PRET-A-MANGER
FOOD ART FOR THE FOOD GIANTS
Photography duo Van Santen & Bolleurs (VSB) took on the exciting challenge of creating a new series of Food Art as part of Pret-A-Manger’s rebranding campaign. Using their signature witty style, VSB reimagined classic Pret products with a twist. VSB lead both the concepts and execution, and injected personality and magic into seemingly humble objects like the sandwich, a cup of coffee or a cookie.
Van Santen & Bolleurs worked tirelessly to perfect 11 Food Art images to be used online and on the walls of Pret-A-Mangers all over the world. Pret’s rebrand focuses on celebrating small moments of joy with their customers and we think VSB’s images do exactly that, celebrating Pret’s high quality produce in a joyful and dynamic way.
The Food Art you see below went through many iterations of feedback before they were signed off. From counting the number of raisins to discussing various shades of pink, VSB and the Pret team collaborated closely to achieve near perfect results.
Fun fact: the open face sandwich / skateboard on the left was the first image Van Santen & Bolleurs made to show off their skillsets in both concept and execution. The Pret team loved it so much they trusted them with producing the rest of the food art images.
Only Van Santen & Bolleurs would imagine a ciabatta as a walkman, a coffee cup lid as a gold medal, or a cookie as a yoyo. The image makers often use humour to communicate their messaging.
VSB are craftsmen as well as photographers and meticulously make their subjects and sets in their studio in Rotterdam. The story of the behind-the-scenes of the alarm clock / pain au raisin is told in the video below.
“Coming up with the ideas can take a while. We have several rounds of ideas and try out different product combinations.”
– Van Santen & Bolleurs
The food art images were turned into animations for online and social media use, adding even more personality to the already characterful products. The campaign was well received online and the images will be donning the walls of Pret’s around the world in the coming months.