Organic Farming

This is part of a series of hypothetical brands that explore sustainable product and design in the food industry.

Organic farming continues to play a vital role as a sustainable solution that supports the health of our planet. Crop rotation, companion planting, the use of organic fertilizers, and the avoidance of pesticides are key characteristics that minimize environmental impact and provide a deeply flavorful and nutrient-rich product that’s also free of GMOs.

As a growing number of food and beverage brands take the important steps to embrace environmentally progressive methods of production, the question remains: how can the story of organic farming be compellingly and holistically communicated across a product’s design and packaging?

Kelapa Organic Coconut Butter is a brand that emphasizes its relationship to organic farming with an eye-catching design and clever use of materials. Critical to its identity and aesthetic is a focus on Indonesian cultural heritage and local geography. 

Kelapa, which means “coconut” in Bahasa Indonesian, emphasizes the origin of the fruit, which is grown and harvested at organic farms. 

The label design is a compelling use of contrasting colors, sizes and textures, which take advantage of the transparent CleanFlake™ label material. 

Written in all-caps lettering, which boldly extends across the label area, the letterforms that spell the brand name remain unprinted, revealing the color and texture of the coconut butter beneath. This is made highly visible with the rich coconut-shell brown in which the rest of the label is printed in. This gesture of selectively revealing and obscuring finds inspiration from the wax-resist dyeing process found in Indonesian batik art.

Additional descriptive text, which includes nutritional and environmental benefits, are printed in blue and yellow which maximizes color vibrancy. A lively color palette, playful use of type size and the transparency of both the label and PET vessel come together to present an overall design with a competing, contemporary edge.

Importantly, through CleanFlake™ technology, the label is designed to enable a circular economy. While strongly adhering to PET packaging through the lifespan of the product, once it enters the recycling stream the label cleanly separates in the sink/float process. A clean separation from PET flakes increases the percentage of packaging that can be successfully recycled, bringing additional recycled PET back into the supply chain.