Artisan Mac n' Cheese Packaging

Step aside blue box mac and cheese, there's a new Mac Man in town! Dan Stephenson of Dan's Gourmet grew up loving the famed American comfort food, so it's no wonder that his passion for mac and cheese propelled him to create a collection of uniquely crafted mac & cheese recipes. While he started out selling his "Mac Pacs" in Farmer's Markets, he had his sights on the frozen food aisle. With all the big players in the section, Dan knew that if he could just get people to pick up his product, they would be more likely to carry it to the check-out line. Enter ADG.

When Dan came to us with a sampling of all of his flavors, it became quickly apparent we weren't just dealing with any ol'mac and cheese. One bite will tell you that this is a seriously sophisticated, gourmet, concoction of complex flavors (say that 10 times fast). Mac and cheese has finally grown-up, put on some big boy pants and brass knuckles and got a job knocking out your taste buds! Don't be fooled though, you don't need a cummerbund to enjoy this feast. While the taste has grown up, there is no pretentious fluffiness about Dan's Gourment. Just spending a few minutes with Dan will make you realize what a down-to earth, honest to goodness, fun guy he is. That's what we wanted to show through with our designs. The packaging design needed to reflect food that was sophisticated enough to enjoy as a fancy, gourmet meal (think hot date night), but also comforting enough to make you forget all your troubles (think bad break-up) ...just me? ok.

A warm color palette along with unique hand-rendered typography make it stand out on store shelves, and the shift in color further helps to differentiate each of the flavors. Fun, whimsical illustrations were used throughout to give it an artisan, home-spun charm. 

Creative Director: Joel Anderson

Designer and Illustrator: Ligia Teodosiu

Photography: Edward Patton, Alexander Azzo