Founded by Ed Little and Hugo Ross, Roleplay is a young London-based studio helping challenger brands define their role in culture, then play it loudly. From regenerative pasta to premium spices, the agency blends sharp strategy with expressive design to help consumer brands stand out and scale.
There’s definitely a unique kind of energy attached to studios that haven’t quite settled into their grooves yet. You could define it as alert, curious, tuned in, full of that sense of ‘what if?’. Roleplay, the young London-based agency founded by Ed Little and Hugo Ross, sits firmly in that space.
The studio launched out of a shared itch for something different rather than a grand five-year master plan. Both founders had clocked time at well-known agencies, both had absorbed plenty about how brand studios operate, and both had reached the same conclusion from different angles. They wanted more freedom to think, test and push ideas through without constantly bumping into invisible guardrails.
For Hugo, that desire came with a healthy dose of self-awareness. “The jump to start Roleplay was driven by a mix of curiosity, ambition and failure,” he says. “I never quite found my feet or my tribe in the agencies I worked in.” That restlessness showed up in an eagerness to work beyond the traditional remit of a design role, which didn’t always land comfortably in more structured environments. In hindsight, he sees it as useful friction, saying: “I knew these were the right tools to begin an agency of my own…the frustration and the need for creative expression drove me forward.”
Ed’s route was different, but complementary. He’d gravitated towards brands at moments of flux, like early-stage startups, scaleups, and challengers with something to prove. From DTC disruptors at Otherway to venture-backed innovators at Koto, he liked being close to the action. “Now we run our own studio together, we don’t have any excuses not to push the boundaries of what outlier strategic thinking and great design can do for the brands we work with,” he says.
That shared (and, by their own admission, occasionally misguided) ambition became the foundation for Roleplay. The studio that doesn’t just want to make brands, but help them perform.
Roleplay founders Ed & Hugo
Why Roleplay?
The name arrived quickly – suspiciously quickly, given how long naming usually takes. Hugo traces it back to a lyric from Toro y Moi’s track Hollywood: “I was role-playing. I was wind blowing…” The word stuck, partly because of its simplicity, partly because of its slightly loaded edge.
As the studio’s thinking developed, the name became a framework. “The Role represents our strategic discipline – finding a brand’s position and place in culture,” Hugo explains. “The Play represents the design discipline – executing that role and bringing the brand idea to life.” It represents serious intent, but with room to experiment.
They’re also not oblivious to the raised eyebrows the name can prompt, but they say the ambiguity is part of the appeal.
Turning the volume up
If Roleplay has a calling card, it’s what the duo describe as “strategic maximalism”. Not maximalism for maximalism’s sake, but a deliberate decision to turn the volume up where many brands are playing it safe.
“It starts with understanding the market you operate in, decoding the established rules and conventions,” Ed says. “Then working out which ones to break, innovate or challenge.” The approach is summed up neatly by their mantra: learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.
Hugo breaks the idea down into three tenets: Borrow, Delight, Provoke.
Borrow is about reframing a brand through an unexpected cultural lens. Northern Pasta Co is a textbook example. Rather than leaning into the predictable codes of ‘healthy’ or ‘sustainable’ food branding, Roleplay borrowed from the visual language of neighbourhood restaurants – their sign-painted logos, gingham patterns, and characterful illustration. The finished product is a regenerative British spelt pasta brand that feels at home in a deli as it does on a supermarket shelf.
Delight focuses on unexpected value. With Spice Department, that meant elevating spices from forgettable pantry staples to something closer to a collectablecollectable. From single-origin storytelling and farmer photography to stacked tins designed to be left out on the counter, every detail reinforces quality and care.
Provoke is where Roleplay leans into contrarian thinking. An upcoming project for Raise snacks, built around the platform ‘Big Up Natural Snacking’, targets the synthetic, ultra-processed end of the category. The ambition is to bring the swagger and personality of brands like Snickers to a product made from nuts and seeds, without sacrificing character for virtue.
Why FMCG?
So far, much of Roleplay’s work lives in food, drink and everyday consumer goods. This is the space that the founders are unapologetic about prioritising. Ed says it’s about competitive pressure, because “consumer goods are naturally a very crowded space” and he enjoys the challenge of helping brands stand out, describing it as “high risk but also high reward”.
Hugo sees it as cultural, too. Food has become a reference point far beyond the kitchen, with brands in fashion, beauty and fragrance borrowing its codes and rituals. From Anya Hindmarsh’s playful retail concepts to Burberry’s unexpected settings, and food-led still lifes from brands like Rhode and Byredo, FMCG has become a shared visual language.
There’s also the satisfaction of tangibility. “We have the opportunity to feel and touch the end product,” Hugo says. “Executing material finishes and finessing design in print is a whole different kettle of fish… infuriating at times, but incredibly rewarding.” Getting to taste the products can’t hurt either!
Commercial impact
Northern Pasta Co also points to another strand of Roleplay’s offering: a close relationship between brand thinking and business outcomes. The studio became creative partners to founder Imogen before Roleplay officially launched, and the results have been tangible. Since the rebrand, the business has seen a 275% increase in D2C sales, expanded into more than 250 independent retailers, significantly increased its valuation, and secured major retail partnerships.
For Roleplay, those numbers matter as proof that brand can be a genuine growth lever when it’s embedded early enough. “For early-stage businesses, their number one priority is raising money and getting listings,” Ed says. “We know how valuable a good pitch or retail deck can be, so often this is a good place to start.”
That mindset extends into investment. The studio sometimes backs brands with cash or sweat equity, becoming long-term creative and strategic partners rather than short-term suppliers. It’s a model that demands belief on both sides and a willingness to stay involved beyond the glossy launch moment.
Building a studio with personality
An emphasis on character also shapes Roleplay internally. Their first hire was an illustrator, Cristina, rather than a traditional account lead or generalist designer. “We want to be known for personality-driven design,” Hugo says. “Cristina’s skill set and taste profile complement that ambition perfectly.”
It’s a small decision that says a lot about the studio they’re building. It’s clear that expression isn’t going to be a mere garnish; it’s going to be a core ingredient.
Playing the long game
For all the talk of ambition, both founders are refreshingly pragmatic about pace. Ed recalls advice from his former boss at Otherway: “You’ll overestimate what you can do in a year and underestimate what you can do in ten.” That long-view thinking shows up in routines, coaching, and an acceptance that not every week needs to feel explosive.
Hugo echoes that sentiment in his own way. “We take the work seriously but try not to take ourselves too seriously,” he says. Regular check-ins, honest conversations, and shared responsibility seem to be the studio’s informal burnout prevention plan.
Looking ahead, neither founder is keen to box Roleplay in. Food and drink will remain a focus, but success, for them, is independence, a varied portfolio, long-standing clients, and the freedom to apply their strategic model to new cultural spaces as they emerge.
“I’d love to see our clients defying the odds and winning in the market,” Ed says. “Being known for catapulting challenger brands.” If Roleplay continues to do what its name suggests – defining roles and playing them with conviction – it’s well on its way.
