A high-end pet food company asked a Sydney design agency to help them target Australia's foodies through their new pack design.
In bringing a pet food brand named Farmers Market to life, The Real Pet Food Company needed designers that understood the foodie culture.
So they tapped into the creativity of Saltmine Design Group for its brand launch.
Saltmine's managing partner Sara Salter told PKN the design strategy was to use human food trends in the pet food category.
“We came up with a food-to-bowl concept with a strong story behind it,” she said.
“The aim was to convey the 'real food, real taste' idea on-pack, focusing on wholesome ingredients that consumers would want for their pet's food.”
Salter said Australia had the highest number of people per capita for pet ownership, with pets playing an important role in our lives.
“Many people would love to be able to cook nutritionally balanced food for their pets – perhaps the kind of food you'd buy at a farmer's market – but time doesn't always allow this,” she said.
“So we've emphasised the subtle pinstripe, reminiscent of a butcher’s apron, and featured ingredients imagery foodies would be drawn to.”
Another point of difference is that there is no “cheesy, posed dog photo” on the pack.
“We've used a small dog icon but there's no dog photo,” Salter said.
“The company was adamant about challenging the category and getting people to look at it differently by focusing on the ingredients in the product first.”
The brand mark and packaging was designed for over 60 varieties across fresh, frozen, wet, dry, and treats segments in the Australian and US markets.
This proved challenging, as across these 60 varieties were eight different pack formats ranging from a big pack of dry food to a 100g tray.
“We invested lots of man hours making sure we were clear what the rules were, with the brand mark in a key position,” Salter said.
“With pet food you have to make sure you get the hierarchy right on front-of-pack, communicating all the right information.”
It was satisfying for Salter, the client, and the design team to see the end result after a big effort.
“For us, a major highlight was working with a client who wanted to push the boundaries in such an energetic and positive way,” she said.
“It's great working with people who have such enthusiasm and drive, and seeing it coming to life was wonderful.”
