The Little Chef

Design: Carpenter Collective
Project Type: Produced, Commercial Work
Client: Digimarc / Little Chef
Location: USA
Packaging Contents: Pasta
Packaging Substrate / Materials: Paper
Printing Process: Off-Set

Developing the brand identity for The Little Chef was part naming, part brand exploration, part packaging development and part experimentation with Digimarc’s new invisible barcode technology. Digimarc has developed technology so that designers no longer have to place ugly barcodes on their packaging forms ever again. It’s pretty exciting that the entire packaging piece is a connected package allowing you to literally scan anywhere on the box with a POS scanner or phone. The Little Chef brand identity and packaging system was a perfect opportunity to showcase this new technology.

We knew we wanted an inventive way to show the product without having to rely on a photograph of the pasta on the package. Our solution was to create a custom die-cut window reflective of the shape of the pasta, revealing the pattern of the inner box that reinforces the visual and flavor cues. Our Italian grandfather inspired the Little Chef brand. His love of Italian cuisine always taught us that the way to someone’s heart was through their stomach! The exterior of the box showcases the inspired Little Chef beginnings along with other fun pasta facts and details of the made from scratch pasta.

What’s Unique?
No bar code on the form. The entire box is connected by Digimarc printing next to invisible code that can be scanned anywhere on the box.