Song Yuan Tang Baking Kit

Design: Goh Jia Hern
Location: Malaysia
Project Type: Student Project
School: The One Academy
Tutor: Deanie Cham
Packaging Contents: Ingredients for Tang Yuan making
Packaging Substrate / Materials: Mounting Board, Glass Bottle, Paper, Foam Board
Printing Process: Digital Printing

Song Yuan Tang – 宋元堂 is a brand that sells tang yuan (Glutinous Rice Ball) baking kit, a traditional Chinese dessert. The brand name is a combination of Song Dynasty – 宋朝, the era when the dessert was invented, ‘ fú yuán zǐ ’ – 浮元子, the traditional name of the dessert itself and ‘ Tang ’ – 堂, a place for people to gather during event or celebration. Each meaning portrays and defines the brand’s core value which focuses on uniting family members and rekindling old or new relationships.

The product name ‘ Yuan Yi ’ – 圆忆 symbolizes the festival tale of families gathering under a lantern to seek protection, pray for a smooth future and express their best wishes to one another. The baking kit is designed as a hexagon lantern with each side of the hexagon representing one unique family value that is harmony, benevolence, courtesy, wisdom, honesty and filial piety (和谐 – 和, 善心 – 仁, 礼貌 – 礼, 智慧 – 智, 诚实 – 诚, 孝顺 – 孝). Promoting to both young adults and family, reminding them to always cherish every moment together with their family and loved ones.

The continuous illustration on the baking kit shows typical family activities during the Lantern Festival – 元宵节 (Yuán xiāo jié), creating wonderful memories and strengthening relationships. The characters are hand-drawn to look like tāngyuán – 汤圆 as it is pronounced similarly to tuányuán – 团圆 which means the whole family gathering together happily. It is also believed that the round shape of the glutinous balls and their bowls symbolize wholeness and togetherness. The whole illustration is further brought to life with the use of AR experience.

What’s Unique?
The product packaging is made to be sturdy, compact, and sustainable. The outer sleeve can be reused as a real lantern with safety precautions like a tea candle holder designed into it. Inside the baking kit, there are five components – a zic zac folded recipe infographic, a pack of 200g glutinous rice flour, a pack of 150g rock sugar, 3 different colors (red, green, yellow) 5ml glass bottles of food coloring and a tray of 3 individually packed 50g fillings (red bean paste, peanut paste, black sesame paste).