We’ve been Umpqua Oats packaging partner for a few years, and we just completed a new evolution for their brand.  Sheri and Mandy are two mompreneurs attempting to redefine oatmeal for all of us that grew up on Quaker Oats mushy, over-processed and over sweetened instant oatmeal. Sheri & Mandy custom mill their oats to the perfect thickness, maintaining not only texture, but also the nutrition that whole oat groats naturally hold. To top it all off, they add an abundance of real BIG ingredients like nuts and dried fruit — no fragments and no artificial flavors needed — for the bold and del ..read more

Challenge. Build a brand that could grow Dr. Kathy beyond the success in her regional market, and teach consumers that “Eating healthy can be delicious!” Solution. Dr. Kathy had created a snack product full of real ingredients, sprouted nutrition-packed nuts & seeds, and less sugar then competitor snack products — and it tastes amazing too! We were so enamored with Dr. Kathy’s passion, personality and nutrition knowledge, that we built the whole brand around Kathy. The likeness of her as a logo icon was only the beginning. Using bright, bold colors injected the energy of her enthusiasm int ..read more

10. Clean air Coming off a couple weeks of the worst air quality we have ever experienced here as a result of the nearby “Camp Fire” in Paradise, Ca., we must start our list here. Last week the news’ daily reports continued to compare our air with international cities we were surpassing each day as the worst air quality. At the height, we hit the #1 slot — for only 1 day. We are extremely fortunate to have clean air here in the San Francisco Bay Area most of the year, and we are thankful that a little bit of rain and wind finally brought our air quality back to our normal levels. 9. Where we ..read more

When presented with the challenge of naming and branding of a cannabis company, Double Six was all in. When approached in 2017, we knew California was in the process of switching to full recreational sale by the end of the year. The previously medicinal cannabis market was saturated with brands who were either super pharmaceutical or home spun farmers supplying bulk product to medical dispensaries. That was all about to change, and we were in a race against the flood of consumer driven cannabis brands ready and waiting to launch. During the naming and branding process, we were inspired by the ..read more

Challenge. EasiYo gives moms an easy way to make fresh yogurt at home, but how do you communicate “fresh” when it comes in a pouch and lives on a pantry shelf? Solution. Mom is busy juggling work and kids, but there is still a pride in making something wholesome for her family. A top down perspective provides a glimpse onto the kitchen table that feels personal and approachable. Authentic photography is a strong communication tool. Fresh fruit and yogurt quickly convey freshness and clean ingredients, while also creating appetite appeal. Fruit, napkin color and flavor violator color allow a fl ..read more

Challenge. Oakland Dust was doing well in local Bay Area markets with their initial four Spice Rubs, but with the expansion to BBQ sauces and additional rub blends, they had a plan to push Oakland Dust into wider retail distribution and focus on growing their eCommerce. It was time to look at the product category and make sure Oakland Dust wasn’t being left in the dust. Solution. We started on the hunt to find a BBQ sauce bottle that would match the cool-factor on shelf next to their existing Spice Rub tins. A wide, round shouldered, glass bottle was the perfect pairing. Saturating the color p ..read more

Challenge. Bars — this is one of the most saturated categories in the grocery store. From granola bars to energy bars, protein bars to diet bars, it’s almost overwhelming walking down the aisle. Solution. Nirvana Bars brings something different. It’s a bar full of real fruit, nut and herbal ingredients, and each ingredient was carefully selected with one goal in mind — to quell inflammation. As a dietary supplement, Nirvana Bars can be merchandised separate from other energy bars, and deliver active anti-inflammation benefits in a bar format. The shield logo enhances the perception of efficacy ..read more

Challenge. Communicate effective and natural pest control solutions to hydroponic growers in a saturated shelf ennironment Solution. HydroWorxx has been launched by a German company with over 150 years of experience creating effective solutions for successful gardening. With a family of environmentally friendly and organic products, they saw an opportunity to target pests that are hard to control in the hydroponics environment. HydroWorxx was created to appeal to the mostly male cannabis grower. The use of dark green bottles says natural and helps tie products together on-shelf, while the hit ..read more

If we asked you to name the building blocks of your brand, what would make your list? Many would start — and end — with a logo. But a logo is just one easy-to-spot manifestation of a brand. It’s like the desktop icon that launches a program, not the program itself. Your brand is the conglomeration of everything you, your customers, and anyone who has ever heard of you brings to mind when they think of your company. When you build a brand, you deliberately set out to direct those emotional connections so that the appealing things that differentiate you from your competition come to mind quickl ..read more

In addition to the launch of the newly re-branded Umpqua Oats website, Umpqua Oats just launched their new brand videos. We had such a great time art directing these videos, in collaboration with Wildly Simple Productions of Sonoma, Ca! Together, we spent a day shooting footage with Sheri and Mandy, the founders of Umpqua Oats. Here are the brand story video and a shorter product-focused video to announce the launch of their latest Insane Grains cereal ..read more