Melam

a refreshed & flexible packaging system design

Melam a premium Indian and Export Spice Brand aimed to be the most authentic in delivering the regional taste diversity of India in all its authenticity and freshness.The task was to rebrand Melam to be more in tune with the market and today’s consumers. We had to position it as a strong contemporary South Indian Brand and a competitive export player, by designing a system focusing on the product range and the brand architecture also ensuring a flexible design that could incorporate new products in the future.

 

The new brand identity for Melam better represents where the company is today and projects itself as a trusted market player.

The Design Team worked on improving the typography for Melam for ease & clarity in reproduction across variety of substrates & sizes. The bold serif brand mark created a cleaner & contemporary presence, to revitalize the brand to become powerful and relevant to current Indian Consumer. The positioning of ‘Pure & Authentic’ was enclosed within a seal. The gold was added to the seal to bring in the heritage and lineage of the brand.

The new cohesive packaging design approach dives deeper into finding out what the changing consumers would wish for.

What consumers needed was more sophistication and superior solutions with greater differentiations and thus strong descriptive sub-brand names (Pure Spices/ Traditional Pickles/ Authentic Masalas/ Breakfast etc.) were developed with visual headers, regional stamps or coined names and identities for the varied product portfolio. Authenticity was also built through mnemonics on the Packaging that cued in serving suggestions, ingredient depictions and Quality Check iconography. Mood lighting in photography accompanied by white cutlery, category colours and visual headers differentiated all product categories and every image used on the packaging told a visual story aiding in impulsive product purchase.

India is a diverse country with many states all of which are special and hold a unique position because of the vast cultural practices. These practices also have an impact on the food culture of the country and hence India is revered for its diversity in the culinary arts globally. Each of Melam’s products were created around natural produces and were curated to ensure that taste best represented their origins.

Our Packaging graphics for the Traditional Masala Category stemmed from cues that were iconic symbols that were recognizable and authentic to that particular region like the folk art, the monuments, music, culture etc. These simplified icons were used to represent these aspects and every region was given a particular color that acted as a base for the header which were flexible enough to be modified according to the product range. Contemporary Indian mnemonics were designed that carried the brand essence and also made an emotional connect with the consumer.

All good food has a story and We tell it.

In food photography the story your picture is trying to tell will affect almost every single decision you make in styling and in capturing the picture. We are a visual culture. Images capture the imagination and help us understand context without needing to read the fine print.

The Design Team meticulously planned every product shot keeping in mind the mood and tone of voice on the packs. Warm yellow lights, earthy tones and a subtle dash of color was used in the product shoot for regional cuisines. Regional authenticity was transcended into the photo shoot by using kitchen utensils that were particular to that region, adding side dishes to the main delicacy keeping the food habits of the region in mind, placing the traditionally used drapery and mats in the background or rangoli patterns to distinguish regions etc. thus creating an emotional connect with its consumer.

The final outcome was creating a cohesive and impactful packaging design system with a simplified brand architecture for a portfolio that spans more than 150+ products and created strong impact across India’s complex and challenging retail environment. Melam now dons a new revamped look that is built on its heritage and expands into newer markets in India and overseas.

Client: AVA Condiments LLP
Categories: ,