We often get asked the same question: “So where did the name Twisted Toast come from?”
The short answer? Breakfast.
But not just any breakfast. This was no Wimpy fry-up or standard hotel buffet. Many moons ago, Louis and I were at a company conference with our team from UCM (UpperCase Media, the joint venture where we published FHM and heat magazine for Media24 and Emap). The venue? A tiny boutique escape in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands called Cleopatra Mountain Farmhouse.
Richard Poynton runs this gem, yes, the same Richard of Granny Mouse fame and a chef widely celebrated for his inventive, farm-to-table cuisine. His food is legendary: Creative, surprising and frankly, unforgettable. The kind of experience that makes even seasoned media execs go quiet at the table.
After a late-night celebration (publishers know how to do those properly), we sat down the next morning to a memorable breakfast that included “poached eggs on twisted toast.” The toast really was twisted! I leaned over to Louis and said, half-joking, “If we ever start our own company, we should call it Twisted Toast.”
Fast-forward a few years to when it was time to submit names for our new business. The official process meant we had to submit three options. Two of them were dull (think: “Digital Media Architects” or DMA – can you even imagine?). Luckily, the quirky one won out. “Twisted Toast Digital” was approved, and the rest, as they say in the classics, is history.
But here’s the thing. Our name ended up being more than a funny story about a Midlands breakfast. Toast is every day, universal and accessible, a staple that goes with everything. Add a twist, though, and suddenly you’ve got flair, originality… and that creative spark that makes the ordinary unforgettable. That’s exactly what we aim to do at Twisted Toast. To take the familiar, the essential and give it a twist that makes it stand out.
We didn’t just name our company after breakfast, we named it after the idea that even something simple can be made unforgettable with the right twist.
Even our brand identity and logo carry this meaning. Two intertwined slices of toast, designed as speech bubbles. It’s a nod to connection, conversation and the magic that happens when ideas are shared.
And yes, if you’ve picked up a theme here, you’d be right. We are a little food-obsessed. From breakfast metaphors to naming an entire agency after toast, it’s safe to say creativity, like food, is at the heart of everything we do.
So yes, our name came from breakfast. But more than that, it’s become a perfect shorthand for who we are. Simple, versatile and always with a creative twist.
Because, I mean really, who remembers “Digital Media Architects”?
Three things we’ll never say “no” to
At Twisted Toast, creativity and food go together. After all, our best ideas usually arrive somewhere between the first sip of coffee and the last bite of something delicious!
