GulaGula turned an ancient, dated-looking product, palm sugar, into a rebrand that respects tradition instead of erasing it.
“Turning a commodity spice into something you'd actually display on a café counter.”
- Scope of Work
- Brand IdentityLogo DesignPackaging & Socials
- Studio
- Portside Studio (Initiative)
- Role
- Brand Designer
- Year
- 2021
The Setup
Artisanal palm sugar has always been a commodity product: functional, traditional, and visually stuck in generic spice-packaging territory. Portside Studio set out to change that with a self-initiated rebrand.
The Ask
Design the complete identity, mascot logo, visual standards, packaging, and social strategy, needed to reposition palm sugar as a contemporary lifestyle brand with real shelf presence.
The Move
- Designed an animal-inspired mascot logo paired with sleek modern typography and craft paper textures, breaking from generic spice-packaging conventions.
- Built out the full retail packaging system, engineered to earn shelf space in boutique grocers and contemporary cafés rather than traditional markets.
- Directed the social media strategy, building an Instagram storytelling framework around nutritional benefits, recipes, and the ethical sourcing story of Indonesian sugar palm farmers.
The Numbers
A complete end-to-end brand system (mascot character, packaging, and social presence) positioned for boutique retail rather than commodity shelving
A digital storytelling framework built to connect a traditional product to a modern, health-conscious audience
The Bigger Picture
Sometimes the biggest lever on a product's perceived value has nothing to do with the product itself. It comes down to whether the packaging gives someone a reason to pick it up in the first place.
“Sitting on a traditional product that deserves a shelf it's not getting yet? Let's give it one.”