When you’re surrounded by more ads for cloud services than actual clouds, you begin to question whether Bay Area residents ever consume anything that doesn’t come with a heaping side of hashtags. So we consider it a treat when we’re able to work on a brand that sells real, tangible products you can eat – commonly known as “food.”

New Leaf Community Markets is an organic grocery store chain that began in Santa Cruz and gradually spread its way around the Bay Area. After opening a new store in Pleasanton, New Leaf saw an opportunity to introduce themselves to their neighbors through a more distinctive brand. In other words, they wanted to show people they aren’t just a mini version of Whole Foods. We started by crafting a tagline that captures their mission to deliver the freshest, most sustainable, local, and organic products possible. “Purveyors of goodness” encapsulates that idea, and gives New Leaf the approachable neighborhood feel they were after.

To draw people to the new store, New Leaf was planning an open house event. We stepped in and gave it a brand makeover, dubbing it the Pleasanton Purveyors Fair and reskinning it with a vintage, farmhouse-inspired look that translated to posters, newspaper ads, and more. Complete with food workshops, beer and wine tastings, live music, face painting, and a bouncy castle, the fair transported people back to a time when real food wasn’t a specialty item.

Remember when wooden signs were the only kind of sign?

Pleasanton residents had the chance to meet and talk with some of New Leaf’s favorite vendors, like Niman Ranch, SunRidge Farms, and organicgirl. Just like the days when you and your local butcher would chew the fat.

We designed a scavenger hunt encouraging people to learn more about New Leaf and its products in return for a free plate of naturally raised, mouth-waterin’ barbecue.

We made sass-talkin’ buttons for employees to wear and customers to take home.

We even wrote a personal ad for a shishito pepper. Because we’d rather surprise people than make a traditional ad any day.

Needless to say, helping bring the Purveyors Fair to life made us incredibly hungry happy. And we’ve only peeled back the first layer of this locally grown onion. We look forward to developing a full brand story for New Leaf in the near future. And to more barbecue. Please oh please, more barbecue.