Ey Studio avoided ‘gourmet’ trends for something more authentic to rebrand Italy’s most iconic panettonne

An Alemagna rebrand was the dream project for Ey Studio from the very moment Italian design office opened it’s doors. A Milanese confectioner seeped in Italian heritage and symbolism, that, amongst other treats, famously produces a Panettone that every Italian grew up eating – Alemagna is a household name that certainly has a cultural history behind it. So you can imagine the studio’s joy when that exact project landed on its desk.

Ey Studio’s initial research for the brief was a deep dive into the brands backstory: “We started by retracing its entire journey – from the very first pastry shop in Milan’s Piazza del Duomo to its legendary panettoni, Autogrills, and Charms candies,” says Marco Corona, co-founder and creative director of Studio Ey. But the goal wasn’t simply to bring back Alemagna’s historic packaging in its revival of the brand. Like many other large Italian brands, the confectioner’s success grew out of “the Italian Miracle era”, Marco explains; a period of rapid economic growth post World War II, that stretched into the late 1960s when Italy was establishing a global reputation for design and small family food businesses. Places like Alemagna were scaling up to become internationally renowned names. The studio wanted to capture the visual language of Italy’s foray into modernism, craftsmanship and mass industrial production into a new logo and brand mark for Alemagna that’s built for 2026.

When refreshing Alemagna’s lettering, the studio selected a primary typeface that “embraced the sophisticated yet daring spirit of Italian Modernism”, Marco says, “drawing inspiration from an era when every character was crafted with a craftsman’s care.” The geometric, handcrafted letters recall letterpress type from historic printing presses of the era, preserving in their forms “the energy and life” of the era. “The typography, and graphic shapes create a mix of heritage and contemporary design that makes the new Alemagna brand rejoice in a pride and awareness of its roots,” Marco adds.

For the packaging, the studio created a design language for the brand’s world of baked goods that struck a balance between tradition and something contemporary. Alongside its modern, geometric type, the studio softly integrate cropped duotone archival imagery and handwritten signatures, hinting at the history of the brand. For the Panettone box’s main colour palette Ey went for Alemagna’s historic signature ice blue and paired it with a bold red-orange. “This contrast is great because it completely breaks away from classic pastel bakery tones,” the co-founder says. To distinguish the baked goods’ different flavours, the studio created a series of colour combinations inspired by the key ingredients of each product; from gingerbread and orange to caramel and chocolate.

The biggest challenge with the rebrand was “balancing the Italian touch in an international project”, Marco says, “honouring the brand’s archive while making it relevant today. Lately, food and beverage industry is pushing hard toward either extreme luxury or wild experimentation. But a great panettone, at its heart, is a treat for the people and we want to keep the design for everyone,” the designer ends. “If you make it too elitist, you lose that connection with the public. We proudly rejected both gourmet and new-wave trends to create something clear, consistent and deeply authentic.”