Honest Toil Bet Its Olive Oil Brand On Illustrators And It Paid Off

Creative Boom: Inspiration Illustration Honest Toil bet its olive oil brand on illustrators – and it paid off Founders Tom Woodgate and Juli Laki were told illustrated packaging would be expensive, complicated and hard to manage. They ignored those voices and hired artists anyway – and their work is now the Greek olive oil brand's defining visual language. Written By: Katy Cowan 11 August 2026 Photography by Sarah Rainer Originally from the UK and Hungary, Tom Woodgate and Juli Laki fell in love with Greece when Tom's family relocated to Kyparissia in the Western Peloponnese.

They moved there and inherited a tiny olive grove, consulting neighbours down the local taverna on harvesting techniques and becoming regulars at the village olive press of Armenios. This is how they ended up with their first batch of self-produced extra virgin olive oil – cold-pressed from Koroneiki olives, unfiltered and unblended, or, as they put it, "basically olive juice from the fruit into the bottle". One thing led to another, and they launched Honest Toil – a name worthy of applause itself. Like any business owners, the couple needed a brand identity for their product.

Being new to the world of packaging design, they were told it was an expensive business and that they'd be better off keeping things simple to avoid costs spiralling. But they ignored that advice – and it helps to know their backgrounds. Juli had worked in a gallery, Tom used to make films, and neither could see why an olive oil can should be treated any differently to a canvas. So rather than settling on one fixed look, they decided to commission a whole bunch of illustrators for Honest Toil's bottles and cans, treating the packaging as something playful that could evolve – changing with the seasons and harvests, as much as wine labels do.

The roll call of artists has been growing ever since. Dóra Berczi, Enikő Katalin Eged and Zena Kay have all turned their hands to labels, alongside Philipp Beck, Tine Damgaard, Eszter Kiskovács, Tamás Molnár and Sandra Poliakov. Each brings their own visual style and their unique take on Mediterranean food culture and shared meals. Instead of asking anyone to fit into an existing aesthetic, the couple treat each commission as its own original piece. The result is a collection that continues to grow across the range.

(Bonus points to Tom and Juli for keeping a running credit list of every artist and photographer on their website – more brands should do this.) And the bet has paid off well beyond the shelf. Honest Toil is now the oil of choice at the likes of Ottolenghi, Bubala and The Dusty Knuckle, while gut health expert and Zoe founder Tim Spector has named it his current favourite. Not bad for a couple who, by their own admission, never wanted to create another olive oil brand in the first place. They've described Honest Toil as more of a project with a "value system" than a company in the usual sense.

Maybe that's exactly why the one they did build looks like nothing else in the kitchen cupboard. And with new artwork arriving as each harvest comes round, there's always a reason to look twice at the can.

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This article highlights a unique branding strategy that successfully leverages artistic collaboration, making it significant and relevant for brand strategy professionals seeking innovative approaches.