Hole Foods logo overlaid on a rustic wooden table covered in pretzels and chocolate-drizzled donut-shaped snacks.
Hole Foods logo overlaid on a rustic wooden table covered in pretzels and chocolate-drizzled donut-shaped snacks.

Expanding a concept into a parody brand

Expanding a concept into a parody brand

Created @

Created @

Created @

Project overview

Hole Foods began as a small just-for-fun branding project for one of Appfire's quarterly board meetings. The meeting was held in Austin, Texas where the Whole Foods headquarters is located, so one of the founders came up with the idea to create a parody food company called Hole Foods; a snack company that sells foods with holes in them. While this initial project was much smaller in scale, I opted to revisit it several years later and expand upon it as a fun branding exercise.

Role

Designer

Date

2022, 2026

Skills

Branding

Art Direction

Hole Foods logo overlaid on a rustic wooden table covered in pretzels and chocolate-drizzled donut-shaped snacks.
Round black storefront sign mounted on a wall reading 'Hole Foods, Austin Born, By Appfire'.
Scattered Hole Foods pinback buttons in green, orange, and brown, one featuring a pretzel and another the 'Snack bold, Live whole' tagline.
Green Hole Foods branded apron with an all-over line-art pattern of donuts, pretzels, and cheese, displayed on a mannequin.
Three Hole Foods pretzel snack pouches in orange, green, and yellow, each with a bowl of pretzels on the front.
Woman wearing a green baseball cap embroidered with the Hole Foods logo.
Two round Hole Foods snack tin lids, one green and one orange, each wrapped with a paper label reading 'Austin Born, Hole Foods, By Appfire'.
Round Hole Foods snack canister packaging, open to reveal a chocolate-drizzled donut-shaped snack inside, alongside its brown lid.
Orange Hole Foods snack sleeve packaging shaped like a fry container, printed with 'Snack bold, Live whole'.
Two Hole Foods snack boxes stacked with a donut-shaped pastry peeking out, one in dark brown and one in tan.
Hands stacking cardboard Hole Foods shipping boxes in front of a delivery truck.

Bringing everything full circle

While I don't often have the opportunity to work on food brands, revisiting and expanding this concept was a refreshing creative exercise. It gave me the chance to explore areas I don't typically work in, from developing packaging to experimenting with food photography. Taking a simple concept and refining it into a more brand made for a fun project and an opportunity to stretch my creative process in new ways.

While I don't often have the opportunity to work on food brands, revisiting and expanding this concept was a refreshing creative exercise. It gave me the chance to explore areas I don't typically work in, from developing packaging to experimenting with food photography. Taking a simple concept and refining it into a more brand made for a fun project and an opportunity to stretch my creative process in new ways.

  • 8

    years of experience

  • 100%

    invested in the details

  • 1

    eye of the tiger

Seeking new role

Back to top

Small details.

Big impact.

© 2026 Tom Hayes. All rights reserved.

00:00:00
  • 8

    years of experience

  • 100%

    invested in the details

  • 1

    eye of the tiger

Seeking new role

Back to top

Small details.

Big impact.

© 2026 Tom Hayes. All rights reserved.

00:00:00
  • 8

    years of experience

  • 100%

    invested in the details

  • 1

    eye of the tiger

Seeking new role

Back to top

Small details.

Big impact.

© 2026 Tom Hayes. All rights reserved.

00:00:00