House-Autry Packaging Line Redesign

The retail package is our first and closest connection to our customers. Ads reach some customers, social media reaches some customers, but EVERY customer sees the package. Each time a customer extends his or her hand to pick up a box, bag or pouch, it’s like that person is giving the brand a handshake—whether as a longtime friend or meeting for the first time.

House-Autry came to us to completely overhaul their entire product packaging line and solve a number of issues they were concerned with. The packages had a great deal of inconsistency across the line, felt outdated, and had designs that didn’t showcase the product in images very well. While the designs retained the white type, red field, and blue mill, little else was the same across the entire product line. The redesign brought a look that was more uniform to help with brand recognition, but allowed for flexibility in labeling.

The result was a complete overhaul of all House-Autry products across all packaging formats, based upon extensive consumer research we conducted with the help of Clemson University’s Sonoco Institute of Packaging Design and Graphics and its CUshop™ laboratory. The lab enabled us to benchmark our existing and competitors’ packaging with a variety of demographically selected consumers. Equipped with special eyewear to measure a typical shopper’s visual engagement with a variety of packaging in an artificial store environment, the lab was able to assess the strengths and weaknesses of their existing packaging and that of their competitors.

Measuring eye movement, the university was able to develop heat maps that provided deep insight into photography, colors, text, and other visual cues. The research identified nuances in visual depictions of a finished and plated food image as key in both noticing the package on the shelf and in spurring purchase. Test after test of concept packaging refined the design until it was perfected. That was followed by focus groups that confirmed our messaging and package design within our key demographics.

I did all of the design and layout, and worked with a food stylist and photographer, directing all new food photography specifically for the new packaging.

The redesign launch was released around the same time as House-Autry’s brand anthem video, which can be seen here.