For 21 years Melbourne agency Disegno has been flying under the radar, quietly clocking up successes with its work on the branding and packaging design of some of the Australian food industry’s biggest brands: Vegemite, Philadelphia, Cadbury, Don, Bega, Latina Fresh, Luv-a-Duck and Aldi.
The Disegno journey hasn't all been plain sailing, as founders and partners Alan Jane and Marino Di Camillo will be the first to admit.
But there is cause to celebrate and they've opted to do so with the launch of a limited edition brew to mark the milestone and pay tribute to the historic brewhouse site that houses the business.
Since its inception, Disegno has resided at 129 Queensbridge Street in Southbank – a heritage-listed building that formerly operated as the Castlemaine Brewery in the 1800s.
The small batch of 1200L anniversary ale was brewed and packed by local startup microbrewery Bad Shepherd Brewing Co, and each bottle was individually numbered. The labels were printed by Rapid Labels, and the four pack carton 'basket' was printed by Jacpak.
“We've launched this brew as much to celebrate our coming of age, as to thank our clients – who we consider our our friends – for all we have learned along the way on our journey with them,” says Di Camillo.
The agency's brand successes are notable, but one story in particular reflects the companies' core positioning: “We’re not a brand consultancy, a packaging design studio or even a communications agency. We’re a creative business that doesn’t limit itself by what we can do, but rather by what we can achieve,” it states.
In the case of entrepreneur Tony Quinn’s VIP Pet Food Business, Alan Jane relates that Disegno started working with the company 20 years ago, when he formed a pet food company on the Gold Coast.
“At that time they were only turning over about $18 million a year. We were brought in by the printer because their packaging was so bad. We took a look at the product line up and came up with the idea of developing an entirely new line – a way we have worked with many other brands since.”
“In this case, we took a core cat food product, supplied in a 1kg tub, and created a premium product, Fussy Cat, in a smaller single-serve, five-serve proposition. And this sold virtually double what the core range did, because we premiumised it,” Jane says.
“To this day Quinn says one of the most successful products he had was Fussy Cat. That one SKU was worth $22 million,” Di Camillo adds, noting that Quinn sold VIP Pet Foods for $410 million last year.
Hit and miss, and hit again
Disegno wouldn’t be the company it is today if the story was all rosy.
Things were tracking well and the partners planned an exit that would allow them to take a less hands-on approach in the business.
They brought in a CEO, the organisational structure was changed and new management practices imposed.
“For five years we buried our heads in the sand, and then one day we realised we had lost our soul,” Jane says.
“We had to make some tough calls, Di Camillo says, “but we did it and we haven’t looked back. We’ve rebuilt the team, maintained our client relationships and under the leadership of our GM Aaron Turner, we have established the trust and ambition to really make something out of this.”
Turner, who is tasked with moving the business forward, has this to add: “21 years in business is a significant milestone in our industry, especially given the era we live in today. It has given us the opportunity to reflect on our successes and failures – something we have not given ourselves the opportunity of doing previously as we have been too focused on our clients brands to be focused on our own.
“In looking back, what we have realised is that Disegno, like our clients’ brands, have been enticed down the path of trying to become something we are not – whether it’s chasing the latest trend, or stretching into areas that just are not a fit for your brand or your people – but it is only when you are true to who you are, that you can achieve success. Real success.”
For the full story, see the July-August issue of PKN Packaging News.
