Café Royal – Bringing Swiss Coffee to the Middle East
Café Royal – Bringing Swiss Coffee to the Middle East
Café Royal – Bringing Swiss Coffee to the Middle East
Industry
Industry
Coffee & Beverage
Coffee & Beverage
Location
Location
UAE / Middle East
UAE / Middle East
Year
Year
2024–Present
2024–Present
Brand Experience & Market Launch
Brand Experience & Market Launch
Led Café Royal’s full Middle East market entry, adapting the brand into an Arabic identity: logo, e-commerce, packaging and campaigns, from concept to launch.
Led Café Royal’s full Middle East market entry, adapting the brand into an Arabic identity: logo, e-commerce, packaging and campaigns, from concept to launch.
Led Café Royal’s full Middle East market entry, adapting the brand into an Arabic identity: logo, e-commerce, packaging and campaigns, from concept to launch.
Project Overview
Project Overview
Café Royal is a Swiss coffee brand known for quality and innovation: capsules, beans, machines and professional coffee solutions.
Café Royal is a Swiss coffee brand known for quality and innovation: capsules, beans, machines and professional coffee solutions.
Its UAE launch brought a century of Swiss heritage into a brand-new market.
Its UAE launch brought a century of Swiss heritage into a brand-new market.
Goal
Goal
Enter the GCC without diluting the brand’s Swiss DNA, while still feeling native to the region: Arabic first, delivery ready, and built for how people actually shop here.
Enter the GCC without diluting the brand’s Swiss DNA, while still feeling native to the region: Arabic first, delivery ready, and built for how people actually shop here.
Solution
Solution
I built Café Royal’s regional identity from the ground up, so the brand felt local without losing its roots, and spoke with one voice, in two languages, at every touchpoint.
I built Café Royal’s regional identity from the ground up, so the brand felt local without losing its roots, and spoke with one voice, in two languages, at every touchpoint.
Services
Services
Brand Experience
Brand Experience
Brand Adaptation
Brand Adaptation
Arabic Logo
Arabic Logo
E-commerce
E-commerce
Digital Design
Digital Design
Packaging
Packaging
Campaigns
Campaigns
Product Imagery
Product Imagery
Retail
Retail
Social Media
Social Media
Email Marketing
Email Marketing
SEO
SEO
Brand Identity
Brand Identity
Building an Arabic identity rooted in Swiss craft
Building an Arabic identity rooted in Swiss craft
Building an Arabic identity rooted in Swiss craft
Logo
Logo
One brand, two scripts
One brand, two scripts
One brand, two scripts
The Arabic logo needed to sit naturally beside the original Swiss wordmark, carrying the same precision and quality cues without feeling like a translation. Paired with a mood board of warm neutrals, coffee tones and clean typography, it gave the brand a visual language that feels at home in both English and Arabic.
The Arabic logo needed to sit naturally beside the original Swiss wordmark, carrying the same precision and quality cues without feeling like a translation. Paired with a mood board of warm neutrals, coffee tones and clean typography, it gave the brand a visual language that feels at home in both English and Arabic.
Mood Board
Mood Board
A tone that feels premium in any language
A tone that feels premium in any language
A tone that feels premium in any language
The mood board set the emotional direction, warm, rich and understated, before any asset was designed. It kept every later decision (packaging, campaigns, digital) aligned to one feeling: quality without excess.
The mood board set the emotional direction, warm, rich and understated, before any asset was designed. It kept every later decision (packaging, campaigns, digital) aligned to one feeling: quality without excess.
Digital
Digital
A storefront for a new market
A storefront for a new market
A storefront for a new market
E-commerce Website
E-commerce Website
An introduction that also has to sell
An introduction that also has to sell
An introduction that also has to sell
The website had to do more than showcase the brand. It had to sell in a market shaped by different shopping habits, payment behaviours and Arabic-first browsing. I designed the UX around clarity and speed: product discovery, subscription flows and a checkout built for UAE customers.
The website had to do more than showcase the brand. It had to sell in a market shaped by different shopping habits, payment behaviours and Arabic-first browsing. I designed the UX around clarity and speed: product discovery, subscription flows and a checkout built for UAE customers.
Amazon Storefront
Amazon Storefront
Meeting customers where they already shop
Meeting customers where they already shop
Meeting customers where they already shop
For many UAE shoppers, Amazon is the first stop, not the brand website. The storefront carries the brand into Amazon’s format: clean product grids, the same visual standard as the brand site, and messaging that builds trust fast in a crowded marketplace.
For many UAE shoppers, Amazon is the first stop, not the brand website. The storefront carries the brand into Amazon’s format: clean product grids, the same visual standard as the brand site, and messaging that builds trust fast in a crowded marketplace.
Product Imagery
Product Imagery
Making every product look like Café Royal
Making every product look like Café Royal
Making every product look like Café Royal
I produced the core product photography for the website and Amazon storefront, with the same lighting, styling and quality standard on every listing, so a brand that was new to the region looked established from the first day.
I produced the core product photography for the website and Amazon storefront, with the same lighting, styling and quality standard on every listing, so a brand that was new to the region looked established from the first day.
