Case Study 1 - Sugar and Spice
ENHANCING AN ALREADY BEAUTIFUL STORY AND PURPOSE
Sugar and Spice Las Vegas came to Tone + Tactic with something many growing brands struggle to articulate: A great product, a meaningful story, and strong local recognition - But no clear strategy connecting all of those pieces together.
Known for its Signature Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls, Sugar and Spice had already built an impressive presence throughout Las Vegas, with products carried in more than 50 locations including coffee shops, independent retailers, hotels, casinos, golf courses, and the airport. Behind the product was an even more meaningful mission: Helping to create employment opportunities and real-world job skills for young adults with special needs and others facing barriers to employment.
The challenge wasn’t creating a new identity from scratch but rather it was uncovering what already made Sugar and Spice special and translating it into a clearer, more scalable brand.
THE CHALLENGE
As Sugar and Spice prepared for its next stage of growth, several areas needed greater clarity.
The brand had a compelling mission, but its messaging didn’t always communicate the full emotional impact behind the business. Its audience was also broad, making it difficult to determine exactly who future marketing and sales efforts should prioritize.
There was initially pressure to rethink elements of the existing visual identity, but through the strategy process, we discovered that completely reinventing the brand wasn’t necessary. Sugar and Spice already had valuable brand recognition, established packaging, recognizable product photography, and a visual personality customers associated with the company. The greater opportunity was to refine the strategy around what was already working and to capitalize and expand on that.
HOW TONE + TACTIC HELPED
Tone + Tactic worked with Sugar and Spice to clarify the brand from the inside out. We repositioned the business around two equally important ideas: A memorable, giftable product and the meaningful impact created through every purchase. Rather than focusing heavily on individual online consumers, we identified a stronger growth opportunity within wholesale, hospitality, corporate gifting, and group purchasing. This helped shift the brand toward customers with the ability to purchase at greater volume including hotels, casinos, airport retailers, coffee shops, specialty stores, corporate gifting companies, event planners, HR teams, and other hospitality buyers.
We also refined the brand story to communicate Sugar and Spice’s evolution from a small 2017 side hustle into a recognized Las Vegas brand with award-winning products and a growing retail presence.
Tone + Tactic helped establish:
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A clearer brand positioning and growth strategy
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Defined primary and secondary target audiences
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A refined brand story centered around both product and purpose
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More intentional messaging for wholesale and hospitality buyers
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A strategic direction for corporate and group gifting
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A consistent visual direction for new product launches
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Guidelines for preserving existing brand recognition while modernizing its presentation
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Packaging and promotional direction for new product extensions, including the pet-friendly Peanut Butter Ball line
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A framework for future expansion beyond the Las Vegas market
THE FINAL RESULT
Sugar and Spice emerged from the branding process with a much clearer understanding of who the brand is, who it should be speaking to, and where its strongest opportunities for growth exist. The final brand direction balances three things: A memorable product, a meaningful mission, and a scalable business strategy.
Sugar and Spice can now approach retailers, hospitality groups, corporate gifting buyers, influencers, and future distribution partners with messaging that tells a much more complete story. What began as a beloved Las Vegas treat is now positioned as something larger: A giftable, emotionally meaningful product with the potential to expand into new markets while creating opportunities for others along the way.
For Tone + Tactic, the project was ultimately about helping Sugar and Spice recognize that growth didn’t require becoming a completely different brand.
It required becoming clearer, more intentional, and more confident about the brand it already was.
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"Working with Jasmine was delightful. She has a keen ability to truly listen and learn about a business, allowing her to delve deep and thoughtfully identify both immediate and long term needs. She was able to draw out ideas and develop a plan simply by listening. Jasmine has a unique ability to hone in on an ideal customer, brand image, and strategic direction by using the stories and information shared with her. She provided actual verbiage and messaging that will help set the stage for future endeavors as I market both myself and my products. She not only provided a finished PDF, but also created a uniquely personal experience filled with consistent feedback and collaboration throughout the process. Her final brand guidelines are a masterpiece and a class act. I look forward to presenting her work and sharing it with the marketing teams I encounter in the near future as I continue to grow my business."
