When first-generation Pakistani-American Umaimah Sharwani left college to start her career in New York City, her mother would pack spice and lentil mixes in small bags that she could combine with water and prepare in 30 minutes.
Now, Sharwani has taken those helpful care packages and transformed them into Paro, a new brand of South Asian easy-to-prepare pantry staples (which, uncoincidentally, is named after her mother and features her recipes).
Sharwani’s Paro debuts with three classics, including Masoor Daal, a red lentil dish mixed with earthy and sweet spices, and Kitchari, a blend of basmati rice and mung beans thought to be beneficial for gut health. Finally, Paro also offers Tarka, a traditional South Asian condiment made of spices tempered in grapeseed oil and ghee. Paro’s Daal and Kitchari are vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free. The Tarka, however, is gluten-free but contains dairy.
Branding and packaging for Paro come courtesy of Montreal and Los Angeles design agency Wedge. For inspiration, the collective looked to vintage Pakistani food products. What’s more, the packaging and visual identity burst with color on purpose and speaks to the flavor punch you can expect, inspired by spices and Pakistani textiles. The packaging combines warm and earthy colors like dark red for Massor Daal, blue for Kitchari’s box, and green for Tarka’s label. Paro’s logo and copy are in yellow on all the packaging, and orange parallelograms on the front of the packaging house the name of the product in English and written in Urdu script by Sharwani’s mother. The Paro wordmark is expressed in an elegant and artful calligraphic font—a complimentary sans serif type offsets the logo and Urdu script.
Paro is the latest in a line of brands bringing Asian-inspired flavors with attractive, authentic, and passionate branding with elevated ingredients and recipes that entice consumers to ditch the conventional pantry staples for a different take on comfort food. Brands like Omsom, Homiah, Bowlcut, and Brooklyn Delhi all share home-inspired Asian flavors and give home chefs everywhere some new toys to play with.
Images courtesy of Paro and Wedge.
1 response to “Wedge-Designed Paro Shares Founder’s Love Of Pakistani Comfort Food”
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