Gastro: From Food Movement to Gourmet to Go Food Movement to Gourmet to Go

 

Launched as a twelve piece packaging and labelling collection earlier this summer, our brand new Gastro Collection takes gourmet-style presentation and translates it into a popular ‘grab and go’ range. But how exactly does the gastro food movement go from fine dining to gourmet to-go? In this blog post we find out…

In the Beginning...
In 2012, our UK-based sister company Planglow observed the ways in which fine dining presentation was influencing the foodservice industry. Slate in particular was becoming increasingly synonymous with both deli produce and the entire ‘gastro’ movement. Providers were placing a renewed emphasis on provenance too – both here as well as in the UK – highlighting products made with ingredients of notable preparation and origin. Yet the market lacked packaging and labeling choices that suitably demonstrated a gourmet, premium image.

Capturing the Artisan Look
We knew we needed something ‘gastronomic’ and eye catching - a range that highlighted fine foods and ingredients while remaining entirely eco-friendly. Then several of our customers enquired about black packaging options too so our research and development team commissioned some initial designs. While black did convey premium, we decided it didn’t fully capture the artisan aesthetic we were looking to achieve so we looked at other colours and textures being used in these types of environments – from gourmet farmers markets and delis to Michelin stared restaurants. It soon became clear that chalk-on-slate offered the perfect balance: slate – which was being used as platters, signage and more – brought the quality feel, while chalk introduced a handcrafted finish. We decided to give the insides of the sandwich boxes, wrap packs and salad boxes a natural kraft finish too, to soften the look and further support the natural artisan finish.

Once our main textures had been decided, we were able to focus on the more detailed graphics that would appear on pack. The slate effect was striking and certainly stood out on the shelf, but we wanted to add some softer illustrative touches - along with eco-messaging - to both lift and further define the brand. A bold plant design incorporating ‘handwritten’ typography was developed to lend a lighter more artisan feel.

Boxing Clever
While finding the right look for Gastro was pivotal to its success, the products themselves were equally as important and needed to accommodate a diverse choice of gourmet foods. Therefore two sizes of wedge were selected for the range, two sizes of wrap boxand three sizes of salad box, a baguette bag, a sandwich / pastry bag and a sandwich box. Developed especially for square cut ‘deli’ sandwiches, bagels, cakes and other snack, the Gastro Sandwich Box is stackable and also helps to differentiate between ranges thanks to its square shape. Each of the packaging products feature our unique plant-based laminate film which forms a barrier against leaks and seeps, helps to seal in freshness and forms the windows too. Large and small label designs were also developed to complement the packaging, supporting foodservice providers wishing to provide both minimal and extensive product information including barcodes, nutri data and ingredients. The larger fold-over label provides a built in safety seal too to further guarantee freshness for the consumer.

Leader of the Pack
Gastro has been extremely well received and since launching this summer, we have sold one Gastro product every 40 seconds. The success of the range can be attributed to its first-of-a-kind presentation - an entirely unique look for the foodservice packaging market. Furthermore, Gastro has achieved a proven value-adding effect too which was a key consideration of our original brief, with consumers (willingly) paying a premium for Gastro packaged products. And if the consumer is happy then our customers are happy too which, for us is a job well done. We’ll be expanding the range in the future too so let us know if there is anything you’d like to see added and thanks for your ongoing support!