BLACK RICE PRODUCT
SPRING 2020
BRAND RESEARCH AND IDENTITY, COPYWRITING, PACKAGING
I had the opportunity to develop a new branding and packing system for Lotus Food’s Forbidden Rice®, transitioning it from ethnic and cultural branding to a more superfood-focused contemporary design. Rather than pushing the history and tradition associated with the grain, a more streamline design attracts a younger generation to the rice as a healthy superfood that emulates themes of a simple and conscious lifestyle. The previous design utilized exoticism in their marketing, appropriating Asian imagery as well as religious symbols and implementing them incorrectly. This cultural lense inaccurately represented the brand, as Lotus Food’s does quite a bit of work to overthrow harmful systems with their mindful practices. Black rice benefits the planet as well as the consumer, pulling another organic and sustainable lense into the purchasing appeal of the product. Individuals who shop markets- such as Whole Foods or Sprouts, are mindful of the food they put in their body as well as where it is coming from, and are willing to spend a little more on a more holistic product. Though Lotus Foods is extremely conscious in regards to the sustainable practices associated with growing the grain, their black rice is packaged in thick plastic. In order to make this more sustainable, a new packaging system was developed from bristol and vellum paper- ultimately pushing black rice to a whole new level of sustainability.
