What our client faced
Pretzels, Inc. is one of the largest private label pretzel manufacturers in North America. For more than 33 years, they have manufactured pretzels for many national pretzel and chip brands. But they saw the need to continue to diversify their product line. So they developed a pretzel that functioned more like a chip, was structured to be dippable but had the taste of a pretzel. Two issues arose. This was to be a premium product for grocery and specialty store delis – not for the snack aisle. It was intended for a more discerning, upscale audience. What would they call it? How would they package it?
How Element Three helped
Element Three’s design team conducted research of successful food packaging, photographed the retail environment and analyzed competitors. They sampled the product and the competition during a brainstorming session with the entire creative team. As a result, they named the product Trussets®, based on its truss-like shape (which gave the pretzel the strength to hold up to dipping). Next, they presented two distinct packaging concepts – while considering product expansion into other Trussets® flavor profiles like parmesan garlic or creamy horseradish. The creative team was so enthusiastic that they developed recipes, handled the food styling and product photography and created a custom illustration used in the final packaging. Element Three collaborated with the packaging printer to ensure that the design would work with the package’s structure.
What happened
Trussets® has been readily accepted by many of Pretzels, Inc’s customers. One national pretzel brand couldn’t come up with a better product name or packaging design – and so used both as is. (This was the first time they had not applied their own name or design to a new product.)
“We were absolutely impressed with the process, professionalism and creative result of working with the team at Element Three. Their design and naming absolutely helped with the market’s quick adoption of this new pretzel product. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Element Three as we look at further expanding our product line.”
– Scott Green, Marketing VP, Pretzels, Inc.