Future Brands

What Makes a Brand Delicious?

Public Opinion

How to Build a Brand People Want to Devour

Some brands enter your life the way a grocery-store apple does: fine, functional, probably good for you. Others arrive like a warm croissant torn open on a Parisian morning: buttery, indulgent, and forever raising the bar.

You know the ones. Brands like Byredo, Ceremonia, Graza that feel less like companies and more like… crushes. The kind of brand you want to date, not just buy. The kind of brand that hijacks your dopamine, colonises your identity, and has you explaining to strangers why, actually, this moisturiser is your new church.

Why do some brands behave like dessert?

Why do we want them, physically, socially, emotionally beyond rational purchase logic?

The short answer: they feed something deeper than need. They feed intense desire.

For those keen on the longer answer, stick with me below.

Branding is basically psychology in couture.

What we call “delight” or ‘“desire” is just neuroscience with pretty lipstick on. When we like a brand, it’s not the font or the copy doing the heavy lifting, it’s your brain chemistry.

Dopamine gets triggered by novelty, surprise, anticipation. (Apple keynotes, sneaker drops, Gentle Monster ‘museums’)
Oxytocin responds to intimacy and belonging. (ILIA loyalists, COS uniform-wearers, and Gelato Messina people who treat ice cream like a shared language.)
Serotonin loves status and self-image. (The Row silhouettes, Loro Piana cuts, Tulita perfume that signal taste.)
Endorphins come from joy and play. (Barbiecore, Lego, Oreo collabs that should be illegal but aren’t.)

A delicious brand is that first slow lick of pistachio gelato on a hot walk.
It tickles the nervous system. It rewards attention. It gives you an identity snack.

The Anatomy of a Delicious Brand

Let’s be honest: very few people need a $460 candle, yet here we are, hoarding them like citizens preparing for an aesthetic blackout.

The brands that hit like dessert tend to do five things exceptionally well:

They build anticipation.
A slow tease. A drip reveal. A launch you can’t scroll past without needing a cigarette.
They create savouring moments.
Diptyque boutiques, softly lit and perfumed, inviting you to wander as if browsing a cabinet of curiosities.
They offer comfort, psychological and tactile.
Soft materials. Warm copy. A feeling like someone remembered your name.
They deliver micro-delight.
A hidden message inside a box. A funny 404 page. A scent. A wink.
They nourish identity.
The brand is not just a product; it’s a self-portrait. It says something about who you are, or who you wish to be.

Craveable brands are performances of taste, enacted every time you use them.

The Theory: Three Layers of Brand Deliciousness

Brand is like a pastry: layered, sensory, engineered for craving.

A delicious brand doesn’t succeed because it looks good. Or sounds good. Or even feels good. It succeeds because it feeds the human psyche in layers, the way a truly great pastry delivers flavour, texture, and nourishment in a single bite.

Below is the deeper theory and actionable ways to bake this into your brand.