Serving food and beverage workers.

Southern Smoke Foundation

Founded by James Beard Award-winning chef Chris Shepherd, Southern Smoke provides funds to food and beverage workers in moments of stress or crisis. Ahead of their 2022 food festival/fundraiser, they wanted to rebrand in a way that positioned them as a national nonprofit.

I wrote the verbal identity, identifying strategic opportunities, establishing tone of voice, and creating the copy for their website, signage, and merch.

Before the rebrand, Southern Smoke’s revenue totaled $2.5 million. A year and a half later, it totaled $4.3 million. And in 2026, they won the James Beard Impact Award. Just desserts for all their good work.

Brand strategy
Verbal identity
Web
Print
Signage
Merch

Table comparing challenges and opportunities for mental health organizations in the F+B industry. Challenges include reluctance to ask for help, difficulty recognizing mental health issues, and lack of diversity in support. Opportunities include empathetic language, open discussions, clear descriptions of help, demographic diversity, and authentic branding.

A chef uses tongs to cook a piece of meat on a grill with open flames and smoke in a professional kitchen.

Sample of Southern Smoke Foundation verbal identity on a black background with white text highlighting the food and beverage industry's demands and challenges, and offering support.

Sample of Southern Smoke Foundation verbal identity and website reading, "When you reach out, we reach back." Illustration of two hands clasping in a handshake, with text about emergency relief funding.

A donation webpage for Southern Smoke Foundation. It includes gift frequency options (monthly or one-time) and gift amount choices ($35, $50, $100, $250, or custom). There is a checkbox for dedicating the gift in honor or memory of someone.

A person wearing a yellow Southern Smoke Festival t-shirt with a graphic of a hand holding a sign that says "Eat Well Do Good."

Webpage of Southern Smoke Foundation with illustrated, diverse group of food service workers and volunteers preparing and serving food, with text about helping those in need.

Message of gratitude from Southern Smoke Foundation to supporters and donors, thanking them for their help and generosity in supporting those in the food and beverage industry.

Collage of website pages for the Southern Smoke Foundation, featuring program information, a donation counter, maps, events, profiles, and articles, with yellow and white color scheme.

Black background with white text that moves from left to right, alternating "Southern Smoke Foundation" and "Southern Smoke Festival."

Collection of stickers promoting the Southern Smoke Festival, including illustrations of a smoker, a woman grilling, a hand holding a BBQ brush, a sign saying 'Eat Well Do Good,' a 'Sorry! We're Closed' sign, and a thank you note, all on a wooden surface.

Chris Shepherd and Gail Simmons posing together at the Southern Smoke Festival with a stage and festival banners in the background.

Group of people representing Southern Smoke Foundation on stage holding a large check at an outdoor event with a dark background and stage lighting.

“Working with Principle has been an absolute dream. They get it. They understand our mission and created messaging and visuals to help us better communicate it to the world. I was literally in tears when they presented to us, and I’m so excited to see Southern Smoke gain awareness and increase our ability to help our industry as a direct result of this partnership.”

Chris Shepherd
Co-Founder of Southern Smoke

A simple illustration for Southern Smoke Foundation of a white shopping bag with the words "Thank you" repeated multiple times in yellow, and a black arrow pointing downward through the words, set against a yellow background.

Principle
Carissa Hempton
Elizabeth Kelley
Erin O’Connor
Taylor Tokarz
Drake Preston

Agency
Design CD
Web CD
Writing CD
Senior Copywriter
Designer