Design: Ashley Allegretti
Location: United States
Project Type: Student Project
School: Ball State University
Tutor: Lynette Whitesell
Packaging Contents: Food Truck, Sandwiches, Sides, Soft Drinks
Packaging Substrate / Materials: Paper
Printing Process: Digital Printing

Alpine Food Shop is a local eatery located in Elmwood Park, Illinois. The residential deli is best known for its wide array of sandwiches and pasta salads. The goal of this redesign was to create a food truck that would attract new customers and stand out in its environment to develop more advertisements for the business.

Alpine Food Shop bases its reputation on the quality of ingredients it uses for its sandwiches, consisting of freshly imported Italian meats and cheeses. When redesigning their brand, I considered the origin of these products, tracing their history and significance to the Alpine Mountain range that extends through Northern Italy. The Po River runs parallel to the base of this mountain range and feeds into a stretch of land known as the Po River Valley, which is considered to be one of the most significant industrial and agricultural areas in Europe.

Local farmers migrate their livestock to the open fields of the valley in a passage known as “Transumanza”, one of northern Italy’s oldest agricultural traditions. Select breeds of Duroc and Large White pigs are specifically bred for higher quality cuts of meat within this area, while cows are utilized by neighboring creameries in order to make the country’s signature cheese, Provolone. The significance of the land and its direct correlation to the ingredients used in their food products inspired the new design and identity for Alpine Food Shop.

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IDENTITY DESIGN
The identity is represented by the likeness of a sandwich, being Alpine Food Shop’s most notable product. The sandwich is shaped in a specific way that symbolizes the three defining features of Italy’s agricultural district, being the Alpine Mountains, the Po River, and the Po River Valley. As it is a much cooler region and climate, the inclusion of mountain imagery also alludes to the Italian “cold cuts” of meat that are cultivated there.

FOOD TRUCK
Following the natural shapes of the northern Italy landscape, I shaped the truck’s pattern wrap to mimic the similarly organic shapes of the ingredients used in Alpine Food Shop’s products. A warmer color palette consisting of green, beige and red is a continuation of their current color scheme as well as a direct nod to the colors of the Italian flag.

MENU
After reviewing menu engineering, I designed the food truck menu in a similar manner used for the truck wrap, incorporating simple imagery of customizable sandwich ingredients. Customers are invited to pick and choose their preferred sandwich combination from each category, being bread, meat, cheese, and veggie. Salad and drink options are also simplified by preference. There is a menu attached to the truck so customers can see it while standing near the window.

PACKAGING
The functionality of the packaging for the consumer was considered as well as the overall design to make the new look cohesive on all platforms. Sandwich boxes, salad containers, and drink cups were designed with brand colors and patterns.