Packaging
Wild Mushrooms
To highlight Canada’s terroir and local production, the idea was to create a new packaging system for fresh and dried mushrooms to help connect local producers to Montrealers. The most important factor was to honor accessible and sustainable values, as well as the artisanal and circular aspect of the markets. The product is aimed towards health-conscious individuals as well as foodies, cooks and chefs that have a passion for peculiar ingredients.
Commonly seen across the commercial market are naturalistic images or illustrations of the mushrooms on packaging, which create a sort of redundance when the product can be viewed through (often) transparent packages. In this case, the strategy was to leverage the real texture of the product without repetition, with an elevated solution.
MPM is a collective of public markets in the city that feature local producers, growers, retailers, restaurateurs and agri-food artisans, offering year-round fresh products to the Montreal population.
The particularity with wild mushrooms is that their yield fluctuates year by year and harvest by harvest. It is more advantageous, then, to create a solution that allows for variable weight and quantity. That insight became the basis of creation for the bag. In store, mushrooms would be displayed fresh or dried in open boxes, allowing visitors to touch and smell them, which would drive interest and encourage them to experience the product before buying it. The bag doubles as long-term merch, encouraging consumers to come back or re-use it for other purposes, ideally reducing waste.
In accordance with values of sustainability, 100% cotton is used for the body of the bag in combination with a mesh texture for the window opening, letting the viewer admire the product. Additionally, the mesh subtly refers to the life cycle of the mushroom and mycelium networks.
The bag itself is not branded excessively, so as to not compete with the appearance of the mushrooms, for a natural and organic feel. Built for flexibility, the package allows the customer to place both fresh and dried versions of the product.
The labels are akin to collectible cards, and they are differentiated by using a different earthy tone and specific facts about each mushroom. Areas are left blank to be filled out in-store with accurate data, such as net weight or the date, using custom stamps.
The final form was the fruit of a long and arduous process in which many prototypes were tested before arriving to the idea of going beyond traditional packaging to create a re-usable textile bag.
I learned to always go back to the brief and the target audience, and to beware of excessive ideas – there always needs to be a valid reason for design decisions.
