ROOK/NYC revisits 88 Acres’ snack pack design as COVID-19 evolves consumer priorities

07 Sep 2021 --- Consumer retail experiences are radically changing due to COVID-19, prompting seed-based snack company 88 Acres to commission design agency ROOK/NYC to recreate its packaging design. 

ROOK/NYC has been the creative agency for 88 Acres for over three years, meaning this project challenged the design team to improve its own packaging design.

“This was the first time we’ve had to redesign our own work to shift with the business objectives and strategy that had recently pivoted,” founder and creative partner Mark Christou tells PackagingInsights.

In this exclusive interview, Christou shares lessons learned when redesigning his agency’s own work, including pandemic pivots, color change-up considerations and swapping a vertical for a new horizontal design.

“This was the first time that we’ve had to redesign our own work; ROOK/NYC created the ‘before’ design back in 2018,” Christou explains. “What we’re seeing is that mass/mass premium shoppers aren’t going to spend as much time browsing the aisle as they once did, they’re going to buy what they know,” Christou explains.

“If they’re going to be adventurous and try something new, they want to know in an instant what they’re buying and why they should buy it.”

Redesign for mass market grocery
ROOK/NYC’s project ambitions were fourfold: drive taste appeal, set product expectations, educate and drive trials. 

For the first two goals, ROOK/NYC incorporated new “mouth-watering” graphic depictions of product ingredients.

“We had to redesign for mass-market grocery as well as natural channels, not just design for the natural channel,” explains Christou. 

“This meant we had to approach the redesign like we would approach any other project, whether we designed it or not: What’s working? What’s not working? Where are the equities? What feels too ‘natural channel’ and won’t work in mass?”

The logo was placed in a seed-shaped holding icon to reinforce that seeds are the foundational ingredients with which all of 88 Acres’ products are made. 

Moreover, ROOK/NYC simplified the language and product packaging descriptors with a stronger, more playful brand voice that reflects home-cooked terminology. 

Color brown for chocolate vibes
The color palette was also evolved to speak directly to category flavor cues. “Color is everything,” highlights Christou. 

For example, the previous Double Dark Chocolate SKU was purple. 

The new horizontal layout suggests ingredients going into an oven and coming out a soft, chewy snack bar.“While purple was a great color in the portfolio line-up, it left too much for the consumer to unpack and work out,” Christou explains. 

“Since we switched it to brown, which immediately denotes chocolate, it has quickly become the second best seller in the bar portfolio for 88 Acres.”

Despite the color palette revision, some key elements remain from the brand’s previous design. “88 Acres chose to maintain both their existing logo and the leading color of each SKU to maintain brand and flavor recognition for their current loyal consumer set,” adds Christou.

Tilting by 90 degrees
The new horizontal design orientation allows for greater communication and brand presence both on-shelf and in hand. 

Additionally, the horizontal layout is “suggestive of delicious ingredients going into an oven and coming out a soft, chewy seed and oat bar on the other end.” 

The new design orientation allows for greater communication and brand presence both on-shelf and in-hand.“We don’t believe there’s a right or wrong orientation,” notes Christou. 

Vertical designs are widely popular on beverage bottles and cans, while ice cream and fast food usually prompt horizontal designs.

“It’s completely dependent on the design idea and communication needs.” 

A look in the mirror
Overall lessons learned from the project? “It was an interesting learning experience to be overly critical of our own design, but it was an essential exercise to move the brand toward new distribution goals,” Christou concludes.

Christou recently shared his insights with PackagingInsights on the use of minimalism in packaging design, as well as how non-fungible tokens are helping F&B brands redefine their brand identities.

By Anni Schleicher