Suhana Brand Environment
The Spice of Life
The Focus
Pravin Masalewale, a leading masala, spices and mixes company successfully transitioned to a state-of-the-art office space.
The space needed to embody the brand and offerings while enlivening the work environment.
Lastly, it needed to engage visitors and employees alike via a host of different experiential elements.
The Design
The team at Elephant created a complete brand experience by focusing on 3 distinct aspects: Brand Values/Vision and Excitement/Engagement.
The exterior is layered with a 3D skin comprised of simple, dramatic ‘Suhanicons’ – elements passionately created by team Elephant, to represent to spices, company history, values, cooking artifacts and more.
The interiors feature multisensory experiences around appealing floor-wise themes - Knowledge, Wisdom and Growth, with designated thematic walls, visuals and elements for visitors to discover and engage with.
The Story
From humble beginnings selling a small line of homemade spices in 1962 to operating a multi-crore operation, Suhana Spices operates in 9 Indian states and 25 international markets.
Suhana Team approached Elephant to create and develop a unique Brand Experience for their new office. The key intent - give employees and visitors an engaging, enlivening and energetic environment, while embodying Suhana as a visionary brand, replete with its values, ethos and personality.
Two-Pronged Perspective
Our team studied the brand and space extensively and identified opportunity areas within the exteriors and interiors as well, with a two-pronged approach – (1) Embody the brand and (2) Focus on generating excitement via thematic installations.
The Exterior – Suhanicons
The building’s warm wood façade and window glazing were utilized to layer a skin of ‘Suhanicons’ - original icons with a sculptural feel themed around spices, company history, values and relevant brand-related elements.
A simple, elegant effect was achieved by blending natural, earthy colors with textures and forms in unique metal & synthetic materials representing the multifaceted, culturally-stimulating world of spices, creating a ‘Wow’ moment for both visitors and passers-by.
The Interiors – Iconographic Journeys for Visitors
The team constructed a visitor journey map to help visualize the elements that would enthrall from the first moment and leave them with a lasting, meaningful experience. Visitors step into an expansive lobby where they’re greeted by flame-patterned storylines inspired by the Suhana logo engraved across the reception backdrop.
The theme here is “A Perfect Blend”, which likens Suhana’s perfectly blended products to a complete, cyclical idea of life itself. Around this core theme, Elephant crafted an array of related brand experiences, where ‘life begets life’ via the seamless transmission of food starting from the elements that make it to the experiences it evokes.
This vision extends to the ‘Spice Wall’ lounge backdrop, where visitors can read interesting spice-related trivia labelled on glowing jars that represents an assimilation of ingredients. The pièce de résistance however, is the light sculpture by acclaimed lighting designer Vibhor Sogani – a visual feast that feeds into the ‘eternal spiral’ theme with a central element comprised of floating rings.
The atrium walls are adorned with the Tree of Life; to depict the flourishing of knowledge and the pinnacle of experience, using monochromatic icons printed on crafted plates, woven into a vertical mural that organically merges into the space.
Enlivening Employee Experiences
Ultimately, organizations are fueled by the collective energy and will of their employees – and often are its best representatives. The team decided to utilize this symbiotic relationship, where company growth mirrors individual growth: the three floors, hence, represent the precepts of Knowledge, Expression and Evolution.
The team interpreted these in the form of translucent, uplifting visuals, replete with spice-inspired colors (turmeric red, sap green and vermilion) that are juxtaposed with different sets of symbols for each floor. These are predominantly expressed on glazed cabin panels and other elements in the backdrop.
The first floor features a fusion or alphabets and letters in different scripts, alluding to the fact that knowledge can be imbibed and extracted from multiple sources. The second floor depicts different expressions elicited by emotions that flow through us – hunger, joy, delight and more via mudras and yet other hand gestures. The third floor showcases growth and evolution via symbology borrowed from different cultures – a Maori Koru (loop) in the form of an unfurling silver frond along with Celtic symbols that represent new beginnings, becoming the prime expression for a company that has transformed beyond compare.
Another unique aspect is the glass/wall-mounted signage, inspired from the simple traditional thali, crafted from leather and hammered copper.
The team at Elephant successfully managed to craft a unique brand experience for Suhana’s new office, replete with elements that appealed to both: employees who could thrive in this new space with pride and belonging and visitors who would be awestruck by the brand and everything it embodies.
