The benefits of consuming milk and dairy products from 100% organic grass-fed cows are well known and appreciated by a segment of the population that aims to eat healthier and be better stewards of the planet. Maple Hill, the leader in 100% grass-fed organic dairy, approached OffWhite Co. to help shape their messaging from being a niche player to speak to a broader audience.
The original positioning and packaging did not do justice to the quality of the product inside the cup. We took the view that product packaging should serve as the company’s on-shelf billboard, educating consumers about the brand’s value and point of difference at a glance. The goal was to create a unified branding program that would easily scale as Maple Hill continued to grow its product line, sending a clear message that this milk is special and encouraging consumers to learn more.
Maple Hill is taking a strong stand for the benefits of 100% grassfed dairy. After we convinced management to “cut down the tree icon,” which was losing valuable real estate on packaging application we simplified the naming to “MAPLE HILL”, replacing the word ‘Creamery’ to ‘Grassfed Organic’.
To further the grass-fed messaging, we felt it important that the brand iconography language quickly read as “grass-fed” no matter what the flavor or environment the icon would live in. Gorgeous fruit and flavor imagery was nestled carefully into the grass bed for each distinct product flavor.
To help consumers connect with the product and its authentic grass-fed benefit, each cow’s name, backstory and farm location is included. Consumers naturally gravitate to the cute cow names, such as Pixie, Ushi or Willow, and are comforted by knowing exactly where the milk is coming from. Brand assets were updated with a unifying icon system anchored by a true-to-life, custom-photographed bed of grass that is an actual representation of the grass Maple Hill cows graze on.
The inspiration for the packaging stems from the brand’s need to scream 100% grass-fed. We viewed the product as their on-shelf billboard to educate consumers about the brand’s value and point of difference. The packaging system also had to work across many forms, structures, and product SKUs, including – kefir, drinkables, milk, blended yogurt, greek yogurt, cheese, cream on top yogurt. The result is a unified branding program that allows for continued growth as Maple Hill continues to grow their product line up.
The key focus of the website re-staging was to focus on educating consumers with the difference grass-fed adds not only to your body, but to the lives of the farmers, cows, the environment. The website served as both a portfolio of products, as well as a platform for consumers to educate themselves with a wealth of information on grass-fed. Every element was custom built, with a very robust CMS system to support constant updating needs.
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