THE CLIENT

Yu Fang Foods Co., Ltd. (Yu Fang) are a major snack food brand based in Dajia District, a coastal suburban district of Taichung, Taiwan since 1986. They are a long-term client of Scandinavian Designers. We have been their branding, corporate identity, and packaging partner since 2017. In 2022, we created a large-scale decorative façade The Tongxiao Branch Shop, Miaoli. This project was our first Architectural Design project for Yu Fang Foods.

THE LOCATION

Tongxiao Township in Miaoli County is destination for domestic tourism. Among famous local sites are Baishatun Gongtian Temple and Mazu Pilgrimage and the Tongxiao Shinto Shrine. The Yu Fang Tongxiao Shop is a new, large 4-storey, single-standing building located where the main road meets the No.1 Highway. The location and large car park make it an ideal and easy stop for tourists and locals, especially during the weekends.

THE TARGET AUDIENCE

Yu Fang’s business strategy centres on locations in traditional, small towns. The brand appeals to two groups: local customers and tourist visitors. Local customers already know the brand and its products by word of mouth, while most visitors today promote and choose their travel destinations and locations through ‘cool’ photos posted on social media. The opportunity to decorate a building in Tongxiao allowed us to upgrade Yu Fang’s brand image by creating a new kind of shopping experience supported by unique photo opportunities.

THE PROJECT

Our design strategy was to create a landmark building in the local area. At the same time visiting the site would be a more exciting shopping experience for local customers while attracting both younger visitors who are highly connected on social media platforms and older visitors who predominantly send photos from their trips to their friends and family on messaging apps. Creating exciting locations and attractive photo opportunities encourages visitors to share more. More local customers talk with friends and family and more visitors post pictures. Both these activities attract more guests to visit and become brand fans too. This virtuous circle was an important part of our design philosophy for the project.

THE DESIGN

The design is based on key elements of the visual identity we created for Yu Fang’s packaging. The product packaging was designed to upgrade the traditional, local brand, create a younger, more upmarket niche and give Yu Fang a more dynamic and attractive brand image. Utilising these dynamics as the theme for the façade decoration and using the building as a base for a three-dimensional mural artwork makes it also a living billboard for the brand. The Tongxiao shop is a unique landmark artwork to support, promote and elevate the Yu Fang brand.

THE RESULT

From pictures and reviews on the internet it is evident that this project has fulfilled its goal of earning profits while helping Yu Fang become not just a shopping opportunity, but a tourist destination. The Yu Fang Tongxiao Shop is now opening new markets and improving business by attracting both traditional older customers and families, and a broader fan base among younger customers and visitors, bloggers and influencers.