Case Study

Brand Refresh

Case Study Brand Refresh

How I helped Dam Good English Muffins update their packaging with a less is more approach.

Problem

Going from stickers to fully printed bags meant it was time for a packaging evaluation.

Dam Good English Muffins were well on their way to retail success when we crossed paths. They were in a CPG accelerator program, selling at a steady rate, and opening new retail doors, but their packaging didn’t have the impact on the shelf that they really desired.

The product has several great points of differentiation: square muffins, made from sourdough, sold in the freezer aisle, and a great name. So which one should be front and center? That was the first problem to solve.

First, we tried concepts focusing on the brand name. Dam Good refers to the Croton Dam near their hometown. It’s an iconic landmark and keeps the owners Olivia and Denise in touch with where their business started.

We also experimented with using a standup pouch as opposed to a bread bag. That would require showing the finished muffins as a serving suggestion on the front of the pack. A nice idea and certainly appealing

How do you know when you’ve gone too far?

Ultimately, my initial concepts would have confused their loyal customer base.

The changes we explored in the early portion of this project were just too far out. What they really needed was a minor upgrade, a better overall presentation, and clarity for the customers. We decided to keep the logo and the checkerboard pattern because those were the two most recognizable elements from their original bags. We kept that bags mostly white to have maximum impact in the dark freezer section.

We also kept the polybag form factor because being able to see the square muffins through the bag was highly effective.

We focused on making sourdough and the flavor stand out the most because those are the two things their customers cared most about.