How can innovative brand and packaging solutions be a catalyst for busy people to improve their eating? My project is motivated by research into the growing popularity of convenience foods and how consumer health suffers as a result. New Zealand based Public Health Nutritionist Dr Helen Eyles (Science Media Centre, 2014) states “Packaged foods, especially those which have undergone a lot of processing, tend to be high in adverse nutrients such as saturated fat, salt and sugar. Therefore, in an ideal world we would all be eating predominantly whole, fresh, unprocessed foods. However, cost, convenience and other factors mean that packaged foods are often included in our diets.” Brand and packaging design is employed to present a new meal system that consists of controlled portion sizes and organic whole foods, to cater to the needs of busy health-conscious consumers.
To understand this method of building a meal I have established a graphic system to illustrate the principles of individual servings, the respective nutritional categories and how when five packages are melded together, one wholesome meal is produced. I was concerned with developing a new graphic language to convey Meld’s brand values of honesty and natural goodness by addressing the use of ‘greenwashing’, typically used to imply ecologically friendly products. Consumer research studies state that consumers are wary of the conventional signifiers of sustainability and ‘health food’ promises, which I have addressed with a concept that focuses on transparency and system. Positioned as an independent convenience food market in metro city centres, Meld offers the best of two worlds, fast moving consumer good convenience and healthy wholefoods. It seeks to improve both consumer health and minimise environmental waste by reducing the quantity of food consumed and excess food disposed of. Meld promotes a healthy lifestyle inside and out.
