Although it has maintained something of a low profile since its establishment in 1997, Hungry Lion boasts a network of more than 150 stores in eight Southern African countries. During this time the emerging QSR brand has quietly focused on getting the basics right; bedding down operations and refining its core offering as a fried chicken fast food outlet.

But with these elements, and its positioning in the market, now cemented, Hungry Lion franchisor, Adrian Basson, thought it was time for the brand to find its voice and shout about its 100% homegrown South African offerings. This is exactly what Design Partnership hoped to achieve with its daringly bright red and yellow colouring that brings to life the eye-catching new Hungry Lion logo, created by M&C Saatchi.

“Adrian’s first priority was to arrest passers-by, so pavement appeal featured right at the top of the creative brief’s ‘shopping list’, followed by aligned communication and a comfortable and inviting interior. To this end, all exterior detail was stripped to a very monochromatic and brightly lit red and yellow to attract attention, increase footfall and nurture strong brand awareness from the get-go. This was then blended with softer and warmer interior lighting and timber finishes to balance the strong yellow and red colours and create a harmonious scheme,” says Callie van der Merwe, CEO of Design Partnership.

This palette was combined with soft bench seating, ottomans and dining chairs to create versatile and comfortable seating options. Warm white interior lighting and quirky pendant light fittings highlight the interior and give good colour rendering to the product offering.

Van der Merwe says in this way, the design achieves high pavement appeal, realised through the strong monochromatic colours and brand identity, and high product appeal. “It also allows the communication strategy and product to come to life and be the real heroes of the show while the envelope – although appearing as a very strong differential, especially when compared to the other competitors in this category – remains a neutral holding device,” he explains.

Design Partnership created the new design identity against a backdrop of strict lead times due to a highly aggressive rollout strategy (Hungry Lion plans to revamp and open approximately 200 stores within the next two years in order to gain market share); the need for durable fixtures and finishes (most Hungry Lion sites are located in high footfall catchment areas, predominantly in urban centres); and being able to easily package stores in kits to be transported to sometimes difficult to reach locations (a large percentage of Hungry Lion stores are in remote locations in Southern Africa).

In addition, the new stores still had to be as cost effective as possible, had to use locally available materials and had to be assembled within the lowest possible lead-times. To date, 10 new Hungry Lion stores have been built, six are about to go on site and an additional 30 are planned for this financial year.