The Grand Hôtel in Stockholm, retailer Dafra Försäljning and chef Mathias Dahlgren, having already developed a modern and high-quality set of pots and pans, asked the Stockholm-based design agency Essen International to create a packaging solution that could go hand in hand with their premium products.

Starting its process with some key insights gained through retail visits, analysis of the national and international competition, and benchmarks, Essen realized: there was an overload of information, and competitors tended to use product images on their packaging. Seeing an opportunity to create something unique, Essen turned to the cooking philosophy of Dahlgren, one of the most famous and prominent chefs in Sweden, as inspiration.

Dahlgren always places natural ingredients and natural taste at the center of his creations, so after pondering what kind of design Dahlgren would favor if he was a graphic designer, Essen aimed for simplicity strenghtened with functionality. It translated his creations into a visual language with basic shapes, black-and-white color and a focus on typography. By displaying the kitchenware measurements in bold typography and placing them naturally on the packaging, as if they were ingredients in a pan, Essen breathed a fresh note of Scandinavian minimalism into a crowded kitchenware packaging space.

esseninternational.com