RGVA is moving more than 1,400 Sysco GB vehicles from legacy Brakes Group liveries to a single Sysco identity, and the programme is on schedule and on budget. It is the largest livery project Sysco GB has ever run. The new livery has already won Livery of the Year at the 2026 TCS&D Awards.
The project at a glance
| Client | Sysco GB (formerly Brakes) |
| Partnership | 13 years |
| Scope | 1,400+ vehicles, part of a 2,300+ vehicle fleet |
| Timescale | 12 months, finishing June 2027 |
| Priority region | South East, including the Kent Frozen Foods fleet |
| Installation network | 25 sites across the UK |
| Vehicle types | Artic trailers, multi-temperature rigids, urban delivery vehicles |
| Status | In progress: on time and on budget |
| Recognition | TCS&D Livery of the Year 2026 |
The challenge
As Brakes and its sister businesses became Sysco GB, the fleet had to carry one consistent brand across the UK. That meant rebranding more than 1,400 vehicles in 12 months without taking them off the road for long.
The fleet runs around the clock across many depots, vehicle types and schedules. Every hour a vehicle spends in a bay is an hour it isn’t delivering to chefs, schools, hospitals and restaurants. With so many vehicles on public roads, any drop in quality would be on show to millions of people.
Sysco GB needed a partner who could:
- Roll out the new Sysco branding across every vehicle type
- Keep vehicle downtime and disruption to a minimum
- Hold one consistent standard across the whole fleet
- Manage production and installation at national scale
- Coordinate work across many sites at once
- Keep supporting new vehicle deliveries alongside the rebrand
- Produce liveries that last ten years or more in heavy daily use
The South East was named as the first priority. The scope later grew to include the Kent Frozen Foods fleet, which had to be added to the plan without moving the deadline.
Our approach: a fully managed programme
We run the programme from vehicle layouts to final install, acting as part of Sysco GB’s National Fleet Team. This lets Sysco’s small fleet team focus on running the business while we keep the rebrand on track.
What we handle:
- Vehicle outlines and layouts: supplying Airfield Design with our outlines for every vehicle type, from artic trailers to urban vans, and advising on positioning and layout around contours, panel joins and rear doors
- Artwork approvals: managing sign-off of each vehicle layout
- Production: all graphics kits and installation materials produced in-house
- Installation planning: scheduling vehicles into bays around Sysco’s delivery rounds
- National delivery: 25 installation sites, made up of RGVA facilities and approved partners
- Programme management: progress and performance reporting to Sysco GB
- Business as usual: branding new vehicles as they arrive, alongside the rebrand
More than 10 body specs, just 3 kit sizes
Working with Airfield Design, we built livery templates that fit most vehicle types across the fleet. The 18-tonne fleet alone has more than 10 different body specs, but we brought that down to just 3 graphics kit sizes. Fewer kit sizes means simpler production and stock, and installers work from kits they know.
Because both teams are small and work closely, decisions get made quickly and problems get fixed early. That is what has kept a programme this size on schedule.
Built to last
Many Sysco vehicles stay in service for more than ten years, so the livery has to last as long as the vehicle. Careful preparation and installation mean our liveries regularly last more than a decade in service. RGVA remains Sysco GB’s sole livery supplier.
An award-winning livery: TCS&D Livery of the Year 2026
The new Sysco GB livery won Livery of the Year at the 2026 TCS&D Awards. Instead of a logo-led corporate design, it uses full photographic wraps that tell the story of the people behind the food.
The four award-winning collections each pair a producer with the food they supply. Four newer Urban designs, now rolling out across the fleet, show the other end of the chain: the cafés, restaurants and kitchens Sysco serves.
| Collection | Range | What the vehicles show |
|---|---|---|
| Bakery | Award-winning | A grower in an orchard with fresh apples, beside a handcrafted apple tart that runs across the side and rear doors |
| Fresh Produce | Award-winning | Growers picking strawberries in the field, with close-ups of fresh fruit and vegetables |
| Meat | Award-winning | A British livestock producer in a rural landscape, with premium beef cuts |
| Fish | Award-winning | A seafood supplier with fresh catch on a rugged coastline, with salmon products |
| Cafe Culture | Urban | A smiling server in a busy brick-walled café, beside a plate of prosciutto and tomato bruschetta |
| Noodle Bar | Urban | A chef working a flaming wok in an open kitchen, beside a bowl of prawn noodles with peppers and coriander |
| Fish Restaurant | Urban | A chef plating up at the pass of a busy restaurant kitchen, beside a fish fillet on asparagus and herb sauce |
| Kebab House | Urban | A chef at a flame grill, beside chicken skewers on flatbread with herbs, red onion and pomegranate |
Every vehicle carries the same Sysco logo, typography, layout and brand line, “At the heart of food and service”. So each truck looks different, but the fleet still reads as one brand.
The artwork was created by Airfield Design. We worked closely with Airfield, giving specialist advice on positioning and layout and supplying the vehicle outlines we hold for the whole fleet. We then produced the graphics kits in-house. Large photographic images have to stay sharp and line up across curves, panel joins and doors, on vehicles that work hard every day. That takes precise layouts and careful production.
This isn’t our first award with the Sysco group. We also supported Fresh Direct, a Sysco GB business, on the fleet livery that won Livery of the Year at the 2025 Motor Transport Awards.
A 13-year partnership
RGVA has worked with Brakes, and now Sysco GB, for 13 years. In that time we have completed an estimated 2,500+ vehicle installations across Sysco businesses and subsidiaries, including new vehicle roll-outs, brand updates and full re-livery programmes.
We have always looked for the customer’s win, not just the sign-off. Our Managing Director explains:
Thirteen years ago, before this was even a Sysco fleet, we told the design team to shave 50mm off the flame width – not for looks, but so it would rotate to fit the material and cut installation costs. That’s the kind of relationship this has always been: we look for the customer’s win, not just the sign-off. Everything since – the rebrand, the scale, the trust – has built on that.
Kieran McCabe, Managing Director, RGVA
What Sysco GB says
RGVA has proven time and again that it can deliver at a scale and quality level that very few companies could achieve. They don’t simply install graphics; they manage the entire process from concept to completion. The current Sysco rebrand is our largest fleet transformation programme to date and RGVA has become a true extension of our National Fleet Team. Their ability to deliver consistently, remain agile and maintain exceptional standards is the reason they remain our sole livery partner.
National Fleet Planning Manager, Sysco GB
Where the project stands
The programme is on time and on budget for completion in June 2027. The South East, including the Kent Frozen Foods fleet, is the priority region.
We’ll update this case study as the programme moves forward and when the full fleet carries the Sysco brand.
Planning a fleet rebrand? Talk to our team about how we can manage yours from vehicle layouts to final install, or see how our fleet vehicle livery service works.