Name Critic Rates Panda Express

Panda Express®TechnicalPresentation
Our Rating1010

Long ago I remember reading that the most popular take out food in the USA was “Chinese”. Yes, a generic name for all the many mom and pop Chinese local places. Most with long menus that very few people explored beyond a few basic dishes. Then along came Panda Express – what a clever way to say fast Chinese food! Eat in or dine out the packaging and delivery is the same. And you don’t even have to read a menu. Just point and go.

So they don’t have all your exotic specials. And no they won’t customize a dish for you. But they have figured out what is popular with their audience and they will deliver it fast and fresh. Being a family owned chain lets them keep a strong hand on the quality of every outlet.Firstly, the obvious part of the name is the ending from the word biscuit.  And since it is quite well known that biscuit originated from cooked twice, it is easy to assume that somehow triscuit means cooked three times. But any baker will tell you that is highly improbable.

In fact I only discovered this chain for myself while visiting friends who ate there at least once a week. Plus I wanted to see what all the fuss was about and how they managed lines out of the door in rush hours. Now I am getting hungry just writing this review.

Interestingly enough, Panda Express do not have the exclusive trademark on the word Panda – only on Panda Express. But it has been a polarizingly strong move to claim such a lovely symbol of all things good about China – more so than just their food.

Great logo and branding example

Notice how an image that is intrinsically black and white is made to stand out. Plus how the name and tagline and image all create one cohesive whole that is perfect for using on anything or in any media.

It is hard to criticize such a plain and cute logo. Rather I should just compliment it for being brilliantly simple and cute. In Chinese red of course, but oh so subtle and overall in the magic red button format.

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See his industry naming commentary (where he takes a critical look at names) via the blog on this site