Branding & Website Refresh for Pensacola’s Beloved European-Style Bakery
The Challenge
How do you evolve a well-loved bakery’s brand to reflect a major expansion without losing the charm, community connection, and strong brand recognition that customers already adore?
The Approach
Reenergize Craft Gourmet Bakery’s brand with a modern, refined feel that could carry them into their next chapter while preserving the familiarity their customers know and love.
A Fresh Look for a Growing Pensacola Favorite
Craft Gourmet Bakery has been a cornerstone of Pensacola’s food scene since opening its doors, earning a loyal following for its European-style baked goods, warm hospitality, and deep community ties. When the team shared their plans to open a second location with us, it marked a major milestone in their growth and the perfect time to refresh their brand and website.
Although this was our first professional engagement with the Craft team, the relationship felt more like working with friends than clients. That sense of trust and familiarity allowed us to focus on what mattered most: preserving the bakery’s reputation as a beloved local institution while giving it the polished, modern presence it needed to thrive in its next chapter.
From the start, we knew this project was about more than just updating visuals. The Craft Gourmet Bakery team had never gone through a full brand workshop before, so we used this opportunity to slow down and take a deep dive into who they are, what they stand for, and how they want to be perceived. Together, we unraveled what we knew about the brand, uncovered new insights, and refocused on the values that have made Craft a community favorite.
With a second location on the horizon, brand continuity became a top priority. An expansion meant more eyes on the business and more opportunities to make an impression, so we worked to ensure the name and identity would remain strong and consistent across every touchpoint. This work would become the foundation for the new website, guiding not only its design and visual elements but also its tone, messaging, and overall user experience.
Our brand workshop revealed just how deeply Craft Gourmet Bakery’s identity is rooted in community, quality, and European tradition. We refined their core messaging to ensure it would resonate with both longtime customers and new guests discovering the bakery for the first time. The updated language highlights their dedication to simple, high-quality ingredients, handmade processes, and a warm, welcoming atmosphere that invites people to linger.
We also focused on positioning Craft as more than a bakery. The messaging reinforces their role as a community hub and trusted local partner while celebrating their commitment to making gourmet flavors accessible to everyone. This clear, consistent voice became the anchor for all other brand elements, ensuring that whether a customer is visiting the shop, ordering online, or following along on social media, they experience the same authentic Craft story.
The Craft Gourmet Bakery logo was already well-loved by both the team and the community, so our goal was not to reinvent it but to refine it. We kept the familiar layout and utensil motif that customers instantly recognized, updating the elements to feel more modern and versatile. The utensils were simplified for a cleaner look, and the typography was elevated to reflect a more mature, sophisticated tone that could grow with the brand.
These subtle yet impactful updates preserved the equity the logo had built over the years while giving it the polish needed to stand confidently in a new, expanded market. The refreshed logo now works seamlessly across everything from storefront signage to packaging, digital platforms, and beyond.
Craft Gourmet Bakery’s color palette strikes a balance between warmth, tradition, and modern sophistication. Inspired by the textures and tones of fresh ingredients and European café culture, the palette combines earthy neutrals with rich, inviting accents. Muted greens and warm browns evoke a sense of comfort and craftsmanship, while deep reds and golden hues add vibrancy and energy.
These colors work seamlessly across both physical and digital spaces, reinforcing the bakery’s approachable yet refined personality. Whether appearing on packaging, signage, or the new website, the palette creates a consistent and recognizable visual experience that reflects Craft’s commitment to quality and its place at the heart of the Pensacola community.
To bring Craft Gourmet Bakery’s refreshed brand to life, we leaned into organic shapes and familiar outlines that mirror the imperfect yet perfect nature of baked goods. The visual system incorporates radial type treatments that feel dynamic and handcrafted, paired with custom illustrations that celebrate the artistry behind each product.
These elements work together to create a rustic, old-world aesthetic that ties back to Craft’s European roots while still feeling warm and inviting for a modern audience. From packaging to digital layouts, the assets add texture, depth, and personality, ensuring every touchpoint tells the same authentic Craft story.
