August 7, 2008
One of the programs QSR has become well-known for is the annual QSR/FPI Foodservice Packaging Awards. This is the time of year when we honor, as the name cleverly indicates, foodservice packaging -- an element of the industry that often doesn’t get its due, but without which we wouldn’t have much of an industry.
Packaging is useful for all sorts of things (like, say, putting food and drink in), but beyond that utilitarian aspect, packaging is also one of the best branding opportunities a restaurant has. Just ask Corner Bakery Café, which took top honors in last year’s “Brand Delivery” category of the Packaging Awards.
Corner Bakery’s new packaging design was just one touchpoint of a broader goal of creating a proprietary new brand experience for its guests and team members. The foundation of the new brand language and positioning was the idea of creating a “neighborhood gathering place for great food and friends.”
Every detail of the restaurant (packaging, team apparel, interior art, architecture, etc.) was designed to create a local and custom feel to each element. Designs were created for all brand touchpoints that communicated the neighborhood experience with the brand positioning and goals. For example, a one-of-a-kind mural was produced for each restaurant consisting of historic Corner Bakery Cafe images and authentic neighborhood images collected from that specific neighborhood.
But, of course, packaging cannot be affordably produced for individual units. Therefore, the new packaging was designed to create a sense of the familiar yet unique. To this end, they employed a palette of brand colors, authentic Corner Bakery Cafe images, original icons (the Bakery Boy, awning stripes, etc.), photography, and a strong base of typography. Printing techniques varied from offset to flexo on a variety of substrates.
The goal of the Corner Bakery Cafe re-brand was to create a unique visual brand language that set the brand apart from “chain” bakery-cafe concepts. Combining the brand’s authentic history with its neighborhood focus created a more intimate and meaningful relationship between the brand and the consumer, as well as between the company and the employees.
The goal was met and surpassed, according to Corner Bakery. System-wide sales after the re-brand showed great sales increases with both new and existing units breaking company sales records.
On the web: Visit Cornery Bakery at www.cornerbakery.com. QSR is currently accepting entries for the 2007 QSR/FPI Foodservice Packaging Awards at www.qsrmagazine.com/packagingawards/.
