The Sauce by Manu

Agency: Boxer & Co.
Creative Director: Mark Haygarth
Location: Australia
Project Type: Produced
Client: Manu Fieldel
Product Launch Location: Australia
Packaging Contents: Sauce
Packaging Substrate / Materials: Plastic

It’s not every day that one of Australia’s most renowned celebrity chefs knocks on your studio door in need of packaging design. So, Boxer & Co. was completely thrilled and slightly star struck when Manu came to them with his innovative fresh sauce idea.

Known for his catchphrase ‘Where’s the sauce?’, this was the obvious place for Manu’s first foray into the FMCG world to start. The concept is a range of 6 sauces that sit in the chiller cabinet, alongside the meats that you would consume them with. SKUs such as Lamb & Rosemary, Peppercorn and a Mushroom sauce mean there’s something for every dinner plate and palette.

Boxer & Co. worked hand in hand with Manu and team throughout a process that has spanned several years. Manu is a perfectionist when it comes to his cooking and that had to come across both in the quality of the actual product and the creation of the brand that he took to market. The result is a range of sauces that are of such a high quality, you would be forgiven for mistaking them for a restaurant or homemade product.

The design journey took the Boxer & Manu teams through naming, strategy, brand creation, retailer presentations, packaging design, photography and social media content generation.

The idea behind the final creative concept is ‘The Man Behind The Chef’. A serious Manu face captures the narrative of the perfectionist professional chef with years of expertise. This is then interlocked with a more playful image, showing us the fun and charismatic clown that Australians have come to know and love.

‘Working with Boxer & Co has been a pleasure from day one. Not only have they created an amazing design that totally embodies the product and name behind it but they managed so much more along the way. Although the original designs were created by Boxer & Co it quickly became clear that this was a shared vision and our two teams became one. They have always gone the extra mile in helping me and my team way beyond the design of the brand and all other elements (that we didn’t even know we needed) right up to launch. The whole team are beyond excellent and I can’t wait to work with them again. May the sauce be with you!’
Manu Feildel, Brand Owner

Overall, the feeling of the pack is a merging of modern and traditional; playful and professional; clown and culinary. The pastel colour palette communicates the lightness & freshness of a product that’s been specially formulated for the needs of modern Australians. Punches of bright eye-catching hues add strength and shelf-shout. The word ‘Manu’ sits boldly on the pack and has been treated as a brand, with crafted letterforms with curved corners, resembling a sharp kitchen knife.

Touches of sophisticated calligraphy are a nod to Manu’s French roots and fresh ingredients are loosely scattered as though thrown onto your kitchen bench ready to be used. The pack has an overall matt appearance, with a spot gloss highlighting the MANU brandmark.

The back of each pack is signed off with a Manu signature, demonstrating the care that this man has put into formulating a product as quality as this. It’s as though Manu has personally approved each and every one of his sauces.