Craft Gourmet Bakery’s photography style captures both the beauty of the finished product and the heart behind it. Their product shots are carefully composed to showcase the most aesthetically pleasing details such as golden crusts, delicate layers, and vibrant colors that make each item irresistible.
Behind the scenes, they are not afraid to show the flour-dusted hands and bustling kitchen moments, but they frame them with a sense of delicacy and refinement that reflects the bakery’s artisanal approach. Alongside these, they highlight the people who make Craft what it is, including the skilled team and the loyal community that gathers around them. The story of Craft is just as much about connection as it is about craftsmanship.
As part of the brand rollout, we invited the Craft Gourmet Bakery team into our professional in-house photography studio for a dedicated half-day shoot. The goal was to create engaging, one-of-a-kind stop motion photography that would stand out during the brand reveal and beyond.
The stop motion format allowed us to highlight the artistry and movement behind Craft’s baked goods in a way that felt lively and unexpected. Each frame was carefully planned to showcase the textures, colors, and craftsmanship that define the bakery. These assets became a key part of the launch campaign, adding energy and personality to social posts, website features, and promotional materials.
The new Craft Gourmet Bakery website is the full expression of the brand refresh brought to life. It is where every piece of the work we did, from the refined logo and updated color palette to the custom illustrations and photography, comes together in a cohesive and engaging experience.
Built on WordPress, the site is as functional as it is beautiful. Visitors can easily navigate through menu offerings, custom cake information, catering details, and the bakery’s story, all while being immersed in the warm, European-inspired personality of the brand. For the Craft team, the site is simple to update, ensuring it will stay fresh as the business grows. Launching the website marked the first time all of the new brand elements were seen working together, setting the tone for the next chapter of Craft Gourmet Bakery.
For Craft Gourmet Bakery, organic social media has always been one of the most powerful ways to connect with their community. To support this strategy, we built a complete suite of social media templates that give the team a consistent, polished look across every post.
These templates were designed to balance flexibility with brand cohesion. Each one allows the team to showcase their baked goods, promotions, and community updates while maintaining the refined visual identity established in the refresh.
To make day-to-day posting even easier, we uploaded all templates into Canva as fully editable designs. This gave the Craft team the ability to update content quickly and efficiently without losing the professional, on-brand aesthetic that makes their feed stand out.
Holidays are a big part of the Craft Gourmet Bakery experience. From festive displays to themed treats, the team makes sure every season feels special for their guests. To carry that same spirit into their branding, we developed a set of seasonal logo variations that bring just the right amount of festivity without losing the integrity of the core brand.
The Craft team identified four key seasons—Thanksgiving, Christmas, Halloween, and Valentine’s Day—as priorities. For each, we designed subtle adaptations of the logo that capture the holiday feel while staying true to Craft’s recognizable identity.
The result is a set of playful yet polished seasonal marks that allow Craft to celebrate alongside their community while keeping their brand consistent across every touchpoint.
With the opening of Craft Gourmet Bakery’s second location on Scenic Highway, the team envisioned a space that felt deeply rooted in community—a place where people could gather, enjoy homemade food, and connect with friends. To bring that vision to life, they wanted to incorporate interactive touchpoints that would spark engagement beyond the bakery itself.
One of the standout ideas became an exterior mural designed as a dedicated photo opportunity. Our team not only created the design but also applied the mural to the building’s exterior. The result is a vibrant, inviting backdrop that encourages guests to snap photos and share their experiences online.
Every picture taken in front of the mural is unmistakably Craft, turning social shares into organic brand amplification while reinforcing the bakery’s role as a welcoming hub for the community.
For Craft Gourmet Bakery, customers aren’t just visitors—they’re loyal fans who love showing their support beyond the bakery walls. With the refreshed brand in place, it was the perfect time to create a line of merchandise that customers could proudly wear and use in their everyday lives.
From shirts and hats to mugs and bread bags, every piece was designed in the new brand look and feel, with some even featuring updated messaging from the brand project. The merch not only provides an additional revenue stream but also turns Craft’s most loyal customers into brand ambassadors, carrying the bakery’s identity into the community with every wear and use.
