Dicksons takes on 'bold' new look as South Shields icon gets a rebrand

Dicksons has taken on a ‘bold’ new look after the South Tyneside family food firm revealed its £100k rebrand. The iconic firm unveiled the new signage, which will be rolled out across the region, as it opened it’s 33rd store in Blyth, Northumberland. The new shop opening has created 10 jobs, and is the first to show the new logo.

Why change?

Directors decided the 71-year-old South Shields-based business, famous for iconic products like the saveloy dip and pease pudding, needed a revamp to keep up with the modern tastes of its customers.

Working with marketing agency Gardiner Richardson, the teams spent months researching new branding, fonts and colours, while designing a new logo using vibrant shades of red, brown and white.

Mike Dickson, Retail Growth Director, said: “It’s about giving our customers what they want and of course keeping up with evolving appetites.

“We are constantly bringing out new products like our deli ranges, barista coffees and protein salad bowls, but we also need to make sure we look attractive too.

“There’s been a few Dicksons logos over the years, we last had a change about nine years ago. We know all too well that people can get attached to the branding they see when they're going about their weekly shop, or popping in to see us for lunch.

“But we want to stress that no matter what changes are made externally, we are still the same family business, feeding the hard-working region with top quality products.”

The new straplines, including ‘Dicksons, Making Your Day Since 1953’, will now be phased onto products in the coming months.

Shop fronts, like the new Blyth store in Links Road, will eventually be seen across the rest of the region and packaging, including the products sold in major supermarkets, will also be swapped.     

Mike added: “Just as the food we make has evolved over the years, so have the places we make it.”            

Darren Richardson, Creative Director, from Gardiner Richardson, said his team loved working with Dicksons to create a new brand strategy and visual identity built around its unique story.

He said: “It’s a project that has helped retain the essence of this established name while allowing the business to expand and strengthen its appeal in an ever-changing sector.“

Dicksons strong family values, care and generosity they put into creating tasty, hearty food for people of the North East influenced our design for the brand, including a bold new logo that reimagines their heritage for today’s customers.”

He added: “We kept the core colours of red, white and brown, making them brighter and fresher to stand out on the high street.”

Both companies also collaborated with Lumsden Designs to help bring the revamp to life.