Back to Basics
Snack packaging strips down the fluff to offer a wholesome product through and through.
Pereg Gourmet Natural Foods, an Israeli spice manufacturer with more than a century of commerce under its belt decided to join the specialty health food snack domain by offering a gluten-free snack product dubbed Crunchies.
Squat Design (www.squatdesign.com) was approached by Pereg to create an innovative packaging for its new line of gluten-free crackers offered in four original flavors: Sea Salt, Mediterranean Style-Zahtar, Original, and Onion and Garlic. The spice and foods purveyor specified a few goals regarding the package design for their latest product: Communicate the cracker’s artisanal quality; attract consumers’ attention with welcoming and celebratory colors; provide a package that not only looks organic and environmentally-friendly but is.
A 100% recycled kraft paperboard and vegetable-based environmentally friendly ink was used to respect Pereg’s longstanding environmentally conscious position.
A watercolor technique was devised during the design process to convey the warm, inviting feel of the product. The four watercolor banners that run across the top portion of the packaging coordinate with each flavor selection. Creative director at Squat Design Shiri Kornowski comments on the approach, “We took the colors from the actual ingredients of the recipe. For example we took the very vivid pink from the figs. We took the green from Zahtar, the Mediterranean spice and so on. We really tried to connect to what we are showing.”
Drawing inspiration from the product itself, a hexagon shape can be found throughout the packaging, appearing via illustrations and a die-cut window on the front of the package. Hand-made illustrations of the ingredients adorn the package alongside the recipe. Photography of the snack crackers was added to the front of the pack to highlight the flexibility of Crunches as a hors d’oeuvre.
Cheers to Good Health
Creative packaging hints at the innovation of the beverage within.
Determined to overcome the limitations of a health ailment and get the most out of life, Paul Underhill, took to the kitchen to experiment. With the intentions of introducing something he felt was missing from the market, he created Rumble, an energy boosting blend with ingredients such as protein blend, organic flaxseed oil, pomegranate, walnut oil, green tea extract, organic cherry, blackcurrant, red beet juice, kale and organic spinach all packed in a convenient bottle.
The packaging for such an innovative drink had to match the benefits of the actual product, enter Monday Collective (www.mondaycollective.com). Rumble approached Monday Collective with intentions of achieving a design that would differentiate itself.
Inspirational character illustrations created using hand-drawn brushstrokes were utilized to express an uplifting energy. A 12-oz Alumi-tek bottle was supplied by Ball Corp. (www.ball.com). The packaging choice was selected for its distinctive look in the health drink domain, resealable top, sturdy structure for an active lifestyle, and the added benefit of being 100% recyclable and reusable as a aluminum material. A matte finish on the shrink sleeve was used to attain a premium appearance.
Rochelle Martyn, founder of Monday Collective, explains the visual choices, “Most of the competition uses bright colors, big logos, conventional product shots and lots of visual and verbal clutter. We chose a predominantly white/black color palette (with a subtle hit of color) to create a bold visual identity that expresses
Rumble’s natural confidence.”
Treat for the Senses
Tactile features and sharp graphics combine to create a sensational package for Zeo.
Zeo is a lightly carbonated, non-alcoholic adult beverage that aims to change the perception that a drink must be alcoholic to be interesting. Instead the drink uses wild berries, flowers, fresh green herbs, grains and exotic spices to entice consumers’ tastebuds.
To create a packaging that stimulates the senses as much as the beverage itself, Zeo partnered with Blue Marlin (www.bluemarlinbd.com). They created a simple design that allows Zeo’s distinctive bottle shape, as Blue Marlin London creative director Simon Pendry says, “do the talking” on shelf.
The modern white bottle with gold-on-black graphics featuring the words, “Sparkling Drink” and “Experience Sensations” were applied using ceramic silkscreen enamels, which provide an exquisite visual and tactile effect.
The glass 265-g bottle, supplied by Saint Gobain, France (www.saint-gobain-glass.com). An ROPP closure cap was supplied by Pelliconi, Italy (www.pelliconi.com). McLaren, Scotland (www.mclarenpackaging.com) supplied the shipper case, flexo-printed B-flute case and the wraparound.
The result, says Valeriy Lukovnikov, managing director at Freedrinks Ltd., is “a brand presence for Zeo as special as its properties.”
Sparkling New Direction
Canned wine hopes to appeal to a growing target audience.
Family-run Peter Mertes KG winery of Germany sets sight on appealing to a younger target consumer in the age range of 18 to 35 with the introduction of their sparkling wine drinks. The company approached Ball Packaging Europe, (www.ball-europe.com) to package City Wine Drinks. The specially developed slim aluminum wine cans are available in 20- and 25-cL sparkling white and red varieties under the City Secco label and two wine premixes: City Hugo, a combination of Secco with soda toped off with a hint of elderflower and lime; and City Sprizzer, a Secco laced with a hint of bitter orange. The City Secco varieties can be consumed alone or used to make cocktails.
The drinks are cocktail-ready quickly thanks to their aluminum cans, which chill faster and stay colder longer than nearly any other beverage container. The cans also offer a long shelf life—at least 12 months—because they are light-proof and impermeable to oxygen. A special interior coating and lid, combined with an extra-thick wall ensures that this lightweight aluminum can is unbreakable.
According to the Can Manufactures Institute, (www.cancentral.com), the packaging is very eco-responsible because aluminum cans are the most recycled drink container and infinitely recyclable.