88 Acres’ expanding Seed Butter line sets smooth expectations

Six years after 88 Acres launched their seed-based, allergy-friendly snack company in 2015, Co-Founders and wife/husband duo, Nicole Ledoux and Rob Dalton, saw the opportunity to evolve and elevate their brand’s identity and packaging design to adapt to rapidly changing culture and consumer behavior. The team at 88 Acres tapped brand partner of 3.5 years, ROOK/NYC, to collaborate with them on the redesign.

The goal of the project was fourfold: drive taste appeal, set product expectations, educate and drive trial. To drive taste appeal and set product expectations, ROOK/NYC incorporated new, mouth-watering ingredient and product photography which helps the consumer to quickly understand what the product is and what it’s made of. The color palette was evolved to speak directly to category flavor cues, while the logo was placed in a seed-shaped holding icon – reinforcing that seeds are the foundational ingredients with which all of 88 Acres’ products are made. The language and product descriptors on the packaging were also simplified with a stronger, more playful brand voice that reflects familiar, tasty, home-cooked terminology.

“The challenge here was how to help the consumer quickly and confidently understand what the product is. By integrating the smooth, delicious-looking Seed Butter within the label on the jar, we’re helping negate consumer confusion and ambiguity around the product. This redesign to the butter line will be a big step in further helping 88 Acres to grow beyond the natural channel into more of an iconic mainstay in the conventional snacking category.”  – Mark Christou, Founder & Creative Partner, ROOK/NYC

The new packaging design hit shelves and 88acres.com this past winter, with a rolling release based on current packaging inventory to minimize packaging waste. Key Retailers include Whole Foods, Sprouts and Target.