Packaging
Packaging
Designing packaging for shelf, sample and sustainability
Designing packaging for shelf, sample and sustainability
Designing packaging for shelf, sample and sustainability
Machine Packaging
Machine Packaging
Sustainability you can see, from box to bag
Sustainability you can see, from box to bag
Sustainability you can see, from box to bag
The machine packaging uses uncoated kraft cardboard and 100% recycled aluminium capsules, making sustainability part of the unboxing rather than a footnote, with clear icons, flavour guides and a ‘Brewing Sustainability, One Cup at a Time’ message. The recyclable paper bag carries the same story out of the store: quality that doesn’t cost the planet.
The machine packaging uses uncoated kraft cardboard and 100% recycled aluminium capsules, making sustainability part of the unboxing rather than a footnote, with clear icons, flavour guides and a ‘Brewing Sustainability, One Cup at a Time’ message. The recyclable paper bag carries the same story out of the store: quality that doesn’t cost the planet.
Sample Packaging
Sample Packaging
A taste of the brand, one order at a time
A taste of the brand, one order at a time
A taste of the brand, one order at a time
The standard capsule box holds 10 units, too big a commitment for a first-time buyer. I designed a 3-capsule sample pack of different flavours, given free with Talabat orders, so customers could try before committing to a full box. I led it end to end, from concept to production-ready file, turning every Talabat order into a chance to discover the brand.
The standard capsule box holds 10 units, too big a commitment for a first-time buyer. I designed a 3-capsule sample pack of different flavours, given free with Talabat orders, so customers could try before committing to a full box. I led it end to end, from concept to production-ready file, turning every Talabat order into a chance to discover the brand.
Retail & Environment
Retail & Environment
Extending the brand into physical spaces
Extending the brand into physical spaces
Extending the brand into physical spaces
Van Design
Van Design
Taking the brand onto the streets of Dubai
Taking the brand onto the streets of Dubai
Taking the brand onto the streets of Dubai
For distribution partner Perfetto Trading, I turned a set of delivery vans into a moving canvas for the brand. Each wrap has its own colourway (green, tan and product-forward), while the logo, capsule imagery and ‘Good Taste, Made Better’ line stay fixed, so the vans are recognisable on every delivery route in the city.
For distribution partner Perfetto Trading, I turned a set of delivery vans into a moving canvas for the brand. Each wrap has its own colourway (green, tan and product-forward), while the logo, capsule imagery and ‘Good Taste, Made Better’ line stay fixed, so the vans are recognisable on every delivery route in the city.
In-store
In-store
Standing out where people choose
Standing out where people choose
Standing out where people choose
An end-cap gondola display gives the brand a strong presence at eye level, drawn from the same identity as the packaging and digital work. Beside the coffee machines, a small tent card guides customers through the flavour range, so a first taste becomes something they remember and come back for.
An end-cap gondola display gives the brand a strong presence at eye level, drawn from the same identity as the packaging and digital work. Beside the coffee machines, a small tent card guides customers through the flavour range, so a first taste becomes something they remember and come back for.
Campaigns & Marketing
Campaigns & Marketing
Bringing the brand to life across every channel
Bringing the brand to life across every channel
Bringing the brand to life across every channel
Promotional Ads
Promotional Ads
Driving trial through targeted campaigns
Driving trial through targeted campaigns
Driving trial through targeted campaigns
A series of promotional ads introduced the brand to new customers, with clear offers, high-impact product imagery and messages led by what matters most to buyers here: value, quality and flavour variety.
A series of promotional ads introduced the brand to new customers, with clear offers, high-impact product imagery and messages led by what matters most to buyers here: value, quality and flavour variety.
Xmas Campaign
Xmas Campaign
A festive reason to come back
A festive reason to come back
A festive reason to come back
For the holiday season, I created a dedicated Christmas campaign that turned the brand’s identity into festive visuals, giving it a timely reason to reconnect with customers during the year’s highest-intent shopping period.
For the holiday season, I created a dedicated Christmas campaign that turned the brand’s identity into festive visuals, giving it a timely reason to reconnect with customers during the year’s highest-intent shopping period.
Social & Email
Social & Email
Always on, between the big moments
Always on, between the big moments
Always on, between the big moments
Social content (product features, flavour highlights and lifestyle imagery) keeps the brand visible between campaigns, while post-purchase emails bring new flavours, offers and stories to people who have already bought, turning a first order into a habit.
Social content (product features, flavour highlights and lifestyle imagery) keeps the brand visible between campaigns, while post-purchase emails bring new flavours, offers and stories to people who have already bought, turning a first order into a habit.
What’s Next
What’s Next
What’s next for Café Royal
What’s next for Café Royal
What’s next for Café Royal
With the identity, digital presence and retail touchpoints now live across the UAE, the focus shifts to scaling across the GCC, growing e-commerce and expanding retail partnerships. Each new market brings back the question that shaped this project: how to keep a century of Swiss craft intact while earning a place in a new culture.
With the identity, digital presence and retail touchpoints now live across the UAE, the focus shifts to scaling across the GCC, growing e-commerce and expanding retail partnerships. Each new market brings back the question that shaped this project: how to keep a century of Swiss craft intact while earning a place in a new culture.
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Next
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