The Whole Concept: Zumbo

Zumbo is the creation of the Australian pâtissier Adriano Zumbo who became famous in 2009 after his guest appearance on the Australian version of MasterChef (Stangl). As “a self-confessed sweet tooth and chocolate addict” (The Star Pty Ltd, p. 2) he is Australia’s favourite pâtissier and is “aiming to ‘caramelise’ the nation” (The Star Pty Ltd, p. 2). There are currently 7 Zumbo stores located nationwide, The Star (Sydney), Rozelle (Sydney), South Yarra (Melbourne), Balmain (Sydney), Waverley (Sydney), Emporium Melbourne (Melbourne) and in The Queen Victoria Building (Sydney) (Zumbo, 2015) (see Figure 1). I, sadly, have never eaten a Zumbo product due to my anaphylaxis (to nuts), however, I always enjoy looking at them when I pass by a Zumbo.

Figure 1: Zumbo Store at the Sydney QVB (Zumbo, Unknown)

The brand has a unique feel about it that makes you feel like each product was created out of a real love and care for desserts. Each product has a distinctive look about it and almost looks too good to eat (see Figure 2). They also combine unusual and interesting combinations to allure customers. I could not work out what it reminded me of until I read what IDEA Awards (2012, p. 1) had written about his ‘new’ store inside of The Star, “This fun, colourful and slightly kooky fitout was inspired by the boardgame Mouse Trap and owes much to Zumbo’s hero, Willy Wonka.” After reading that it clicked and I realised that the Zumbo brand reminds of Willy Wonka’s brand in the movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The designs of their desserts and their packaging are bright and fun and so follow this Willy Wonka-like theme. Their packaging is very simple and clean looking (just simple colour/white cardboard boxes). 

Figure 2: Zumbo Desserts (2 Hungry Guys, 2015)

Each of Zumbo’s 7 stores is unique, and yet, you know they’re a Zumbo (mainly due to the fluorescent pink sign that reads ‘Zumbo’). Although I have only been to two stores (the one inside the QVB, which is more of a pop-up stall in the middle of the building’s walkway, and the store inside of The Star) I enjoyed both immensely, the colours and styling were inviting, and if I could eat something I’m sure it wouldn’t have disappointed. Zumbo utilises lots of bright and rich colours mixed with a modern design look. These stores all give a sense of the brand being modern, sophisticated and yet still keeping a sense of fun.

Figure 3: South Yarra, the first Zumbo store to open in Victoria (Zumbo, Unknown)

Bibliography:

2 Hungry Guys. (2015, 1 18). Zumbo Patisserie, The Star & Sydney QVB. Retrieved 10 1, 2015, from 2 Hungry Guys.

Niche Media Pty Ltd. (2012). Adriano Zumbo. Retrieved 1 4, 2015, from IDEA Awards: http://www.idea-awards.com.au/2012/adriano-zumbo/

Niche Media Pty Ltd. (2012). Adriano Zumbo Patisserie. Retrieved 1 4, 2015, from IDEA Awards: http://www.idea-awards.com.au/2012/adriano-zumbo-patisserie/

Niche Media Pty Ltd. (2014). Adriano Zumbo Patisserie. Retrieved 1 4, 2015, from IDEA Awards: http://www.idea-awards.com.au/2014/adriano-zumbo-patisserie-3/

Stangl, D. (n.d.). ADRIANO ZUMBO. Retrieved 1 4, 2015, from The Loop: http://www.theloop.com.au/DimitriStangl/portfolio/adriano-zumbo/79781

The Star Pty Ltd. (n.d.). Adriano Zumbo. Retrieved 10 1, 2015, from The Star: Sydney: http://www.star.com.au/sydney-restaurants/the-chefs/Pages/adriano-zumbo.aspx

Zumbo. (2015). Locations. Retrieved 10 1, 2015, from Zumbo: http://adrianozumbo.com/locations.html

Image Sources:

Figure 1: Zumbo (Unknown). Zumbo Store at the Sydney QVB [Zumbo Store at the Sydney QVB] Retrieved from: http://adrianozumbo.com/locations/qvb-kiosk.html

Figure 2: 2 Hungry Guys (2015). Zumbo Desserts [Zumbo Desserts]. Retrieved from http://2hungryguys.com.au/2015/01/18/zumbo-patiserie-star-sydney-qvb/

