The archive · Brand & Identity · Strategic decision · 2024
Fujiya distills its century-old identity into a logomark from Peko-chan's mouth
The 100-year-old Japanese confectioner replaces its scattered marks with one identity centred on a new logomark cut from mascot Peko-chan's mouth.
Fujiya
What it had to solve
Fujiya, a Japanese national brand with over 100 years of history and recognition across Asia, had improved product quality and raised prices, yet its long past had left a retro, vintage image that needed updating. Its identities were also fragmented: the corporate 'F' mark, two 'FUJIYA' logotypes (one in Kanji, one in English) and the beloved character Peko-chan each stood apart.
How it works
Fujiya is a Japanese national brand with more than 100 years of history, known not only in Japan but across Asia. It had improved product quality and raised prices, but its long past had left it with a retro, vintage image that now needed an update.
The rebrand began from a problem of fragmentation. Fujiya's identity ranged from the 'F' mark — pivotal as its corporate mark — to two 'FUJIYA' logotypes, one in Kanji characters and one in English, to its character Peko-chan. All of these were reviewed and systemized rather than simply replaced.
The centre of the new system is a logomark created from the iconic shape of Peko-chan's mouth, turning the character the public already loves into the face of the whole brand. The work is preserved in D&AD's Branding awards archive for 2024; the page records no sales or reach figures.
Why it lands
- A century of history had become a liability: the retro image survived even after quality and prices improved, so the refresh had to change perception, not just packaging.
- The corporate 'F' mark, the Kanji and English logotypes and Peko-chan each carried part of the brand with no single centre, diluting recognition across applications.
- Cutting the new logomark from Peko-chan's mouth kept 100 years of public affection while giving the brand one simple, ownable symbol.
- Systemizing instead of replacing modernised the identity without burning the equity already stored in the character.
What it did
The rebrand makes the brand's most loved asset its core mark: where the old identity separated the corporate mark, the logotypes and the character, a logomark cut from Peko-chan's mouth now identifies Fujiya at a glance. The work sits in D&AD's Branding awards archive for 2024, which records no commercial metrics.
What you can take
When a long-lived brand's assets drift apart, don't replace them: systemize what exists and let the most loved element — a mascot, a mark, a voice — hold it together.
Since then
The rebrand won a Wood Pencil in the Branding category at the D&AD Awards 2024. D&AD's work page records no rollout or sales figures, so the lasting artifact is the system itself: a single mouth-shaped logomark that gives a century of scattered assets one coherent centre.
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