Before & After: Caribou Coffee Bags
"The redesign of the Caribou Coffee brand and logo can now be found on its coffee bags nationwide. Caribou Coffee launched an extensive brand redesign last year that continues to roll out this year. The new coffee bag design now wraps the entire bag with burlap and labels that give the packaging more of a handcrafted and artisan feel. The front label for each specific coffee was kept simple and includes a small hand-rendered sketch that references the country of origin or the unique coffee blend inside the bag."
Designed by Colle+McVoy
Client: Caribou Coffee
Agency: Colle+McVoy
Executive Creative Director: Mike CaguinGroup
Creative Director: Ed Bennett, Erik Husband
Designers: Ed Bennett, Lindsey Aho, Andrew Wetzel, Ben Clymer, Bryce Hemmer
Illustrator: Ed Bennett
Writers: Erik Husband, John Neerland, Steve Kaplan
Production Artists: Greg Goranson, Colleen Sabers
Print Producers: Brad Smith, Teresa Demma
Photographer (burlap and labels): Chris Sheehan
BEFORE:
17 Comments | Posted on Tuesday, March 15, 2011 
Reader Comments (17)
Is the rooster drowning on green swampy water??
Part of packaging design is communication of a brand position. If they want to send out a message that they are wholesome and hand crafted then they've done a good job of achieving this. The packaging has been well executed and I'm sure looks great on shelf.
Their new logo has a modern style...the new packaging reflects that old-world feel, which is a large contrast but an approach that many companies are finding these days with the old-style feel.
I’d feel a clean white bag with the colored bottoms and graphic would fit nicely BUT then it competes with all the other clean white bag coffees, Starbucks and store-brands that have picked up that look. This is a distinct look and will be easily spotted against the sea of other coffee bags. I don’t mind the fake burlap bag....nixing it because it is not real is like saying not to use textures on any packaging piece whether it is to make it look old or weathered when it really isn’t.
I like the packaging; I still DO NOT like the new logo. It has grown on me but wish they had updated the older one.
Staying true to material is another subjective view...come to think of it, you're right...I remember all those awesome websites using real burlap...whenever I visit them my monitor would turn so nice and farmy to the touch. :)
It's caribou coffee!!! Is anyone really gonna bitch about a logo having a caribou and coffee bean combined??
Nonetheless this package is weird at first, might look awesome in real life...and also might just grow on you. Or, whine some more and have it taken down like the Gap logo. :)
And sure, maybe try to put trompe l'oeil out of it's misery. After centuries it's still not fooling anyone.
I personally love the new logo. It makes complete sense to me. It maintains the spirit of the old logo with color and line cues for the current consumer while creating a more updated and streamlined brand mentality to a new generation of coffee enthusiasts.
As Katie stated in her previous post, white would have been beneficial, but then it would not compete well with the other bags utilizing white space on their packaging.
The Caribou Coffee is too big and wide for the placement at the top of the bag. Scaling down the logo would be more appealing and allow for better aesthetic placement with the front label. It looks as though the logo is competing with the coffee's descriptive label rather then complementing it.
The type used for the label heading and description is close to the "coffee" sub-text of the logo but differs vastly in the characters. With regards to the measuring diagram of "darker to bolder" it appears much too small and undefined; a consumer may not see that information off hand unless they're familiar with the brand. The use of hand drawn labels is a bit unique but not at all innovative. Abstracts appear on many coffee bags from silhouettes to fully drawn images.
Still, regarding type, they also use another handwritten typeface in the back of the packaging on the burlap as well as for the content. The handwritten font reminds me of the type used on the Starbucks paper bags for pastries. There is too much use of fonts going on here.
I understand the need to break away from the traditional coffee theme, but hand drawn labels may not be the way to go. One alternative to this may be to use images of how relevant coffee is to everyday life. Similar to what Rude Health has done http://www.brandpackaging.com/Articles/Feature_Articles/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000001002330 (scroll down about midway).
Caribou's attempt at using burlap and torn paper along with stitching is a bit overdone on this packaging. From the drop shadow effects to the overlay of the blue in the logo and bottom of the packaging; it is too simplistic.
We have white torn paper with dark brown headings at the top, and tan torn paper with blue heading-backgrounds around the side and rear. This is getting too busy for something that could have been simplistic and robust.
For a more authentic and genuine feel of the bag, they should've went the route of Stmptown http://www.thedieline.com/blog/2009/2/25/stumptown-coffee-roasters.html
Use real burlap, or something close to it, but not a digital rendering.
With regards to the logo, I was not a big fan of it's revision about a year ago when I first saw it. They could've easily kept the mark (shown in the "before" picture) fully squared out the square, and tighten up the Caribou. Had they made their mark from then until know, they could've minimized the logo to it's iconic version by dropping the text as Starbucks has done. They could have also kept the Roast Degree Indicator from the previous packaging as well. A re-design should be functional, eye-appealing, and recognizable to the consumers and distributors of any product.
Scale the logo down for breathability, make the labels stronger, and clean the layout. This could actually work if done right.