Woolworths South Africa has begun rolling out its Essentials range of supermarket items, the first phase of a complete packaging overhaul being undertaken across all lines within the retailer’s portfolio of house brands. The mammoth task is being overseen by celebrated designer Vince Frost, recently appointed as the company’s Creative Director.

The initial stage of the Essentials range packaging project takes in more than 150 lines including dairy, produce, meat and poultry, cereals, beverages, dry goods, biscuits, bakery goods, frozen foods, household cleaning, laundry and personal care products. Woolworths Essentials are high-quality, basic staples set at entry price points and according to Frost, the strategy behind the work is not only about contemporisation, but ensuring the packaging communicates the quality which defines the very essence of the Woolworths brand too.

“Woolworths has never done anything like this before,” said Frost. “But the sheer scale of this packaging redesign project, which will ultimately encompass more than 5000 items, makes Woolworths a global leader in this field.”

Managing the execution of the Essentials range packaging is Quan Payne, a Design Director seconded from the Frost* studio in Sydney. He is working alongside the team based at the Frost designed in-house studio, at Woolworths HQ in Cape Town and a number of established local agencies.

Payne explains the design ethos driving the development of the news packs in the Essentials range. “We’re really aiming to underline Woolworths’ philosophy of ‘the difference’, by embedding good, thoughtful design into the brand through packaging.”

“There is a unique idea behind every single product and that is a real innovation in house brand packaging design. Each idea expresses the function or benefit of that individual product.”

Whilst generic or house brand lines are often devoid of any personality, the new Woolworths Essentials range uses design to inject a sense of energy and life. Simple, bold typography and the use of elements like photography and graphic shapes, aim to speak to the consumer in an engaging, intelligent way. Colour is also used in category-leading ways, to differentiate variants within the lines.

The new Essentials range is appearing on Woolworths shelves over the coming months, whilst Frost and his team embark of the next phase of the packaging redesign work.

The Duffy & Partners-designed packaging for items such as deli containers and bakery boxes introduce a universal packaging program that still celebrates the different regions and their unique local offerings, while also supporting the mission of a national brand.  The Duffy & Partners re-design includes the classic Whole Foods Market logo, and adds splashes of natural sage greens, berry reds, marigold oranges and oregano hues, depending on the product.  A unifying stylized leaf motif is found across all packaging.

Duffy & Partners has revitalized the Whole Foods brand packaging with style and passion unlike any other design firm.  The packaging and design created by Duffy & Partners now has a universal design and feel while still promoting the regional fare known to individual Whole Foods Markets.

Anthem Worldwide, a Strategic Design Company, whose integrated global network provides innovative solutions to articulate, unify, and manage brand impact to create compelling and consistent brand experiences, announced today that it has named Claudia McCaffrey to the position of director, client service for its Toronto office.

I am thrilled to be part of this growing global design network and look forward to adding value and driving marketplace impact for Anthem’s clients, said Ms. McCaffrey. “The opportunity to leverage the talent and resources of the Anthem network to help our clients win at shelf in the Canadian market is very exciting.”

Anne Dean, managing director for Anthem Worldwide Toronto office said, Claudia¹s ability to create long-term partnerships with clients to help them achieve their business goals will be a great asset to our clients. I am confident that as a new member of our valued leadership team, she will help Anthem’s clients create compelling and consistent brand experiences at home, on the go, at the store and on the shelf.”

Prior to this appointment, Claudia McCaffrey was vice president, client service at Marovino Visual Strategy (MVS) in Toronto where she was responsible for leading the teams that helped clients develop a powerful on-shelf presence for their brands. Claudia also brings with her a deep understanding of the way stores function, the way competitors compete in-store and the way consumers shop. Claudia has served in a similar capacity on accounts that have included Reckitt Benckiser, Dare Foods, Genuine Health, McCormick Canada, New World Pasta (Ronzoni Foods Canada), Laura Secord, and Novartis.

Claudia¹s background is comprised of 20 years of experience on the account/client service side of the design and advertising business. Past positions include tenure at Watt International, Bozell and BBDO. She has led large-scale teams in the development of food packaging for Wal-Mart in the U.S., Canada, UK, Asia and Latin America. Claudia¹s experience on the advertising side of the business includes leading the strategic development and management of campaigns across multiple brand touchpoints.