Revolutionizing Pasta Sauce Packaging: The Sacla Redesign

QNY Creative's Award-Winning Design Combines Tradition with Innovation

QNY Creative, a renowned design agency, was tasked with the challenge of redesigning Sacla's pasta sauce jars. The inspiration for the design was drawn from fruit crate labels, a popular marketing tool at the turn of the century. The artwork from California and Florida, from the 1920s and 1940s, served as the primary source of inspiration for this unique design.

What sets this design apart from others is its combination of traditional and modern elements. The new label designs feature transparent film and eye-catching illustrations that break away from the usual codes of the category. The transparent label allows consumers to view the product's quality from all angles. The hand-painted illustrations, inspired by fruit crate labels, provide a contrast between vintage artwork and modern labeling techniques, giving shoppers a sense of warm tradition and premiumness.

The design was realized using a transparent over-label with a gloss laminate. The technical specifications of the design include a glass jar with a circular top label and a primary display transparent label measuring 3.5 x 9 inches. The design was completed in New York within a span of six months.

Before the redesign, Sacla Sauces underwent consumer focus group testing with a white circular die-cut label. The results were positive for the sauces but negative for the aesthetic of the packaging. The challenge was to create a design that would showcase the whole cherry tomatoes in their Tomato Sauces and make an authentic Italian product range feel familiar to new consumers. QNY Creative rose to the challenge, producing a warm, appealing identity and packaging that leaps out.

The redesign was not without its challenges. The premium sauce category is overloaded with portraits of traditional Italian chefs. To break through the clutter, QNY used an image of Sacla’s young heiress, Chiara Ercole, celebrating the new Italian businesswoman and resonating with the new American consumer, particularly young moms who bring homegrown Italian flavors to their dinner tables.

The Sacla redesign by QNY Creative was awarded Silver in A' Packaging Design Award in 2018, a testament to its innovative and appealing design. This design is a perfect example of how tradition and innovation can come together to create a product that is both visually appealing and functional.