Henna look for Bangra bangers

Normally the domain of those with body piercings or the result of drunken festival antics, the henna tattoo has now been given a new context: the sausage.

Branding and design consultancy The Partners has come up with the idea to adorn Mr Singh’s Bangra sausages, owned by Digit creative director Daljit Singh, with an intricate henna pattern.

The Partners designer Rob Ball explains, ‘It was great to work with a creative as a client, because he ran with our idea rather than being scared to use something that is a bit out there. We decided to make the sausage design the packaging and then had to find someone who could apply the henna to the sausages without poisoning purchasers.’

The sausages had to pass a set of tests by the Food Standards Agency, according to Ball. ‘It was a challenge to get the henna pattern on to the sausages and develop a dye which would not come off when they were cooked,’ he says.

The design, which uses a yellow and red colour scheme in keeping with the brand’s Indian heritage, will be applied to variants within the range including the original, date and apricot, and chilli and mint flavours.

The delicately tattooed sausages will launch at Harrods and Selfridges later this year.

The Partners was appointed in summer 2007 on the strength of an existing relationship with Singh. Consultancies Digit and The Partners worked together on public art project The Grand Tour.