Hello Sailor Bakery
Client
Hello Sailor Bakery
Year
2020
Role
Co-Founder / Creative Lead
Project scope
Brand Identity, Art Direction, Packaging Design, Social Content, Website Design
PROJECT INTRO
What started as a side hustle between friends quickly turned into something much bigger. Co-founded with my friend Kate – a trained chef and baker – Hello Sailor began as a bespoke cake and catering business run from our home kitchen, fuelled by late nights, ambitious ideas, and a genuine love for creating experiences (and treats) that people wanted to share.
As the brand evolved, so did the offering. From celebration cakes and event catering to curated gift boxes, packaged cookies and fudge, seasonal launches, and eventually a physical shop, Hello Sailor became a brand people connected with far beyond the products themselves.
As co-founder and creative lead, I was responsible for building and executing the brand across every touchpoint – from strategy, visual identity, website design, photography, social media, email marketing, packaging, menus, signage, merchandise, and retail fit-out through to the finer details like table numbers, uniforms and in-store collateral.
Challenge
In a highly saturated hospitality market, we needed to create something distinctive enough to stand out, flexible enough to evolve, and cohesive enough to scale across digital, retail, packaging, and physical environments. We also needed to build awareness organically, without large marketing budgets or a physical storefront in the early stages.
As demand grew, so did customer expectations. Markets consistently sold out, Brunch Club deliveries gained a cult-like following across Auckland, and one question kept coming up over and over again: “When are you opening a store?”
Then COVID-19 hit.
Like many hospitality businesses, our original plans suddenly became uncertain. But rather than pulling back, we saw an opportunity to double down on community, creativity, and digital engagement at a time when people were craving comfort, connection, and small moments of joy.
approach
Community and storytelling became the heart of the brand.
Every part of Hello Sailor was intentionally designed to feel personal, playful, and highly shareable – from the visual identity and packaging through to the photography, social content, merchandise and customer experience.
One of the biggest growth drivers was “Isolation Creations”; a daily Instagram series launched during lockdown where Baker Kate created everything from nostalgic baked goods to elaborate “fake-away” recipes. Each day we shared behind-the-scenes stories, photography, and content across social channels, encouraging audiences to sign up to our mailing list to receive the recipe the following morning.
What started as a lockdown content idea quickly evolved into a highly engaged digital community. Within months, Hello Sailor grew to more than 2,800 email subscribers and over 3,000 Instagram followers, creating a loyal customer base before the physical store had even opened.
Alongside the digital strategy, we continued expanding the product offering through Auckland-wide brunch deliveries, nationwide packaged goods, seasonal product launches, and branded merchandise, allowing customers outside Auckland to still feel connected to the brand.
When the opportunity arose to secure a retail space during the COVID downturn, we were able to negotiate a favourable lease and launch a Hello Sailor store in 2020 with an already engaged audience ready to support it.
OUtcome
Hello Sailor grew from a home-kitchen side hustle into a nice hospo brand with a highly engaged local following and strong word-of-mouth.
The brand translated across digital, retail, packaging, and physical environments – creating a cohesive experience at every touchpoint. Social media and email marketing were our key community-building tools, while the retail store brought the brand to life in a tangible way through custom signage, menus, packaging, merchandise, uniforms, and interior design – not to mention through our customers taste buds.
Most importantly, the project proved the value of building a brand with community at the centre. By combining storytelling, design, digital marketing, and customer experience, Hello Sailor built genuine loyalty and emotional connection, turning customers into advocates and a passion project into a local business.
