Warburtons' new packaging designs dial up the orange

Warburtons, the largest bakery brand in the UK, has just turned 150 and to celebrate, it has launched a packaging redesign courtesy of Bristol agency Taxi Studio.

The new look takes what makes Warburtons Warburtons and amplifies it. The Baked Orange long associated with the brand feels more prominent and has been applied more cohesively.

Unifying the new look is a curved graphic device, which subtly suggests a smile, bringing warmth and togetherness to the brand. "The smile came from the shape language of the Warburtons wordmark, so it felt like something discovered rather than imposed," Stu Tallis, creative director at Taxi Studio tells us.

"What we liked about it was that it brought a real emotional warmth to the system without becoming cheesy or over-expressive. Warburtons is a brand rooted in family, familiarity and everyday enjoyment, so the smile became a very simple way of reinforcing that feeling while also acting as a practical device to unify the portfolio."

There's also a new bespoke type family created with Studio DRAMA, who recently make that Snickers custom font. The new type family balances structure with flexibility, in order to enhance the personality of each product while keeping everything under the same type umbrella.

"We needed to create a typeface that truly embodied the DNA of the Warburtons brand, giving us one consistent brand font with enough flexibility for individual product personality to come through," says Stu, talking about why a custom font was necessary for this project.

"That balance between consistency and personality was the key. An off-the-shelf font just wasn’t going to do that. So we created a custom type family that takes cues from the Warburtons wordmark and from the softness and elasticity of baked goods themselves. It gives the whole system a more ownable voice, and it’s robust enough to work right across packaging, from product descriptors and back-of-pack information to the wider brand ecosystem."

Elsewhere, the Warburtons wordmark has been refined and optimised, and there's also a new Family Seal of Quality, featuring Jonathan Warburton's signature. This is a great example of a brand celebrating its heritage while embracing modernity.

"It wasn’t about reinventing the wordmark, because it’s already such a recognisable asset," explains Stu. "It was about refining it so the new design system could work harder and more consistently across multiple formats.

"The key move was subtly reworking the letterforms to create a more balanced smile architecture and a true centre line through the ‘u’. That gives the family seal and the product descriptors above much more precise alignment, making the whole range feel more balanced, confident and considered."

In terms of photography, there's a new approach there too, which showcases products already made and ready to eat. The more expressive imagery aims to make potential consumers hungry, show them how to use the products and integrates naturally with the new packaging.

What were the challenges of this project? "The biggest challenge was scale," says Stu. "Warburtons has a huge and diverse portfolio, and that success has naturally led to increasing complexity over time.

"As the range expanded, it became harder to navigate and brand blocking at shelf just isn’t something you can rely on in the reality of modern grocery retail. So, the challenge was to build a system that could create visibility and consistency even when packs are scattered across aisles and formats, while still leaving room for product personality, innovation and heritage."

I asked Stu which element he was most looking forward to seeing out in the wild: "For me, it’s the way the Baked Orange and the smile architecture work together at shelf," he says.

"That’s really where the system comes to life. You start to get these unmistakable Warburtons hotspots, even when products are merchandised apart from each other. That’s the bit I’m most excited to see in the real world, because it turns the scale of the portfolio into a branding advantage rather than a branding problem."

“As we celebrate 150 years of baking excellence, this bold new packaging marks a pivotal moment for Warburtons," says Jonathan Warburton, chairman of Warburtons.

"It’s a powerful visual statement that reinforces our position as Britain’s most chosen bakery brand. For our retail partners, this means unrivalled presence on shelf, streamlined navigation for shoppers, and a powerful system built to drive accelerated and sustained category growth. We’re incredibly excited for consumers to see this new look, which embodies the warmth, quality and consistency Warburtons is known for, and sets us up for another 150 years of success."

Taxi Studio won at the Brand Impact Awards 2025, explore all the BIA 2025 winners.