PHUOC THANH, CHADSTONE

STRATEGY, BRANDING, INTERIOR CONCEPT & DESIGN, COLLATERAL

It’s a family affair.

SCOPE

The original Richmond store has gone unchanged for most of 20+ years and with the founder’s daughters wanting to share their love of the banh mi with the rest of Australia, their vision is to expand their footprint with a new rebrand and store design. With lines spilling down the road each weekend a common sight, the challenge was to ensure the family’s Vietnamese heritage and roots were retained whilst raising the bar with exceptional levels of customer service and solidifying their position as Melbourne’s best Banh Mi bakery.

SOLUTION

BrandWorks, in collaboration with the daughters, Alex and Joanne, working in collaboration with

T-A Square Architects,

Trust Projects

&

David-James Nguyen

from Vicinity leasing. worked together to articulate the vision of the family to visualise a new brand and store design to grow from. With an expansion in their sights for opening future bakery outlets, BrandWorks consolidated their brand story, identity, and position in-market to showcase and honour the family of bakers and share the love of Vietnamese traditions. This entailed:

Articulating their Brand Story and customer journey

Refresh of its brandmark and identity

Market positioning and USP

The brand rollout, digital menus, signage, packaging and uniforms

Interior Conceptual Design - kiosk design, finishes & materiality.

Concept Design & Interiors

Reimagining the brand and interior design for their new Chadstone concept store, the interiors team working in collaboration with architects T-A Square, rationalised a new store direction, signage concept and finishes palette that was a contemporary take on hues and motifs found in traditional bakeries throughout Vietnam.

BEFORE

AFTER

Citing inspiration from Vietnamese colonial architecture, Phuoc Thanh draws from silhouettes seen in Old Saigon. Two large timber pillars frame the centre of the tenancy, warm terracotta hues are contrasted by the vibrant teal that is also reflected in the new branding, also reminiscent of the vibrancy seen on the streets of Vietnam's most famous cities.

Keeping the design as honest and authentic as possible, the showcasing of the artisanal art of baking bread led to the idea of creating a window in front of the bread oven. Customers can see that bread is made on-site, strengthening the authentic and artisanal feel of the space. Custom canister style signage anchors the focal points of wayfinding, with one above the window that simply states 'baking now'.

BrandWorks also engaged specialty renderers Scanlan & Makers to assist with bringing in some grit to the overall palette. Terracotta breezeblocks also frame the back of the tenancy, with an eye-catching “You, Me and Banh Mi” sign display for the insta-worthy posts. The timber used is a mid tone smoked oak hue that juxtaposes the vibrancy of the teal, balancing the bold tones with natural hues. Rattan was used as a nod to natural finishes and in line with their Vietnamese-French colonial influences.

Results

With the recent reopening out of lockdown in Victoria, customers at Chadstone have responded wholeheartedly to the grand opening of Phuoc Thanh on November 1 ‘21. Within their first week of trading their entire quota of Banh Mi’s were completely sold out; true testament to the family’s vision, generosity of food and project team’s leadership and delivery having established their legacy for many years to come.

Vietnamese Bakers, since 1999.

Image credit: Tania Lee Photography