East African specialty food company The Perennial Foods Group is launching its first branded product – the Kib herbal tea range – with brand and packaging design by & SMITH. Using herbs grown by Ethiopian smallholder farmers in “food forests,” the tea is made from a range of crops are grown together using regenerative techniques that enrich the soil. The graphic design solution is not only a fresh take on ethical food and drink packaging, it is also a departure for the herbal tea category. In a category laden with color – the pure, simple black and white of the Kib color palette is intended to help it stand out on shelf. At the same time, the illustrations conjure images of the verdant food forests, an earthy palette to represent each flavor, and the packaging eschews the hackneyed kraft paper route.
