The Espresso Design characteristic sequence on Sprudge showcases new, creative branding and packaging. What of manufacturers…which have by no means rebranded? What about firms which have loved success retaining their iconic branding the identical because the Nineteen Sixties?
Cafe Aroma is family-owned and has been chugging alongside out of Hoboken, New Jersey for six a long time. The unique branding and design—with vibrant reds and yellows—was accomplished by the corporate’s founder. It has undergone restricted, iterative updates since, all dealt with in-house. VP Bernadette Gerrity personally oversees these iterative refreshes—and we had so many questions.
We spoke with Cafe Aroma Vice President Bernadette Gerrity to be taught extra.
What was the core inspiration behind the design?
Cafe Aroma’s authentic packaging was personally designed by founder, Rogelio “Roy” Montes de Oca. Upon his immigration to the U.S. from Cuba, he and his spouse Ines started roasting espresso of their kitchen and promoting it door to door to their neighbors to deliver the robust, flavorful espresso they’d grown to like within the Caribbean to their rising Latino neighborhood. The recipe Roy created in 1961 later turned recognized in retailers as “Cafe Aroma” and similar to the contents inside, the packaging was equally homegrown.
Roy drew inspiration for Cafe Aroma’s packaging design from the colours of the flags of Latin international locations – a lot of which include crimson, blue, yellow, and white—to speak to prospects that this was a Latin-style (and particularly, Cuban-style) espresso. Nonetheless, it’s price noting that he particularly selected the identify “Cafe Aroma” to speak the model’s common enchantment to a broader buyer base. Roy additionally included a callout for “premium” on the entrance of the unique packaging to speak the dedication to high quality that also holds true.
Who designed it?
Cafe Aroma’s authentic branding and packaging was personally designed by founder Rogelio ‘Roy’ Montes De Oca when the model first hit retailers in 1991. Since then, it’s been fastidiously refreshed to compensate for contemporary occasions and up to date packaging kinds whereas nonetheless winking at nostalgia by sustaining our colours, orientation, and key parts of our packaging in order to say, “we’re nonetheless right here and simply pretty much as good.”
How does collaboration play a job in your design course of?
We’re a household and we function as one. Subsequently, collaboration comes into play at any time when a brand new product is launched or the packaging is up to date. I usually spearhead a lot of the packaging design with third-party companions, however nothing is executed till all of us approve it, collectively.
From first imaginative and prescient to ultimate product, how lengthy did the design course of take?
Cafe Aroma’s authentic packaging design took a number of iterations to deliver to life from the primary sketches in Roy’s residence kitchen to the primary baggage produced in our services. Since these authentic designs launched, we’ve actually solely made small tweaks right here and there, like brightening up the colours, including extra motion to the emblem, and altering the orientation of the design on our baggage from vertical to horizontal to work for the retail setting. We’re actually happy with how effectively our packaging design has withstood the take a look at of time!
When did it launch?
Cafe Aroma’s authentic espresso recipe has remained the identical since launching as a B2B model in 1961. Nonetheless, Cafe Aroma formally made its debut on retail cabinets in 1991 with its authentic packaging. The present iteration was launched in 2015.
In each iteration, we proceed to pay homage to our roots and the unique packaging renditions and have been cautious to not veer too removed from Roy’s authentic imaginative and prescient. We even have had a lot enjoyable as a household discovering and revisiting a few of my grandfather’s outdated drawings. It’s an attention-grabbing lens into his thought course of and creation of the product nevertheless it’s equally heart-warming for us to recollect all of his onerous work and creativity. We love each the unique designs and updates so we attempt to proceed to honor each. In reality, we simply launched new merchandise primarily based on a photograph of an outdated Cafe Aroma shirt our grandfather was carrying with the unique packaging on it! It’s now out there on our web site.
How does the bundle design replicate the corporate’s general branding and messaging?
Cafe Aroma’s mission is easy: to proceed our founder, Roy’s, legacy and dedication to high quality by bringing our signature, premium Cuban-style espresso mix to prospects throughout the nation. Our daring but easy packaging design is deliberately easy to pay homage to our roots and wink on the nostalgia of our historical past. We need to guarantee our buyer base, each outdated and new, can see that we’re constant in our high quality and messaging. Additional, the simplicity of our packaging and design ensures that we will supply our product at an accessible worth level. To that finish, we focus extra on the contents of the bundle relatively than a fancier outward presentation.
Inform us about a few of your favourite design particulars.
Whereas I really like the simplistic shade palette and interesting typeface, I admire the packaging format probably the most. The vacuum-sealed brick pack is one which has been used particularly for espresso coffees which could be very cool. Functionally, nevertheless, the vacuum seal additionally vastly maintains freshness. We’ve opened up packages in our archive from years in the past (for kicks!) and the aroma of the espresso continues to be current! I additionally love our cans, which could be reused or refilled—we now have prospects who use them as flower pots or for storage.
Are there key parts of the packaging meant to teach the buyer?
Sure! Our model colours—primarily crimson and blue accented with yellow—are a nod to the colours of the numerous Latin flags, which we hope has signaled to our prospects that our espresso was created to fulfill the profile expectations that the Latin neighborhood loves! Our latest packaging in our single-serve varieties additionally options instructions and data in each Spanish and English, which is so necessary to us as effectively. Within the close to future, we plan so as to add this characteristic all current packaging.
Is the design optimized for shelf presence? How does it goal to face out?
Sure, as Cafe Aroma grows its presence in retail, standing out on cabinets is extra necessary than ever. We’ve optimized our packaging for shelf presence by means of parts like main crimson and blue hero colours accented with vibrant yellow. These colours naturally appeal to the attention however are additionally a sign to in-the-know prospects that our espresso is Cuban-style—you’ll see an analogous palette on different Cuban-style manufacturers. The design is directly nostalgic but fashionable, evoking reminiscences from those that grew up in households the place no day was full with out a cafecito however easy sufficient to enchantment to new prospects shopping the shelf.
Are any of the packaging supplies recyclable or compostable?
Cafe Aroma’s metallic espresso cans are recyclable, and we’ve additionally seen prospects upcycle them into enjoyable flower vases and storage containers for issues like kitchen utensils.
The place is that this out there to buy?
Discover Cafe Aroma espresso on-line at cafearoma.com, on Amazon, and at hundreds of shops nationwide together with Walmart, Winn-Dixie, CVS (Fresco y Mas), Cease & Store, Store Ceremony, Navarro’s, Sedano’s, C-City, Meals City, Met Meals, Key Meals and extra. For a full listing, go to the shop locator on our web site.
Thanks!
Go to the Cafe Aroma official web site, comply with @TheCafeAroma on Instagram, and @thecafearoma on Tiktok.
Espresso Design is an authentic characteristic sequence on Sprudge curated by Sprudge co-founder Zachary Carlsen. Learn extra from our Espresso Design archives.