Figure 3: Zumbo (Unknown). South Yarra, the first Zumbo store to open in Victoria [South Yarra, the first Zumbo store to open in Victoria]. Retrieved from: http://adrianozumbo.com/locations/patisserie-melbourne.html

Retail Display Research

They way products are displayed in supermarkets varies depending on the type of product as well as which supermarket you’re shopping at, however they usually (in my experience) follow a similar appearance, for example cereals are packed up into shelves and feel very crowded and overwhelmingly colourful especially when compared to the fresh vegetables and fruit which are packed in a more open and plain and less retina attacking space.

I decided to compare the produce and cereal sections of my local Woolworths, the produce section is at the entry to the Woolworths, so that’s where I started. First thing I noticed about the produce section was that it was stacked on waist height tables, avoided most (over-the-top) packaging, save for perhaps a plastic or paper bag (see Figure 1) and used lots of earthy and natural colours and tones to give it a more natural, fresh and open feel. This is especially noticeable when I compared it the cereal isle which was packed with rows and rows of shelves of brightly packaged (and heavily processed) foods such as these Up & Go’s (see Figure 2). I will admit though that I do drink Up & Go’s a lot.
The same feel can be seen in Woolworth’s Macro range of organic foods, which use much duller, less vibrant colours and tones than most regular products to give them a healthier look and feel.

When their products are on special, Woolworths uses bright yellow tags (see Figure 3) that show you the price, how much you’re saving as well as the percentage it is off (the regular price). These tags stick out when going down isles so it is easier to notice when something is on special. Now when a product is new Woolworths utilises white tags with a pink border certain products also have cardboard signs that stick out from the shelf (see Figure 4) Another use of cardboard signs are for things for which Woolworths has dropped the price permanently, for example, Up & Go’s, which are $2.01 cheaper than they were a year ago (according to the cardboard sign) (see Figure 5).

Figure 1: Leafy Produce (Josiah Knoechel, 2015)

Figure 2: Up & Go's Colour Packaging (Josiah Knoechel, 2015)

Figure 3: Vegetables with yellow special tags (Josiah Knoechel, 2015)

Figure 4: NEW Milo cereal lost in the overwhelming bright colours (Josiah Knoechel, 2015)

Figure 5: Up & Go price comparison signs (Josiah Knoechel, 2015)

Post-Presentation Debrief

Reflecting back on our team’s presentation (see link/image below) for both our umbrella brand Håndværk as well as our own personal brands (which in my case was Libri Moda). I can see that although our presentation’s layout was clean and simple it was not all the same in the way we had laid it out so the continuity of our presentation was slightly broken. We also were unsure of which order we had placed the slides, for example, we had put Håndværk’s logo and meaning at the bottom instead of the top which caused a few problems when trying to present to our fellow students.

When it came to my presentation on Libri Moda I could have and should have been more prepared in what I would say (as well as how exactly you pronounce Libri Moda). However, I believe that I did a reasonable job (when compared to how I expected myself to fair). I gained some good feedback from the room on ways I could improve my product/s and logo, such as removing the book icon from under the words and just italicising the ‘Moda’ (in the logo) and working out how different shapes for different cities (on the notebooks) would work, but how one shouldn’t be overly complicated and one overly simple (e.g. a plain circle and a bevelled rectangle). I took this feedback onboard and reworked my logo (as well as thinking about my products), I believe that my logo looks a lot better now and that my products will be improved thanks to the feedback I received after my presentation.

Interactive Presentation (PDF)

Product Mood-board

Moodboard: I am planning to design a calendar, some postcards and some notebooks. However, due to time constraints I might only end up producing one of these items.

• The calendar will be small, perhaps A5 and will have a selection of pictures on it, with the dates placed next to it.
• The postcards will have the same pictures on it simple text overlayed on them (perhaps the name of the place where the picture was taken/the name of the picture).
• The notebooks will be similar to the postcards, the inside will be either all blank pages or a mix of both blank pages and of random pages recycled from elsewhere (magazines, newspapers, etc).

The product will be packaged in very simple brown (recycled) paper wrapping, with perhaps a bit of string tying it together.

