throughout the Auckland region. Salash’s point of difference is its family history and geographic origins. Hailing from Northern Serbia, the family has been refining how they make and produce dry-cured meats for four generations. This imbues their dry-cured meats with unique flavours, styles, and textures.

Since immigrating to New Zealand in 2009, the brand has built a very loyal following. A new business strategy aimed to get the brand into nationwide supermarkets. Discussions with supermarket brands highlighted the need to invest in their existing brand and packaging, enabling the brand to stand out in chiller aisles and speak to a premium price point and discerning ‘foodie’ consumer.

The design process explored this Eastern European region’s visual styles, patterns and culture, taking historical cues and reinterpreting them for the modern foodie consumer. The bespoke wordmark draws inspiration from the Cyrillic alphabet, with sharp serifs that speak to butchery, knives and hooks that are used to hang meat cuts up during drying. Secondary brand elements, icons and patterns are modernised and simplified interpretations of historical regional costumes and textiles. The Serbian national flag directly inspires the colour palette. The simple blue, white, and red starkly contrast with the earthy tones used by competitor brands.

Simple, oversized pack formats were created to cater to various sizes, shapes, and formats of meat to minimise the amount of packaging the small business needs to produce and store. Printed with generic information, a simple stickering system using bold and utilitarian typography is hand-applied at the packing stage.

Early success saw the brand listed in Farro food market stores and positioning in nationwide retailers.