Designing a brand, story & packaging for a cloud kitchen serving biryani.
Brand Design, Brand Story, Brand Identity, Structure design, Packaging Graphics
With Mehfil, BigSpoon had a vision of making Biryani attractive for the new age audience. The complete design solution that was formulated resonated with this vision, and helped Mehfil craft a powerful brand story and experience delivered through branding & packaging.
The brand was created keeping in mind the gap between the existing biryani brands in the market. An in-depth study of the category, culture, consumer and competition helped us gain insights and arrive at a suitable personality for the brand. The challenge was to portray the brand as a perfect blend of authenticity and modernity.
Inspiration: The brand identity was crafted keeping in mind the traditional roots of biryani and the Mughal-inspired architecture & aesthetics.
Typography: The sans-serif type has a defined character and stylization that suits the brand. The subtle arc-like features makes Mehfil unique in its own nature.
Color: The chosen colors for the identity White & Yellow stand in strong contrast against the background thus helping it to grab consumer’s attention.
Dynamic Logo: The changing spices add interest to the identity and communicate the product story. The spice element and biryani were kept in Yellow to showcase the relation between flavor and food.
Biryani has its roots dating right back to the Mughal era. Keeping this in mind, the structure of the packaging is heavily inspired from Mughal architecture - the arcs, doorways, window frames and more. The intricacy of antique crockery and Jali designs also became a point of reference when it comes to the detailing of the structure. When you think of the Jali structure and the visual that you get peeping through the window, this was an experience we have tried to recreate. Adding value to the Jali inspiration we took cue from the brand story incorporating the elements of mirch, masala and pyaar.
Mehfil being a cloud kitchen, we kept in mind a few considerations right from the initial stages of designs.
Storage: Storage space for the packaging needed to be such that it occupied minimum space, with means to flatten down to save space.
Transit : The packaging needed to be transit-friendly. Hence, a handle for ease of delivery became crucial.
Cost effective : Minimal number of parts were needed to avoid confusion in the filling line and to make it cost effective.
Time Efficiency : Locking and detailing were designed to make it efficient in formation and very convenient for the consumers to open at the same time. Minimal use of tape on the packaging was necessary which would improve the overall consumer experience.
We designed two concepts:
Concept Jali - Designed for the matka/ pot biryani : The packaging was made keeping in mind the weight of the matka along with biryani making it on the heavy side
Concept Darwaza - Design for the 500gm box of biryani : Elevating the consumer experience through a clean layout was the key consideration for this packaging
A simple box packaging is something that is now commonplace for the modern consumer. Grabbing their attention to the information on the packaging has become increasingly difficult. For Mehfil, in both our concepts, we have introduced layering. This not only builds anticipation to discover the product beneath but also becomes the means through which the brand story comes out strongly.
Biryani is about more than just the taste, it is a sensory experience and aroma becomes an important part of this experience. We have tried to elevate this in our ‘Jaali’ concept, by providing cutouts that bring out the aroma and give a sneak peak into the experience going ahead. The insert within provides a clean and neat layout for the biryani & other condiments. It serves as a tray for easy and convenient consumption in a crowded environment. The side opening allows the consumer to slide out the tray easily without disturbing the biryani. A handle has been provided for convenience during delivery and for the consumer as well.
In our ‘darwaza’ concept, layering is incorporated using double flaps. The first layer becomes the front face of the packaging conveying the brand values. The second layer is in the form of a ‘darwaza’ or door, inviting the consumer into the world of Mehfil. This additional layer also helped in keeping the package insulated better. It holds the brand story, ‘Zakir ki Love story’. An insert is provided to segregate condiments and hold the biryani in place during transit.
Formats & Approach: Being in the takeaway food category, Mefil had two different packaging formats through which the delicious food was being delivered. Conceptualizing a systemic approach to the packaging graphic design thus became crucial. A scalable system was created through a play of various graphical elements for the front of the pack.
Visual Elements: Flat vector illustrations of a ‘heart’ were created to portray Zakir’s love story combined with multiple illustrations of spices. These were further complemented with hashtags and typography that are relevant to the brand and enhance the experience of the consumer while opening the box to reveal the food inside.
Colors: The colors for the packaging were chosen carefully keeping in mind the food category and the young & quirky aspect about the brand. The packaging revealed different layers of colors on different surfaces creating a contrast and building a visually impactful experience for the consumers. We began with a strong red shade, known to be a food color and increasing appetite, contrasted with a teal for the side surfaces. When the inner box is opened, a splash of blue creates a good contrast and brings across the entire modernity of the brand. The presence of different shades of Orange, Red, Green, Yellow & Blue all across the box were inspired by the colorful dish that Biryani is and the assortment of spices that it presents.
Mehfil being India’s first celebrity endorsed biryani brand demanded to showcase the brand ambassador on the front of the pack to increase the trust value within the consumers. Since the consumers recognize Zakir Khan as a famous personality, a vector illustration was created to sit in harmony with the other elements on the pack.
The entire design comes together to create a family of packaging for Mehfil that aptly captures the essence of the brand and delivers to the consumer an experience that remains unmatched.
