The Story of 8 Miel

Design Agency: Bulldog Studio
Founder & Creative Director: Carles Sala
Brand: AVB's 8 Miel honey 
Print: Vidal & Armadans
Photography: Untactil
Label materials: Fasson® Naturel Touch Craft FSC®

Have you ever heard of the octane dance of the bees? Also known as the waggle dance, it is a sophisticated communication method used by honey bees to share information about the location of food sources, water, or potential new nest sites. When a forager bee discovers a valuable commodity, it returns to the hive and performs the dance on the honeycomb's surface to communicate the distance and direction of the resource to its fellow bees.

The dance can be described as a figure-eight pattern, during which the forager bee moves in a straight line while waggling its abdomen (the waggle phase) and then returns to the starting point by making a loop on one side. The angle of the waggle phase relative to the "up" direction on the comb indicates the orientation of the resource in relation to the sun, while the duration corresponds to the distance to the resource. After completing this phase again, the bee makes a loop on the opposite side, creating a continuous figure-eight pattern. 

Exactly this fascinating yet crucial process inspired Spanish creative agency Bulldog Studio to design AVB's 8 Miel honey product narrative and visual design. Known for its packaging and branding expertise and focus on mass consumption, beverages, and gourmet products, the team at Bulldog Studio was the perfect partner for this project. "It was a seamless collaboration because the client is a winery we have developed wine concepts for. The maker called me one day and said he wanted to work with us on a new honey project they were developing. It was truly a natural experience for us as we were given complete freedom—from the concept to the naming, we were allowed to embrace every aspect," explains Carles Sala, Founder & Creative Director at Bulldog Studio.

When given such freedom, Carles explained that a common challenge is selling your concepts and ideas to clients, so they fully understand your vision for the products' aesthetics. For 8 Miel, things went relatively smoothly. “A colleague with an exceptionally creative mind discovered the octane dance after doing some initial research. Because it was such a great, natural fit, we could convey our confidence in the story to the client. As a matter of fact, it took us a week from our initial discussion to iron out the creative direction," he adds. 

When searching for the best label paper, Bulldog Studio decided on Avery Dennison's Fasson® Naturel Touch Craft FSC®, a white, uncoated woodfree printing paper. Due to its high level of texture, this material gave this product a craft, traditional appearance that provided the perfect canvas for embossing. Its black and yellow colors complement the bold black 8 on a white background, giving it a striking appearance. Most traditional honey brands look and feel the same, so a product that stands out with its distinctive and modern design will capture consumers' attention, while the story on the back label describing the octane dance will make them keep buying it. When it comes down to it, aesthetics grab attention, while stories drive purchases and loyalty.

"Overall, this project was an interesting experience for us, and we learned a lot as creatives. The importance of bees to humanity is often discussed, but we didn't truly grasp its significance until we researched this project thoroughly and dug into the details," says Carles. In order to maintain biodiversity and support global food production, bees are essential. Pollinating many plant species, including many crops, is vital to human survival. In fact, around 35% of global food production depends on animal pollinators, with bees being the most significant contributors. 

Aside from honey, bees produce various products, including beeswax, propolis, and royal jelly, which have multiple uses in human nutrition, cosmetics, and traditional medicine. 

As if that wasn't enough, bees contribute greatly to the global economy, with the total value of bee pollination estimated to be billions of dollars. In spite of this, bee populations are declining due to a variety of factors, including habitat loss, pesticides, climate change, and disease, which threaten global food security and the environment. 

The global demand for honey is only increasing due to its various uses and health benefits. As well as serving as a welcome addition to supermarket shelves, 8 Miel is a timely reminder of the importance of bees and their fascinating intelligence, which is so inspiring and necessary for our survival as humans.