Kashi redesign: Each box tells a story

Kashi, the Solana Beach, CA, producer of plant-based cereals, powders, entrees, and snacks, is taking clean labeling and product transparency to a new level. Inspired by the belief that “Good clean food deserves good clean design,” Kashi has redesigned the package graphics for its entire portfolio of 60 SKUs to feature food front and center, accompanied by short stories about the origins of each product.

In June 2015, Kashi began working with global design firm Jones Knowles Ritchie (JKR) to come up with a design that would express the company’s belief that food should not only taste good, but do good. “With an entire portfolio of Non-GMO Project Verified products and ever increasing organic offerings, we wanted to develop packaging to better reflect our food values, highlight the stories behind the foods, and also revisit the inspiration from the original packaging,” explains Jeff Johnson, Senior Director of Marketing and New Ventures at Kashi.

A pioneer in cereal package graphics, Kashi was one of the first to use white cereal boxes. With the new design, it breaks ground again, departing from the farm and field imagery traditionally used by natural and organic product packaging to feature food front and center against a clean, white canvas, accented with clean lines, vivid colors, and straightforward typography.

Kashi is now also one of the first brands to feature stories on all of its packaging about how the food was made and where it comes from. In one example, the back-panel of the packaging for Kashi’s Organic Sprouted Grains cereal features the story of Peggy, founder of To Your Health Sprouted Flour Co., a supplier of ingredients for the cereal. The box tells of how Peggy was inspired by her ancestors, who led long and healthy lives, to develop a way to sprout grains. Reads the box, “She started baking with sprouted flours in her Alabama kitchen. From there, her hobby grew (or sprouted, if you will) into a full-fledged passion.”