Recipe for creating an identity

After three years (almost to the day), our original 'German Platter' concept certainly has evolved. The first year it was merely a thought - something to bring up in conversation over a late Sunday brunch and say, "Wouldn't that be cool". The second year was making sure we knew what we would be getting into by opening our own business, and then putting things in place to make sure we were able to do so. Somewhere in the middle of all this the name was created...and this last year has been pulling all the ingredients together to ensure WickeDeli can have a life of its own. And as you know (from your own teenage angst years), the first step in having your own life is figuring out who you are.

The identity of a company is pretty much the same as our own personal identities - there are complexities and simplicities. You know...layers. Like Shrek said, "Ogres are like onions...we both have layers." Some layers you want people to notice right away...and some you would rather leave a mystery - to encourage further discovery. I thought it would be harder than it was to bring out all the layers of WickeDeli - to make sure all the necessary elements were there, but with subtlety too. It wasn't really the "oh, I'll know it when I see it" process...it was more like the "dab of this, dollop of that, taste it...no, maybe a pinch more of that" type of process.

Overall it was an intense and truthful process. But I know the recipe is right, because every time I look at the life we have created for WickeDeli, I don't taste the onion at all. Instead all the flavors blend together - layer by layer - to create an interesting, provoking identity. Don't we wish we could all say that about ourselves.

-Tatiana