-Sheri Long
Owner of Sugar and Spice Las Vegas
Case Study 2 - A Delicious Decision
TRANSFORMING A TALENTED PASTRY BUSINESS INTO AN ELEVATED, ANTICIPATON-DRIVEN BRAND
A Delicious Decision is a boutique pastry brand founded by Naomi, a retired U.S. Air Force veteran, certified culinary and pastry chef, and entrepreneur with a deep appreciation for craftsmanship, hospitality, and the experience surrounding food.
After serving for 20 years in the Air Force, Naomi pursued her passion for pastry through culinary education and specialized training in French pastry techniques. She went on to build A Delicious Decision, operating the business across three states and developing a menu centered around thoughtfully crafted pastries.
Naomi had the idea, but didn't know how to communicate it to her target audience. What the business needed was a brand that communicated the caliber of what she was creating both visually and strategically.
THE CHALLENGE
A Delicious Decision had evolved significantly since its original launch. The quality and vision behind Naomi's pastries had become more sophisticated and specific towards what she was offering, but the brand surrounding her newly refined idea had not fully evolved with the business. Naomi had some initial ideas of what she wanted to do, but was unsure of how to make it cohesive across the board.
The challenge wasn't to make the company look better, but to create a clear brand strategy that could support Naomi's growth over time. Most importantly, the business needed to move beyond simply selling pastries and move into creating a recognizable "pastry experience" that was highly anticipated by her audience. She often described her vision as giving her clients "that feeling of stepping into their favorite coffee shop and feeling that they were in the right place." The challenge remained how we could accomplish this digitally since there was no physical shop at this time. This was vastly different from her surrounding competition in the Greater Atlanta area.
HOW TONE + TACTIC HELPED
We started off with a full brand strategy workshop and asked important questions such as: What was the key driver that made A Delicious Decision different? Who was the brand truely designed for? How should Naomi's background and expertise influence her story she would tell to her target audience? How could the business feel premium without becoming inaccessible or overly formal? How could the brand create excitement even without a traditional storefront? How do we articulate her newly formed brand into a beautiful visual identity?
Rather than positioning A Delicious Decision as another bakery offering an ongoing menu of baked goods, Tone + Tactic helped build the business around curated, limited-release pastry collections which really changed the direction.
Tone + Tactic helped establish:
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Strong brand positioning
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A clearly defined target audience
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A refined brand story
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Brand messaging
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Brand values
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Brand personality
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Brand tone and voice
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Competitor analysis
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A visual mood board communicating the initial visual direction
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A full logo suite
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Typography
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Color palette
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Icons and graphics for social media or website
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Refined and polished packaging concepts to give her clients the premium experience they would need
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A full Brand Guidelines PDF guiding all future decisions regarding her newly created brand
THE FINAL RESULT
Tone + Tactic helped transform A Delicious Decision from a pastry business into a fully articulated brand experience. The rebrand now gives Naomi a strategic foundation capable of supporting future pastry collections, seasonal releases, collaborations, packaging, pop-up experiences, digital marketing, and continued business growth. Rather than relying solely on the quality of the product to communicate value, every touchpoint can now reinforce the same story.
"Working with Jasmine has been one of the best investments I've made for my business. I initially thought I needed a logo, but what I received was so much more, a complete brand strategy that gave A Delicious Decision a clear identity, purpose, and direction. Jasmine took the time to truly understand my story, my vision, and the experience I wanted my customers to have. She transformed those ideas into a cohesive brand that feels authentic in every way. From the messaging and target audience, to the visual identity, packaging concepts, and customer experience, every detail was intentional and beautifully connected. What impressed me most was her ability to blend creativity with strategy. She didn't just create something that looks beautiful; She created a brand that tells a story and gives me confidence in how I present my business moving forward.
Jasmine is incredibly talented, thoughtful, organized, and genuinely invested in her clients' success. I wholeheartedly recommend her to anyone looking for more than just design. If you want a brand that truly reflects who you are and where you're going, she's the person to work with."
-Naomi Thompson
Owner of A Delicious Decision
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