Turning up the heat on a family BBQ brand.

Backyard Pit Rubs is a family business in Norfolk that hand-blends BBQ rubs in small batches. They sell online, through other retailers and across the counter at markets, shows and events.

The rubs had earned a following, but the branding hadn’t kept up. Each jar carried its own illustrated badge, and two of the range used entirely different designs: a multicoloured label for the Signature Rub and a tricolour border for Italia. Side by side on a stall or a shop shelf, the jars didn’t read as one family.

They asked Pollard Media for a complete rebrand: one identity that would hold the whole range together and give the business a brand to match the quality of what’s in the jar.

The identity

We started with a hand-drawn script logo for Backyard, set above a Pit Rubs banner. Alongside it sits a logo mark, The Backyard Guy: a bearded character in a cap carrying the Backyard B, who gives the brand a face and a voice.

The palette takes its names from the pit: Pitfire Red, Smoked Hickory, Texas Gold and BBQ Ranch. Type pairs the hand-drawn lettering with Lumberjack, a vintage slab serif for titles and packaging, and its textured cut, Lumberjack Rough, for badges and feature headings.

The guidelines

We wrote the brand down in a set of guidelines covering the brand story, four brand values (great taste, family first, supporting British farming and natural ingredients), the logo and logo mark, colour, typography, product labels and mock-ups.

The labels

We designed one label system and applied it across all eight rubs: Signature Rub, Chicken Down Under, Texas Pork Ribs, Texas Beef, Blackout, Smokey Rosemary, Smokey Beans and Italia.

Every label follows the same structure. The logo and product name lead, with a chilli scale and a named heat level beneath. The best uses run along the base, and the back panel carries ingredients, allergen advice and cooking notes. A speech bubble from The Backyard Guy shares the family’s own tip for each rub, next to a QR code for more.

All eight rubs now sit together as one recognisable range. Each jar is clearly a Backyard jar from across a stall, and each still has a character of its own up close.

The guidelines mean every new rub, retailer display or piece of merchandise can be produced to the same standard, by whoever picks it up.