[2023] Senhor Empadão - Packaging Redesign

•

SENHOR EMPADÃO

packaging design - 2023

The story of Gabrielle and Cecilia's company began when they used their family recipe to produce savory pies that quickly became successful and gave rise to the family-sized "empadão", the flagship product of Senhor Empadão. The bakery/café now has several physical locations in São Paulo (Brazil) and supplies its artisanal products to some markets. For these products, there was a need to redesign the packaging to make them more attractive on the shelves and less homogeneous. We thus created 7 variations of packaging for 4 flavors of savory pies and 3 sweet pies.

To define the concept of the new Senhor Empadão packaging, we thought about its origins and the recipe of Gabrielle and Cecilia's grandmother, which started it all. We then incorporated elements that typically evoke a Brazilian "grandma's house," such as crochet towels and hydraulic tiles, and also embraced a vintage style. For the sweet and savory packaging, we also created two types of patterns respectively, inspired by these reference elements, and applied them to each of the flavors with distinct colors to differentiate the packaging effectively. As you can see below, the previous packaging of the brand did not feature images of each product, and it was also standardized across different flavors, which made it difficult to sell in markets. With the concept inspired by a "grandma's house," we aimed to bring all the warmth that this place usually evokes in our imagination, along with the delicious taste of grandma's food - that's why we focused heavily on warm and vibrant colors, which will attract more attention on the shelves.

The previous packaging was too homogeneous and didn't bring any images of the pies, therefore it was not drawing enough attention in the markets' shelves. In the right image, you can see some visual references we used based on the idea of what we can usually find in a Brazilian grandma's house.

The choice to use illustrations instead of photos in the packaging design of Senhor Empadão helped differentiate its products from others, highlighting them as handmade, artisanal, and full of affection. Additionally, the use of illustrations also contributed to the vintage aesthetic we aimed for. Each illustration sought to combine the care for fidelity to the real appearance of each "empadão" or pie with a touch of fantasy, through the use of colors that made them more attractive and appetizing.