Why pizzas, podcasts and more now sport daft cartoon characters

A bagel embodied as a human, unexpected little arms and a sweet face. A sandwich giving the peace sign. A leather jacket‑wearing fish brandishing a spatula. These playful figures appear across branding and merch for independent pizza places, sandwich shops, natural wine bars and podcasts, often paired with a graffiti‑like bubble or 1970s‑tinged Hobo font in washed‑out orange, red, purple, green or blue.

The visual roots run back to 1920s and 30s rubber‑hose animation, layered with 1950s Americana, vintage ironic T‑shirts and contemporary cartoon trends. Yard Sale Pizza, launched in Hackney in 2014, is emblematic: designer Patrick Schmidt helped create a papier‑mache chilli called Juan and other rounded, rubbery figures, and has gone on to make labels and collaborations from Top Cuvee wine bottles to Levi’s childrenswear.

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