“You stopped us in our tracks!”  said the folks at The Core, when they came across the bag we designed for Mastronardi Produce. “We are always roaming the show floor looking for good story telling, and we thought Mastronardi hit the nail on the head with their super colorful and informative shopping totes.”  The Core is digital publication focused on fresh produce marketing. Check it out.

What should you think about when designing a new brand or revamping an old one? This was the question presented at this year’s Expo West Manufacturers educational seminar. Expo organizers invited Mythmaker’s David Bernard to help answer the questions. He breaks it down into four basic principles.View Slides.

We are best known for our work in the natural food and beverage industry thanks to our history with Odwalla but actually we do a lot more. Mythmaker has created brands and helped position everything from ethanol companies to cloud computing services. We just finished creating the identity and website for Garrahan Off-Road Training. Check it out.

Mythmaker’s founder, David Bernard, has been asked to speak at Natural Products Expo West 2011 in Anaheim, CA., the worlds largest natural, organic and healthy products trade show. 

New Hope Media has asked David to address issues related to design and positioning for food business startups. He’s also been drafted to be part of a “pitch slam” panel, helping judge the viability of new business ideas. David will share what he’s learned helping develop brands like Odwalla, Columbia Gorge Organic and other natural food and beverage companies targeting the LOHAS market.

“These Expo seminars can be very valuable for new entrepreneurs,” says David. “You can learn a lot from people who’ve been though the process before and know what works and what doesn’t.”
 
If you’re interested in attending, here are the dates.
Thursday, March 10, 2011. 1:00PM – 2:00PM. Manufacturer Track- Branding and Packaging.
Thursday, March 10, 2011. 5:30PM – 6:00PM. Pseudo Pitch Slam.
Registration is required to attend both Expo West and the Business Program. For more information, click here.

It’s one thing to get customers; it’s another to turn them into raving fans. That’s the basic premise of marketing consultant, Maribeth Kuzmeski’s new book, And The Clients Went Wild . In the process of writing her book she went looking for stories that illustrate the point and found Mythmaker. She included a profile of our work with Odwalla and basically offers up a good case study illustrating what we believe: If you want to really connect with people, hire poets and artists.

Sundia may be young but it is moving very fast. Inc. Magazine has issued its yearly rankings. Sundia came in 2ned for Fastest Growing Food & Beverage company in the US. It ranked number 13 for Fastest Growing company in the Bay Area and in 130th place nationally. We like to think the branding and package work we’ve done for Sundia has something do with that.

Check out the article.

Quick, name the brands associated with these slogans: “Snap, Crackle, Pop!” “It’s the Real Thing” and “Finger Lickin’ Good.” If you guessed Rice Krispies, Coca-Cola and Kentucky Fried Chicken, then you understand the impact of marketing on American consumers’ food and beverage choices.

What you might not know is there’s a nationally known player in the food marketing world based right here in Santa Cruz. But instead of pushing sugary cereals, soda, or fast food, Mythmaker Creative Services creates identities and package design for artisan, organic and natural food and beverage products.

If your only knowledge of advertising and marketing comes from the television show “Mad Men,” a visit to Mythmaker’s downtown office will come as a welcome surprise. Instead of ruthless suits clawing their way up the corporate ladder, you’ll find a quartet of quirky, blue jean-clad artists and writers speaking with conviction about “values-based positioning” and companies that operate “from a place of passion and authenticity.”

Read More

Columbia Gorge Organic just celebrated its 20th year anniversary by launching a brand new look thanks to Mythmaker. Beverage world says, ” with it’s new screw cap, four sided label and colorful new graphics, CoGo juice seems poised for prosperity”.  We could not agree more. 

Read the article here

The North Coast of California is home to many organic farmers and artisan food producers who’ve work hard to sustain a right livelihood. Jay and Dana Nichols, residents and environmental activists in this Northern California coast bioregion, wanted to inspire a local, community-based economy around the North Coast Agri-Artisan culture, and asked us if we could help them with the design of a local currency. Click here to see their blog.

Forbes has released the results of its annual “Americas Most Promising Companies” survey and Sundia came out on top. Growing at %300 a year, the company is on track to meet CEO, Brad Oberwager’s ultimate objective. “Our mission is to become the leading value-added produce brand in the world: Where there is food, there is Sundia”.

Click here to visit the Forbes site.

Last September, Potter Family Organics called on Mythmaker to help rethink its brand strategy and relaunch the company with a new identity and more focused message. The company’s line of organic yogurts, smoothies, puddings and dairy creamers hit the shelves the first week of August. “This was a major turnaround project for us”, says company president Robert Brewer”, ” and we could not have done it without the expert help we received from the Mythmaker team.” Check out www.Potterfamilyorganics.com.

What does it take to have a “Sustainable Package”?  Here’s how we did it with Swoonbeams

1. Use of less packaging. The Swoonbeams box is a simple folding structure with a band. Recycled, sealed paper board with a small amount of shrink wrap seals in the fudge. 

2.  The printing inks are soy based. These are not hard to find these days nor does it have to be more expensive and the quality is outstanding.

3.  We created a combination shipping and display box which makes for less shipping material waste.

Basic Guidelines To Strive For

A.  Is beneficial, safe & healthy for individuals and communities throughout its life cycle;
B. Meets market criteria for performance and cost;
B. Is sourced, manufactured, transported, and recycled using renewable energy;
C. Maximizes the use of renewable or recycled source materials;
D. Is manufactured using clean production technologies and best practices;
E. Is made from materials healthy in all probable end of life scenarios;
F. Is physically designed to optimize materials and energy;
G. Is effectively recovered and utilized in biological and/or industrial cradle to cradle cycles.

Check out the Sustainable Packaging Coalition for more information and help. www.sustainablepackaging.org

Santa Cruz, California, March 10th, 2008 – The Northern California Manufacturers’ Association has invited Mythmaker’s David Bernard to speak about Odwalla, Inc’s devastating 1996 E. Coli contamination and product recall.

At that time Mr. Bernard was heading up “Channel O,” the company’s innovative, in-house multimedia communication department, which placed him in a unique position to document events. The presentation will consist of news footage taken over a twelve-month period showing how the event played out in the media, and the impact of the company’s message strategy on the evolving story – a strategy proven so successful the case study is now referenced in business schools. The event is open to Association members:

When: April 8th 10:30 AM

Where: Hampton Inn, Vacaville CA

More About David Bernard.

David Bernard is a marketing strategist and communications expert with twenty years of experience in multimedia and marketing operations. David has managed numerous brand development projects and product launches in the natural food and beverage industry. Experience as a former broadcast journalist and video producer gives him a unique edge on understanding message delivery and communication issues. David is founder of Mythmaker Creative Services, a branding agency that specializes in artisan, organic, and natural food and beverage products.

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