The Bezi founders came to Red Antler with delicious labneh and a simple mission — unseat hummus as America’s go-to dip. Labneh is a Middle Eastern staple, but Bezi’s tang-free, ultra-creamy recipe quickly proved it belonged everywhere, not just on a mezze.
The problem? Labneh is so intrinsically tied to one cuisine. Bezi’s founders are Turkish, and respect labneh’s deep heritage immensely, but they knew they had to create a brand that sparked the imagination of all. Labneh was already a Mediterranean staple. We needed to make it an American staple.
That led us to the brand strategy of there’s no wrong way to labneh.
To turn a regional food into an obsession-worthy brand, we had to do more than just whet appetites. We needed to channel the voice of labneh’s biggest cheerleader.
Live. Laugh. Labneh.
A close collaboration between Red Antler’s strategy and copy teams yielded a brand voice full of character, charm, sweetness, and just a little sass. This is a crowded aisle. Hummus brands visually and verbally blend together. The nascent labneh category felt stuffy and traditional. Personality-rich foods seem to be everywhere, but the dips aisle remained hungry for a modern perspective.
There’s no wrong way to labneh.
Our copy illuminated the labneh possibilities everywhere — on every dish and on every occasion. In doing so, we laid the foundation for a cult brand, one that welcomes everyone with open arms. Our messaging had a playful rhythm to it. It cut through food tropes to feel conversational and a little snarky (especially when it referenced its chickpea-filled cousin.)
We wanted to give Bezi a verbal system that could simultaneously live on shelves and behave on social. With a visual system that brought the taste and appetite cues in spades, we wanted our copy to feel ever-so-slightly “too online.” Bezi is an underdog in this category, and we wanted it to enter the space with big labneh energy.
Inspiring Behavior
Typically, brand guidelines help spark more brand language. What makes Bezi’s verbal world so powerful is it sparks brand behaviors. As the brand gears up for its NYC debut, Bezi’s founders have taken to TikTok, giving people a peek behind the scenes of launching a labneh empire. They’ve come up with social posts that channel the brand’s personality and are actively pursuing swag that lets advocates wear labneh love on their sleeves.
When you’re building a modern food brand, there are the table stakes — nutritional call-outs, mouth-watering photography, inspirational recipe content. And we had a lot of fun crafting those.
But when you’re energizing an aisle, you have to go further. You have to drum up excitement to the point where it almost feels like hype.
Except this time, the hype is real. Real delicious.
Rohan Krishnan is a Strategy Principal at Red Antler.
The Bezi founders came to Red Antler with delicious labneh and a simple mission — unseat hummus as America’s go-to dip. Labneh is a Middle Eastern staple, but Bezi’s tang-free, ultra-creamy recipe quickly proved it belonged everywhere, not just on a mezze.
The problem? Labneh is so intrinsically tied to one cuisine. Bezi’s founders are Turkish, and respect labneh’s deep heritage immensely, but they knew they had to create a brand that sparked the imagination of all. Labneh was already a Mediterranean staple. We needed to make it an American staple.
That led us to the brand strategy of there’s no wrong way to labneh.
To turn a regional food into an obsession-worthy brand, we had to do more than just whet appetites. We needed to channel the voice of labneh’s biggest cheerleader.
Live. Laugh. Labneh.
A close collaboration between Red Antler’s strategy and copy teams yielded a brand voice full of character, charm, sweetness, and just a little sass. This is a crowded aisle. Hummus brands visually and verbally blend together. The nascent labneh category felt stuffy and traditional. Personality-rich foods seem to be everywhere, but the dips aisle remained hungry for a modern perspective.
There’s no wrong way to labneh.
Our copy illuminated the labneh possibilities everywhere — on every dish and on every occasion. In doing so, we laid the foundation for a cult brand, one that welcomes everyone with open arms. Our messaging had a playful rhythm to it. It cut through food tropes to feel conversational and a little snarky (especially when it referenced its chickpea-filled cousin.)
We wanted to give Bezi a verbal system that could simultaneously live on shelves and behave on social. With a visual system that brought the taste and appetite cues in spades, we wanted our copy to feel ever-so-slightly “too online.” Bezi is an underdog in this category, and we wanted it to enter the space with big labneh energy.
Inspiring Behavior
Typically, brand guidelines help spark more brand language. What makes Bezi’s verbal world so powerful is it sparks brand behaviors. As the brand gears up for its NYC debut, Bezi’s founders have taken to TikTok, giving people a peek behind the scenes of launching a labneh empire. They’ve come up with social posts that channel the brand’s personality and are actively pursuing swag that lets advocates wear labneh love on their sleeves.
When you’re building a modern food brand, there are the table stakes — nutritional call-outs, mouth-watering photography, inspirational recipe content. And we had a lot of fun crafting those.
But when you’re energizing an aisle, you have to go further. You have to drum up excitement to the point where it almost feels like hype.
Except this time, the hype is real. Real delicious.
Rohan Krishnan is a Strategy Principal at Red Antler.
Further Reading
