The other day, I was scrolling through TikTok when I stumbled on a video. Someone was excitedly filming a building that was still under construction and captioned it: “Another Item7go is coming here!”
The thing is, the building wasn’t finished. No signboard yet. No flashy ads. Just the structure. Yet people already knew: this is Item7go.
That moment really got me thinking about brand identity.
See, Item7go didn’t become recognizable just because of their tasty Nigerian jollof (though, let’s be honest, their jollof is something else). It’s deeper than that. Their big, bold buildings have become part of their signature. Their way of showing up in every location has become a language people understand. You don’t need to see the menu. You don’t even need to taste the food first. The identity speaks before the product does.
And that’s the power of a brand.
Brand identity isn’t just your logo, your colours, or your fonts. It’s the feeling, the consistency, and the little things that make people say: “I know this brand” even before the signboard goes up. For Item7go, it’s those massive, unmistakable buildings and their reputation for quality Nigerian meals that make them instantly recognisable.
The funny thing is, that TikTok wasn’t really about food. It wasn’t about jollof rice. It was about identity. A brand so consistent in how it shows up that even in the middle of cement, scaffolding, and dust, people could point and say, “That’s Item7go.”
So, here’s the lesson: your product might be amazing, but your identity is what people remember. It’s what makes them recognise you in a crowd of competitors. It’s the reason people can spot your brand even when you’re “under construction.”
Think about it, what makes your brand instantly recognisable?
What’s your “big building” or your “tasty jollof”?
Because at the end of the day, branding isn’t just about what you sell. It’s about what people see, feel, and remember about you, even before the first bite.