Tilly's Empanadas
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client
Tilly's Empanadas
role
Brand Strategy · Visual Identity · Environmental Design · Packaging · Digital · Content · Marketing
LOCATION
Long Beach Island, NJ
year
2026
Building a Brand From the Ground Up
Brand Strategy · Visual Identity · Environmental Design · Packaging · Digital · Content · Marketing
Tilly’s Empanadas began with a simple idea: create a place centered around great empanadas, coffee, bakery, and gelato — but give it the personality, warmth, and visual presence of a brand that could grow far beyond a single location.
SKY Marketing partnered with Tilly’s from the earliest stages to develop the brand from the ground up, transforming the concept into a complete customer experience.
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The Challenge
Tilly’s needed to feel new without feeling manufactured.
Located on Long Beach Island, New Jersey, the concept had to connect naturally with the character of the shore while creating an identity strong enough to stand on its own. The goal was to build something approachable, memorable, energetic, and deeply rooted in the story behind the business.
That meant thinking beyond a logo.
We needed to consider how Tilly’s would look, feel, communicate, and come to life across every customer touchpoint.
Our Approach
We developed Tilly’s as one connected brand ecosystem.
The visual identity established the foundation, but the brand was carried throughout the physical and digital experience — from exterior signage and murals to menus, packaging, uniforms, photography, website, social media, and digital ordering.
Every element was designed to feel like it belonged to the same world.
Brand Identity
At the center of the project was the creation of a recognizable identity that could balance personality with simplicity.
We developed a visual language that could live comfortably on a storefront, an empanada box, a coffee cup, a T-shirt, a digital menu board, or a social post without losing its character.
The objective wasn't simply consistency. It was recognition.
The Physical Experience
The Tilly’s brand extends directly into the space.
SKY worked across interior and exterior applications including signage, awnings, murals, menu systems, environmental graphics, merchandising, and other branded details throughout the restaurant.
Rather than treating the interior as a separate design project, we approached the location as a three-dimensional extension of the identity.
The space became part of the brand.
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