Creative Food Packaging Design for a Specialty Brand
Cleveland Kitchen is a family-owned food brand producing high-quality products with fermented ingredients, including sauerkraut, kimchi, pickles, dressings and marinades.
The brand was originally known for their sauerkraut and pickles and had successfully sold in major retailers including Walmart, Target, and Whole Foods. They later launched a line of sauces made with kimchi—however, these products didn’t sell as well. While the sauces were unique, the packaging made them look like typical salad dressings, blending in with other products without popping on the shelves.
They came to us looking for a new, fresh, creative food packaging design that would showcase the products’ unique features, stand out, attract customers, impress retailers, and lead to more sales.
- Package design
- Copywriting
- Ad Design
THE PROJECT:
Creative Packaging Design Took
the Branding in a New Direction
The brand’s sauce line was originally positioned as a “dressing & marinade.” The packaging looked similar to other specialty dressings. Not only was this leading to the brand getting lost on crowded shelves, but it also didn’t capture the true essence of the products. The sauces were so much more than a salad dressing—they could be used for snacking, dipping, and cooking, complementing a wide range of foods.
The owners wanted to rebrand the line to show more versatility and establish the products as a unique sauce along the lines of Sriracha. They halted production on most of the sauces, focusing on two varieties: Kimchi Ranch and Dill Pickle Buffalo.
We wanted the packaging design to capture what set the products apart—the use of fermented products, such as pickle and sauerkraut, the bold flavors, and the range of how the sauces could be used.
The Sauce
Packaging Design
The original packaging used pops of color on a black label—a pattern other competitors used as well. It didn’t engage customers or show why the sauces were different from other products.
BEFORE
AFTER
Our packaging design featured a more creative approach, designed to command attention and set the products apart.
Using the phrase “Everything Sauce” and hand-drawn illustrations of foods such as pizza, ramen, chicken, vegetables, chips, and hamburgers, along with suggestions including “drizzle, dip, dress, and dunk,” the new design conveyed the message that this sauce is a gamechanger in the kitchen, with endless possibilities for use.
The color blocking in the label catches the eye, while a textured design creates the illusion of a drizzled sauce, adding a fun, engaging, and mouthwatering element.
Bright Colors for Bold Flavors
The vibrant color palette and bold font represent the strong, delicious flavors in the sauces. We wanted consumers to feel the zesty pickle flavor, the tang of buffalo sauce, the spicy bite of kimchi, and the richness of ranch. We used bright greens, reds, blues, and oranges to weave these flavor elements into the label.
Typography Adds a Fun Twist
The bold, sans serif font evokes a modern, confident feeling. We created a visual wave for the product names, adding a sense of fun and engagement. We wanted consumers to feel like using these sauces would be exciting.
Creative Pickle
Packaging Design
The founders were thrilled with the result of the sauce packaging, and wanted to carry the branding into their next product line—snack pickles.
Like the original sauce packaging, the brand’s snack pickle packaging featured pops of color on dark packaging. But other well-known pickle brands had a very similar look.
BEFORE
AFTER
The packaging design was bright, warm, and friendly, creating the sense that snacking on these pickles is a fun, uplifting experience. The design stands out from other options and sends the message that there is something better and different about these pickles.
We incorporated the same bold color palette from the sauce packaging to increase brand awareness, capture attention, and establish a sense of strong flavor. Custom illustrations and textured design draw customers in and add appealing visual layers.
This design feels modern and fun, connecting to pickle-loving adults as well as children.
Copywriting Tells
the Story
We created copywriting to highlight the brand’s dedication to freshness, flavor, and texture. A simple change in language from “pickle chips” to “pickle bites” inspires the image of a crunchy texture.
“A Game Changing Snack: On-the-go or in Your Lunch,” along with icons indicating “no added brine,” “grab and go,” “lunch box ready,” and “anytime snacking,” convey the convenience of the brineless pickles, letting consumers know this is a snack that can be enjoyed anywhere, anytime.
Branded Ads for
Digital Marketing
We created compelling ads for the brand, featuring product images, food photography, and models enjoying the delicious flavors. The ads communicate freshness and flavor, sending a mouthwatering, memorable message.
We also created an animated ad for extra interest and engagement: The words “fresh, flavorful, and gut-healthy” (key benefits and differentiators) flash across the top of the image to stand out even on a busy social media newsfeed:
NEW Jalapeño
Packaging Design
The brand also needed packaging design for their new Hot Honey Jalapeños. We refreshed their original label layout to highlight a key differentiator: the gut health benefits of the product. We added a “gut healthy” flag and emphasized a “lightly fermented” callout with pops of bright yellow, establishing the unique fermentation process that sets the brand apart. The founders were so pleased, they requested a refresh of all of their existing labels.
The results
The bold, fun, creative packaging design allowed Cleveland Kitchen to set their products apart and showcase the unique flavors and ingredients, appealing to retailers and consumers alike.
