The personification of packaging is taking off, and Beetroot’s packaging design for Yiayia’s olive oil showcases why it works so wonderfully. The intense hues of the bottles’ primary color compliment the “silent” logo across the brand’s product range. Further, the personification of the design subconsciously connects consumers with a more humanistic connection with nature, agriculture, and produce.
Yiayia and friends is a multifaceted food, design and education project. In the brand’s visual narrative, yiayia (granny in Greek) is celebrated as an all-powerful, all-knowing character with deep roots in nature and tradition. Through her and her friends from both the human and animal kingdoms, the arts of growing, cooking, and sharing food are remembered, reinterpreted, and redesigned for the contemporary era.
The vibrant, brightly colored characters share the same eyes – a visual element that doubles as a “silent” logo across the project – and interlock with each other in a visual representation of the connection of humanity with nature, agriculture, produce and creation. Yiayia is the hero image on the product packaging, the central character of joyful illustrations that tell the story of this unique brand. The new additions to yiayia’s “family” are the extra virgin olive oils flavored with basil, garlic, and chili pepper; an organic aged balsamic vinegar, and two vinegars flavored with natural red and yellow fruit juices.
The flavored olive oil bottle is the 200 ml version of the original 500 ml, so that the complete range now visually represents “yiayia” and her “friends”. Instead of the classic black on the regular olive oil bottle, the flavored versions come in green, gray-beige and orange-red, reflecting the corresponding flavors. The three vinegars also come in 200 ml glass bottles, but instead of painted on the bottle, the labels are paper. The brand’s visual language is deployed here through original illustrations, different for each product, that highlight its distinct quality and flavor characteristics.
