Exceptional by Asda

What we did:
Brand Creation
Photography
Illustration
Brand Guidelines

Redefining premium with taste centre stage.

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As ASDA’s most ambitious own-label launch to date, Exceptional set out to elevate quality perceptions beyond Extra Special and redefine how premium can look on supermarket shelves.

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Challenge.

The premium own-brand market is growing, and Asda’s top-tier label, Extra Special, has been on shelves since 2000. Asda want customers to reappraise their quality credentials, and the premium range has a vital role to play in this. They challenged us to create a new premium brand to replace Extra Special, one that is all about the most delicious taste above all else.

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With categories spanning everything from Christmas classics to the very best coffee, chocolate, fresh meat and produce, the brand needed consistency across hundreds of SKUs without losing category individuality.

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A group from the OurCreative team collaborates on food and drink branding design. One team member writes "TASTE" on a whiteboard, while another takes notes at a table labeled "NAUGHTY." The background features
A close-up photograph of a luxurious hexagonal jar with a dark green lid embossed in gold lettering reading "EXCEPTIONAL" around a stylized "F" emblem, labeled "by ASDA," placed on a folded sheet of light teal paper with subtle elegant script patterns in t
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Three coffee bags from the Exceptional brand by ASDA, displayed side by side. The bags are dark green with gold and floral accents. From left to right: 1) Brazilian Roast Coffee (Strength No. 4, Medium Dark Roast, rich and smooth with nutty notes, 100% Ara
Four yogurt cups from the Exceptional brand by ASDA, stacked vertically. From top to bottom: 1) Black Cherry Yogurt (made with rich West Country milk, blended with sweet and juicy black cherries); 2) Lemon Curd Yogurt (made with rich West Country milk, inf
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Idea.

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The new brand proposition “All. About. Taste.” represents the very best tasting products Asda has to offer, and the new brand name needed to quickly encapsulate this. Following a collaborative naming workshop, Exceptional was born.

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Our colour study identified a gap in the premium own-label category for a green, jewel-like, decadent colour that also connected to Asda’s green heritage, clearly brand blocking Asda’s premium tier.

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The sophisticated gold word-mark is supported by a beautifully crafted monogram E, that transforms into an elegant pattern for gifting and stamp with "by Asda" for restricted spaces.

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Our cinematic photography style creates mood and drama whilst spotlighting the food, ensuring the eye is always drawn to the mouth-watering taste that makes the product truly Exceptional.  

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In-house, we crafted bespoke illustrations, spanning artisanal craft styles through to premium gold embellished styles for luxury gifting.

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A hand reaches for a coffee bag on an ASDA shelf, showcasing the Exceptional brand designed by OurCreative. The shelf features various Exceptional single-origin coffee bags, including Guatemalan (Strength No. 3, chocolate and lemon notes), Peruvian (Streng

To make the brand launch seamless, we not only delivered packaging across categories, we designed in-store point of sale and ran training sessions with ASDA’s in-house teams, ensuring the brand could scale long after launch. It was an all-hands effort as every designer, artworker, and account manager in the studio had a hand in shaping Exceptional.

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Impact.

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Exceptional by ASDA has been rolling out across stores since late 2024, beginning with seasonal Christmas lines and now expanding into core categories. The range gives ASDA a powerful new weapon in the ongoing own-label wars, bridging value and quality to strengthen the supermarket’s tier strategy – from Just Essentials at the entry point to Exceptional at the very top.

Results:

World Brand Design Society Winner

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Got a brand challenge?
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Whether you are looking to define your brand strategy or need a fresh new identity - let’s solve it together!
We know how to create meaningful brands that connect with audiences and pack a punch.
Drop us a line to hello@our-creative.com and we’ll get back to you soon.

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