Immigrant-owned food businesses are working to create packaging and branding that catches shoppers’ eyes, reports The New York Times.
“People really do shop with their eyes,” said Chris Manca, a buyer at Whole Foods Market, according to the report. “If your product doesn’t really jump off the shelf and catch your eye, it’s going to get overlooked.” Manca focuses on local products for the company’s stores in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
Pierre Thiam, co-founder of Yolélé, maker of snacks using fonio, a West African grain, wanted to use the brand to showcase its global identity while avoiding labels like “exotic” and “ethnic.”
Though Thiam was interested in using a designer of African descent, he and co-founder Philip Teverow approached Paula Scher, a partner at design firm Pentagram, to design the packaging. Upon seeing her African map design, Thiam said it was “love at first sight.”
According to Teverow, sales surged 250 percent after the new design hit shelves last spring.
To help broaden the appeal for Middle Eastern spice blends like hawaij Baharat, and ras el hanout, Leetal Arazi, co-founder of New York Skuk, worked with graphic designer Ayal Zakin to create labels that feature illustration of the contents of each jar.
“All of a sudden, you are less afraid and intimidated to pick it up,” said Arazi.
Mohammed and Rahim Diallo, brothers, co-founders, and two of SFA’s 12 Under 35 Breakout Talent to Watch in 2019, used a similar strategy for their ginger-based drink, Ginjan. Designer Ruen Ellis lists the ingredients of the product prominently on the package, below a label that centers on a silhouette of Africa. Full Story
Related: Immigrant-Owned Restaurants Face Additional Struggles Amid the Pandemic; Retailers Diversify Shelves with Black-Owned Brands.
Image: Yolélé