Bellwether Farms is an award-winning producer of farmstead cheeses and yogurts located in Sonoma County, California. A long-time client of our firm, they had invented a new way of crafting ricotta that brought to mind the exceptional qualities and flavors of the old-world ricottas of northern Italy.

A key component of capturing that quality was to use a special basket to allow the ricotta to drain and form properly. Removing the ricotta from the basket to package it would destroy the product’s unique qualities, so it was decided to keep the basket and vacuum form a plastic seal around it.

The large piece of stiff film necessary to form the basket’s lid presented unique challenges for packaging. The client and design team at MOI also saw an opportunity to use the basket to showcase the product. Keeping the sides open allowed the design team to create a flap that tucked in on either side, snapping into position and holding the basket firmly in place. The open sides doubled as a “window” displaying the product within the basket.

Mark Oliver, CEO of the branding firm, noted, “often the most work goes into creating simple looking yet complex structures. After a number of prototypes, this elegant solution met the criteria for showcasing the product and maintaining the long-established branding scheme, while using environmentally sensitive outer packaging materials and soy inks.”

Photo © 2011 Alan Campbell acpfoto.com