Creative agency Wongdoody has worked with Little Bao Boy, the Leeds-based East-Asian eatery, to create a new brand world and national communications campaign as the business expands across the UK.

Established in 2017, Little Bao Boy is an independent and mobile street food vendor that serves traditional Asian food with a western and contemporary twist. The brand grew rapidly during lockdown – fending off the likes of Five Guys and Nandos and winning; it's Beef Bao was the most ordered item in Leeds on Deliveroo. 

To support the restaurant's rapid growth, the brand teamed up with Wongdoody in November to help the brand as it scales up across the UK. Little Bao Boy has now grown to three permanent sites and 36 delivery kitchens across Leeds, Birmingham, London and – most recently – Manchester, which opened on January 3rd.

In the new campaign, Wongdoody has reimagined Little Bao Boy into a giant character (in a nod to the company’s growth) who ‘hangrily’ tears through cities craving bao until they’re delivered to him. The creative comic strips are designed to be adaptable to new locations as the brand continues to build recognition – a strategy that provides a platform to demonstrate the brand’s local knowledge.

In one example, Little Bao Boy tears up the turf at Elland Road in search of veggies in Leeds. In another, the artwork shows him at Manchester Piccadilly on the desperate hunt for post-gig grub before calming down with a beef brisket bao.

The new brand and comic strip concept will go live across social, OOH and merchandise along with key assets including packaging, grease-proof paper and key products such as chilli oil and salt and pepper paste. 

“We believe in taking our food seriously but not ourselves, and the new direction for our brand does just that. It’s fun-filled, looks great and is ever so slightly spicy … just like our food.” says James Ooi, Founder at Little Bao Boy.

Grace Francis, Global Chief Creative and Design Officer at Wongdoody, added: “By doubling down on the ‘Little Bao Boy’ in the brand with hyperlocal campaigns for every town and city it enters, this work is less about disruption and more about becoming an intrinsic part of the food scenes in each location.”

The larger-than-life illustrations remain true to the eatery’s signature style and build up better recognition as the brand undergoes its rapid journey of expansion across the UK.