UMNDENI Porridge | packaging project

When one speaks of porridge or ‘I-Phalishi’ (as we like to say in isiZulu) or umdokwe (for Sotho speaking people) many of us are instantly reminded of our childhood days where our grannies would wake up in the early hours of the morning to make the whole family porridge for breakfast. The smell of boiling water maize meal in the pot is something we all can resonate with as African people. So it is safe to say that porridge is a meal that goes way back in hestory for some of us. It is a meal not only for young people but for older generations too. It is a meal that has brought and still brings families together everyday, in the morning. That experience of being with your loved ones tied up in one meal, porridge.

That is definitely an experience I want to perpetuated in my new porridge packaging design.

BRIEF:

Create a new brand of porridge breakfast, Propose a logo and package design

FRAME THE PROBLEM

Existing porridge brands packaging only promote nutritional benefits and flavours

TAKE A POSITION

• Create a breakfast porridge brand that promote family values as the number 1 nutrition.

• Create a packaging that appeals to the family and evokes feelings of love, Joy and togetherness.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES:

Use the packaging to promote unity and happiness within the family.

Design the packaging to look and feel local.

CREATIVE OBJECTIVES:

Use relevant visual imagery, local design elements and tone of voice to appeal to the target audience and make them feel appreciated and represented.

POSITIONING PLATFORMS

Family is important

USP

Promote unity amongst families

UMNDENI porridge is a South African porridge brand specifically aimed at black families. The aim is to bring back that long lost connection between black families and home-cooked porridge. It is the first porridge brand that produce maize meal specifically for cooking porridge which can be enjoyed by the whole family. UMNDENI promotes unity, love and the importance of spending quality time with your family, together enjoying porridge. UMNDENI is a pride and joy for all black families that enjoys porridge for breakfast.

My strategy for brand activation was to find a perfect place where families are gathered together at a convenient time to taste the porridge and also give their feedback to the brand. The perfect place for doing this was at churches on a Sunday morning. Most families go to church on a Sunday morning so we will go to nearest churches and set up our mobile kitchen to cook porridge for people to eat when they arrive at church early in the morning.

That way we will get to see families eating porridge together as families, sitting aroud table reminiscing on those past days when they were growing up eating porridge. This brand activation will promote unity between the families gathered and also promote love and sharing between families and family members.

Upon completing this brand activation launch, the band will run a competition where a winner gets to select an under government primary school