Belle Epicurean
Unique packaging for high quality shelf-stable baking mixes produced by the culinary experts at Belle Epicurean.
My Role:
Lead Designer responsible for packaging design, client presentation, and artist collaboration.
Company:
Key Responsibilities:
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Audience and competitor research
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Concept development and execution
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Artist collaboration facilitation
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Pre-press preparation and delivery
The challenge
Belle Epicurean is a Seattle bakery and cafe that is been in business for over twenty years. The founder is trained in classical French Patisserie and cuisine, and the food found in their physical bakery locations is of the highest quality.
In 2022 they had an opportunity to expand their distribution of shelf-stable baking goods to new supermarkets and grocery stores in the Seattle area, and several online stores. However their packaging as it existed at that time was easy to miss on the shelf, and wasn't reflective of the quality of the recipes or ingredients inside. It was time to create packaging that elevated and positioned them properly against their competitors.
Finding the opportunities in the existing brand.
While we weren't scoped to re-imagine the Belle Epicurean brand, we took this opportunity to find the latent potential in the brand as it existed and play that out over the packaging. The packaging went through several iterations until we hit a sweet spot that felt reflective of the physical bakery spaces as well as the delicious contents within each box.
A fruitful collaboration that put the icing on the cake.
The finishing touch to the design system developed for the packaging was that the founder's friend and artist, Catherine Mayer collaborated with my team to bring bespoke illustrations onto the surface of each box. Catherine's joyous, energetic, and colorful style plays a crucial role in making these mixes stand apart from the competition.
Key take-away and lessons learned.
Packaging plays a crucial role in the split second decisions consumers make while shopping. It is difficult enough to position your product amongst competitors that have been household names for decades like Betty Crocker, and more-so when your packaging isn't telling the right story. Belle Epicurean successfully seized an opportunity to own their bit of shelf space with unique packaging that finally aligns with who they are and the quality goods they produce.
Keeping collaboration and openness in the forefront of the design process yielded a result that is scalable, aligned with the quality of the product, and truly unique in the shelf-stable baked goods aisle.