Rice Creative

What Rice Creative does

Rice Creative, founded in 2011 by Chí-An De Leo and operating from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, is a branding and creative agency that positions itself as the bridge between Vietnamese and global markets. The firm serves two interlocking client segments: "Rising Brands" (Vietnamese and Southeast Asian companies expanding internationally — e.g., Marou Chocolate, 4P's) and "Global Brands" entering Vietnam (e.g., Uniqlo, Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Spotify, Uber, Nike, Takashimaya, Baemin), with portfolio work also extending to nonprofit (UNICEF) and arts clients (National Gallery Singapore).

The agency operates on a professional services model, delivering projects across five in-house service lines: Strategy (vision, brand architecture, localization, go-to-market), Identity (naming, visual, verbal, sonic), Experience (packaging, print, spatial, digital, activation), Production (film, photography, product, attire, print), and Launch (campaigns, communications, extensions). Service delivery is project-based and direct-engagement, with pricing not publicly disclosed. The team is approximately 20 people, weighted toward senior creative, production, and management roles, with senior hires in 2023-2024 sourced from Gobelins Paris, University of Applied Arts Hannover, and Bloomberg Businessweek.

In 2024, the firm rebranded from Rice Studios to BaseSGN and joined the Base Design global network of independent studios (New York, Brussels, Geneva, Melbourne, Digital, Ho Chi Minh City). The transition is characterized by the company as a partnership-level evolution rather than an acquisition, with the same team, leadership, and ownership continuing. Beyond services, Rice operates the Mãi sub-brand (up-cycled plastic furniture and objects) and the founders have used the platform for industry jury work, AGI alliance leadership, and educational initiatives across Vietnam and Southeast Asia. No proprietary technology platform or disclosed AI capabilities are part of the operating model.

Name

Rice Creative

Legal name

Rice Creative

Website

https://rice-creative.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Rice Creative is a Ho Chi Minh City–based branding and creative agency that designs brand identities for Vietnamese rising brands expanding globally and international brands entering Vietnam. It now operates as BaseSGN within the Base Design global network spanning New York, Brussels, Geneva, Melbourne, and beyond.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Branding and Design Services

NAICS

Graphic Design Services (54143), Graphic Design Services (541430)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)

akta.pro primary industry

Creative & Brand Campaign Development (BPAFAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Creative Concepting & Campaign Development (BPAFAEAD), Packaging & Brand Identity Creative Agencies (MPAAAAAN), Naming & Verbal Identity (BPAFAEAB)

Keywords

• Branding agency services
• Brand identity design
• Creative design studio
• Packaging design services
• Brand strategy consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Ho Chi Minh City

HQ country

Vietnam

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Creative Agency Services: Project-based professional services revenue from branding, design strategy, identity creation, experience design, production, and launch campaigns for enterprise and mid-market clients.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Rice Creative is a branding and creative agency that delivers comprehensive design services spanning brand strategy, identity creation (visual, verbal, sonic), experience design (packaging, print, spatial, digital), production management (film, photography, attire), and campaign launch execution. The agency serves both rising Southeast Asian brands seeking global expansion and global brands entering Vietnam, operating as BaseSGN within the Base Design international network of independent studios.

Product overview

Rice Creative operates as Rice Studios (now part of BaseSGN under the global Base Design network), offering a unified full-service branding and design agency. The core offering encompasses Strategy, Identity, Experience, Production, and Launch services spanning brand architecture, visual/verbal/sonic identity, packaging, print, spatial design, digital design, film, photography, and campaign execution. The portfolio includes diverse projects for clients such as 4P's, Marou Chocolate, Uniqlo, UNICEF, Viction, Loop, and Truffle Man, with subsidiary/venture products including Mãi (up-cycled plastic furniture brand). The company has received international recognition including D&AD, Red Dot, Pentawards, and The Dieline Awards.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Strategy Services Vision, Brand Architecture, Brand Strategy, Localization, New Markets, and Go-to-market services focused on achieving clarity around purpose and objectives, focusing culture, and optimizing decision-making.
• Identity Services Naming, Visual, Verbal, and Sonic Identity development, providing the tools to express vision and distinctiveness across the branded environment.
• Experience Services Packaging, Print, Spatial, Digital Design, and Activation services managing immersive branded environments and maximizing impact at every touchpoint.
• Production Services Film, Photography, Product, Attire, and Print production, managing, planning, sourcing, quality controlling, and delivering design implementations.
• Launch Services Campaigns, Communications, Extensions, and Breakthrough projects delivering brilliant ideas through relevant channels to target audiences.

Named customers14 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Base DesignflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Rice Studios evolved into BaseSGN as part of the Base Design family, a global network of independent studios. This is not a merger or acquisition but a natural evolution connecting Rice's Vietnamese market expertise with Base Design's global network spanning New York, Brussels, Geneva, Melbourne, and Digital studios.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Base Design: Base Design is the parent network that Rice/BaseSGN has joined as part of its 2024 evolution. Base is a globally distributed independent design studio with offices in New York, Brussels, Geneva, Melbourne, and now Ho Chi Minh City, making it the most structurally comparable peer and direct internal benchmark.
• FutureBrand: FutureBrand is an Interpublic-owned global brand transformation network with offices across Asia. It competes with Rice/BaseSGN for global brand strategy, identity, and experience mandates, and represents the type of scaled competitor entering Vietnam as the market matures.
• Interbrand: Interbrand is a global brand consultancy with a strong presence in Asia-Pacific. It provides strategy, naming, identity, and brand valuation services to many of the same enterprise clients as Rice, and is a benchmark incumbent for the kind of cross-border mandates Rice is pursuing through Base Design.
• Landor & Fitch: Landor is one of the world's largest brand consulting and design firms, part of WPP. It serves many of the same global FMCG, retail, and tech clients (Uniqlo, Coca-Cola, McDonald's) that Rice has worked with, making it the most relevant broad incumbent peer despite operating at a very different scale.

Direct peers

• Saffron Brand Consultants: Saffron is an independent global brand consultancy with strong Asia-Pacific presence and a focus on brand strategy, identity, and innovation. It directly competes for the cross-border, multicultural brand engagements that Rice/BaseSGN is targeting.
• Foreign Policy: Foreign Policy is a Singapore-based independent branding and design agency serving regional and global brands across Asia-Pacific. It directly competes with Rice/BaseSGN in the rising-brand and Asia-market-entry category, and shares a similar boutique, award-winning positioning in the Southeast Asian creative market.
• Winkreative: Winkreative is a branding and creative agency founded by Tyler Brûlé (Monocle) with a multicultural, cross-border positioning very similar to Rice. Both studios serve global lifestyle, retail, and consumer brands with strategy, identity, and editorial-style design across multiple geographies, making Winkreative a close direct peer in category and ambition.
• Pentagram: Pentagram is the world's largest independently owned design studio, organized as a partnership of distinguished designers. It shares Rice's independent, partner-led, award-winning DNA and competes at the top end of the design market for identity and brand work, making it a relevant aspirational peer.

Emerging players

• Mazarine: Mazarine is a French independent creative agency specializing in brand strategy, identity, and luxury marketing. It has comparable strengths in cross-cultural branding for premium consumer brands and an award-winning pedigree similar to Rice's.
• Caserne: Caserne is a Montreal-based independent branding and design studio with strong packaging expertise and award-winning work (D&AD, Dieline, Pentawards). It shares Rice's positioning as a boutique, design-led agency competing on craft and creativity.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/thisis.rice
• Xx.com/Rice_Creative
• Facebookfacebook.com/RiceCreative

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rice Creative