Brand Packaging Comparison: T2 (New Zealand Black Tea) & Woolworths Homebrand Black Tea

What colours, typefaces, graphics does the company use on the packaging? What does this say about the value of the product? & What materials are used in the packaging (ie. card stock, foils, speciality papers, print treatments)? What do the materials tell you about the product value?

Both Woolworths and T2 use sans-serif typefaces on their packaging. Woolworths uses varying typefaces, colours and sizes to show hierarchy on their packaging while T2 uses a single typeface and colour and utilises typeface sizes and the principle of scale, to show hierarchy on their packaging. Woolworth's packaging, with its graphic of a cup of tea and variety of colours and typefaces though simple, lacks the elegance of T2's non-graphical, less-is-more approach to packaging due to it's use of the principles of balance and harmony. T2's packaging also gives the impression of a much higher quality product than that of the Woolworths packaging. T2's use of design principles like contrast, emphasis and scale make their packaging more elegant than Woolworth's packaging.

The ordinary plain white and red cardboard packaging of the Woolworths tea gives it the appearance of a cheaper and somewhat lower quality product when compared to the black glossy embossed metal packaging from T2 which appears to be more premium.

Resources:

Woolworths (Unknown). Homebrand Black Tea Bags 200pk 360g [Homebrand Black Tea Bags 200pk 360g]. Retrieved from https://www2.woolworthsonline.com.au/Content/wowProductImages/medium/260182.jpg

T2 (Unknown). New Zealand Black 30g Tin [New Zealand Black 30g Tin]. Retrieved from http://www.t2tea.com/assets/Images/Products/Heroes/532x361xNewZealandBlackHero2.jpg.pagespeed.ic.st8XlZDMUV.jpg

Stationary Brand Research: Smiggle

What is the company's "brand story" and how does is this communicated in the design of the products and packaging?:

Smiggle was started in Melbourne in 2004 with the idea of creating "colourful, fun, fashion-forward stationery." The name Smiggle is a conjunction of the words "smile" and "giggle". Over the next few years, they gained popularity and the number of stores grew to 20. In 2007, they were bought by the Just Group, who also own companies like, Just Jeans, Jay Jays, Peter Alexander & Dotti. In 2008, Smiggle opened its first overseas store in New Zealand. Then they expanded to Singapore in 2011 and the UK in 2014.

Who is the target market of the company? How do you think they address this target market (ie. use of colour, graphics, type of products):

Smiggle's target audience is kids & young adults although they have been trying to expand this to a larger range of ages. They target them by utilising bright colours, fun designs and graphics and by providing school-type stationery. Recently they have started to sell more non-stationary items like toys (e.g. balloon animal sets, batons, etc).

What type of packaging does the company use (branded carry bags, tissue paper, branded boxes etc.)? What does the packaging say/make you feel about the brand?:

Smiggle uses a lot of clear plastics paired with bright coloured cardboard in their packaging, giving their products a happy, excited air. None of Smiggle's merchandise has price tags on them as Smiggle is considered a gift shop. Interestingly, Smiggle does not do gift wrapping, however, they do sell wrapping paper if you're interested in wrapping it at home. When you buy something they place it in one of their trademark paper bags (see inserted picture). The simplicity of the design on these bags gives them a feeling of refinement (over ones that are overloaded with design elements). 

Resources:

Smiggle (Unknown). About Us [Version Unknown]. Retrieved from Smiggle website: http://www.smiggle.com.au/shop/en/smiggle/about-us

Retail Week (2013). Analysis: Australian stationery retailer Smiggle at a glance [Version Unknown]. Retrieved from Factiva website:
https://global-factiva-com.ezproxy.canberra.edu.au/redir/default.aspx?P=sa&an=RETWEE0020130813e98c00004&cat=a&ep=ASE

JMP Holdings (Unknown). Smiggle Bamboo Paper Bags [Smiggle Bamboo Paper Bags]. Retrieved from https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0N50EXpgmS4aydue1hhtefjg1shyaFXK7fCmeaIha48c3B0be6PMlDB_06ua6wW9oIplHh7kpgbxn_DOb9ECvyo2YgHGCX-K76Egp9dQs3UnC0SnYB11FCaixNsxwkEuryGDX2XQRwjXx/s1600/SmiggleBagSmall.jpg