Giant Rebrand: Sanitised Ambition

Not brat anymore ❎

DFI Retail Group recently made headlines when it announced the sale of Cold Storage and Giant in Singapore to Malaysian retail group Macrovalue. The Group’s stock rallied, and netizens were hopeful that the sale would mean lower grocery prices due to economies of scale.

Although a rebrand is unlikely to happen after the sale, it is worth looking at the relatively new brand identities these two chains have—especially since both rebranded during this decade. Let’s look at Cold Storage’s brand identity in this post.

History of Giant

Founded in 1944 as a small grocery store in Kuala Lumpur, Giant has since grown into one of the largest supermarket chains in Singapore and Malaysia, with a former presence in Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia and Vietnam. A notable expansion in Singapore occurred when DFI Retail Group rebranded all its discount supermarkets under the Shop N Save name to Giant in 2013. However, the chain has downsized in recent years, closing hypermarkets in VivoCity and Parkway Parade in 2019 and 2020 respectively. As of 2025, Giant operates 41 stores in Singapore.

Rebranding during a crisis

Giant rebranded during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, in late 2020. Although grocery brands thrived during that time, rebranding in the midst of a pandemic posed challenges due to safe distancing measures and operational restrictions. This may explain why the rebrand was launched in Singapore first, given its smaller and hence more manageable footprint.

Giant’s former logo felt like a relic from a past era—it had been around since 1997, even earlier than Giant’s entry into the Singapore market. It stood out among competitors for its cursive lettering, the only one among the major players, which added to its dated look. But as mentioned in the Cold Storage rebrand review, when a logo has been around for too long, consumers can grow attached to it because they are comfortable with the familiar.

The new logo ditched cursive lettering in favour of a rounded sans-serif typeface. “Giant”, which previously popped out of a bright yellow oval (true to its name), now sits quietly inside a mango-shaped green blob. The colour palette was also pared down to just green and white.

Designed by UK design agency Tickety Boo Creative, their portfolio page wrote this about anchoring the identity on the fruit:

“The new logo is inspired by mango fruit, a popular food in each of the three regions. It has a smooth, organic shape and the best bit is that there’s a subtle smile hidden there. It anchors the brand in its direction of moving to a more friendly and supportive attitude that’s still rooted in value for the customer.”

Although mangoes are popular in Singapore and Malaysia, they do not hold any deep cultural significance—unlike durians or pineapples. This could explain why the mango motif was never mentioned in official communications, except in niche applications like the Kids Run logo, which featured a rubber hose-style mango character. As for the “subtle smile” shape, the reference is too vague and resembles more of a random shaped blob instead.

The logo follows the trend of simplifying logos for the digital age. However, as many online pointed out, the rebrand stripped away Giant’s personality. Just because Giant is the budget-friendly companion of Cold Storage does not mean its logo should be generic. As a legacy grocery brand in Singapore, Giant missed an opportunity to reflect its local roots more boldly, but that would be a tall ask from a UK-based design agency with no local branch.

On a more positive note, the rebrand allowed Giant to standardise their visual identity across stores, which is no small feat. Taking cues from the logo’s organic shape, blobs are consistently used across store signage, price tags, and posters. The use of a handwritten, grocery-sign-style font was also a nice touch.

Packaging a Perception

Giant adopted a lighter shade of green as its primary corporate colour to evoke freshness. In an interview, the Marketing Director of DFI who oversaw the rebrand said it took them a long time to find the right shade which did not look fluorescent or artificial. This green is especially prominent across Giant’s house brand packaging.

That packaging, however, is a hit-or-miss affair. For instance, the chip bags feature both a bowl of chips and a close-up photo of chips—a cluttered combination that confuses rather than entices.

On the other hand, drinks and pantry items are packaged more cleanly, but risk looking generic and unmemorable.

Even though house brands are meant to be affordable alternatives, that does not mean they should look cheap. For food products, using images of fresh ingredients or raw foods can boost perceived quality. Tesco’s house brand packaging is a fine example of this.

Closer to home, NTUC FairPrice’s house brand also follows this approach. Even Meadows—DFI’s own house brand carried in Giant—has more cohesive, visually appealing packaging. Though marketed as budget-friendly products, their packaging gives it a premium feel.

No Longer Brat

All is not lost with Giant’s rebrand, though. With the rise of anti-design popularised by Charli XCX’s brat album aesthetic, Giant has a perfect chance to dust the old logo off the archives and make it a counter culture icon. Weirder things have happened recently.

Going viral nowadays is less about looking professional (read: conforming) but more of testing the limits of what it means to be a brand. Functional designs can only bring a brand so far—ironically, ugly and nostalgic are full of potential. What if Giant teams up with Cold Storage to launch a 90’s inspired capsule collection featuring their former logos? Again, weirder things have happened.

Blame it on the Blob

While Giant’s rebrand was long overdue, the new logo looks overly safe and sanitised to make any lasting impression. The “blobs” that dominate its design language already feel stale—just look at VivoCity’s branding, which has used blobs since the mall’s opening in 2006.

This is not to say that Giant’s current identity is a trainwreck. It is perfectly serviceable, and frankly, most shoppers would care more about grocery prices remaining affordable. But as creatives who want to see beauty in the everyday, we should nudge brands to take risks and not settle for less.

In this SG60 year, Marcovalue could take a bold step by reintroducing Giant’s former logo temporarily via a throwback promotion. It would offer a much-needed jolt of nostalgia and reaffirm Giant’s role as a trusted, value-driven brand for generations of Singaporeans.

Now that would really put a smile on our faces.

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Branding Singapore is a series which highlights notable local brand identities. Explore Singapore’s design scene with us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Telegram.