Uncle Chuck’s — Barbecue Sauces, Relishes & Meat Rubs

Chef Cheryl Torrance had built a devoted following for her line of barbecue sauces, meat rubs, relishes, and condiments, products rooted in her culinary expertise and bold flavour profiles. Ready to expand beyond her east Toronto neighbourhood and into broader Ontario distribution, she needed packaging that matched the personality and quality of her food, and that could flex across a growing and evolving product lineup.

The brief identified a clear category opportunity: the BBQ and specialty condiment shelf is dominated by black-and-white label conventions that communicate toughness but little warmth or fun. Eye Candy Design moved in the opposite direction, developing a vibrant, personality-driven label system built on bold colour, expressive typography, and art direction that captured Chef Cheryl’s energy and culinary spirit. Each product in the range carries its own distinct look while maintaining system coherence. Prop styling was also handled in-house for photography.

The design successfully shifted the brand’s shelf presence from homemade to retail-ready, appealing particularly to female consumers who had been underserved by the category’s conventional aesthetic. The project was featured on The Dieline packaging blog as an example of sauce packaging that brings a fresh visual perspective to the category.