Elbongurk Design || Branding & Package Design || Stevens Point, WI

Stevens Point Design & Branding Services

Living Smart Granola – Case Study

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Branding and Packaging Redesign

Overview:

Client: Living Smart Granola
Industry: Food (Granola/Health Foods)
Location: Bucks County, PA
Project Scope: Brand Identity & Packaging Redesign
Deliverables: Updated brand identity, logo refresh, flexible visual assets, core package design for 5 products

The Challenge:

Living Smart Granola, a family-owned startup known for its allergen-free, gluten-free, and refined sugar-free granola, was thriving at local markets but faced growing pains. With increasing demand, they needed to upgrade their branding and packaging to match their business growth. Their goal was to expand their customer base beyond the local market while remaining true to their core values—providing high-quality, wholesome food for the allergy and picky eater communities.

As a very happy, small-family powered business, Living Smart Granola was killing it, but as the business grew, they were becoming overwhelmed with the shear amount of time that hand labeling was taking.
They needed some help creating a packaging program to spend more time baking and selling their products and less time packing them.

Key challenges:

  • The existing packaging and branding no longer matched their success and growth aspirations.
  • They needed more efficient packaging to streamline operations and spend more time producing and selling their products.
  • Their brand lacked the flexibility to support merchandise and a stronger retail presence.

The Discovery Process:

We began with a deep-dive interview to understand the company’s core values, audience, and growth goals. The discovery phase revealed Living Smart’s unique positioning as a brand that emphasizes “food is love,” particularly for mothers seeking safe, delicious options for children with dietary restrictions.

The brand plan highlighted the need to:

  • Refine their branding to appeal to a broader audience, particularly “moms of,” while maintaining authenticity.
  • Build out a flexible visual identity that could grow with the company.
  • Create efficient, visually compelling packaging to enhance both in-person and online sales.

The Design Factors

We wanted to keep familiarity so they could capitalize on the strong brand equity they had already earned, but to give them a system that allowed for variety to make each of the flavors easy to identify.
The allergy community is among the top supporters of the brand, because of Living Smart’s commitment to eliminating allergens and unnecessary ingredients that are distressing or even dangerous to many people.
Texture plays a huge role in the quality and enjoyment of granola. We wanted to showcase not only the texture of the granola itself, but also create subtle textures in the design to complement it, creating a strong sense of craft and positive and comfortable emotion.
This is a family brand, and a family business. The original logo is based off of a picture of Rochelle, the founder, and her young daughter. The new logo pays homage this this photo as well.

The Solution:

1. Brand Identity Redesign: We refreshed the Living Smart Granola logo to give it more flexibility and visual impact. This allowed for its use across a variety of platforms, including merchandise like hats and shirts, giving superfans the opportunity to promote the brand.

Living Smart Granola’s original logo lacked the flexibility for multi-platform use. The refreshed logo offers versatility, allowing it to be featured on everything from packaging to merchandise
After refreshing the existing logo, we went ahead and did a full identity extension so LSG had much more to work with building their brand and their merch program.
  • Logo Flexibility: The updated logo was designed to work across digital, packaging, and merchandising contexts.
  • Lifestyle Branding: We positioned the brand as a lifestyle choice for families, emphasizing connection, love, and food that everyone can enjoy.
The updated logo was designed with flexibility in mind, making it easy to apply to various merchandise, helping superfans spread the word about Living Smart Granola’s mission


2. Packaging Overhaul: A key focus was creating beautiful, label-less packaging that made the packing process more efficient while maintaining brand integrity. We developed a core packaging series for five products that clearly communicates Living Smart’s values—healthy, allergen-free, and made with love.

The new label-less packaging design for Living Smart Granola’s 6oz pouches emphasizes simplicity and efficiency, while clearly communicating the brand’s core values—quality, love, and allergen-free ingredients

  • Visual Impact: The packaging is designed to stand out on both physical and digital shelves, reflecting the high quality and wholesome nature of the product.
  • Efficiency: The label-less packaging solution was optimized for the company’s production and packing process, helping them meet increasing demand with less time spent on logistics.

Caption:
“Designed to stand out, Living Smart Granola’s updated packaging conveys their commitment to healthy, allergen-free food with an emphasis on simplicity and authenticity.”

3. Core Package Series: We developed a cohesive design system for the five core granola products in the Living Smart range. Each package was crafted to clearly differentiate between flavors while maintaining a unified brand look, ensuring consistency across the series.

The core series packaging was designed to reflect both variety and consistency, helping consumers easily identify different flavors while reinforcing the brand’s cohesive identity

Details

In order to celebrate the strong Pennsylvania pride, we created the view window in the shape of Pennsylvania and put a great big heart right on the spot where it all started.

Celebrating a strong love for Pennsylvania, home, and all the local love the brand has earned.

Results:

The rebrand and packaging redesign have positioned Living Smart Granola to scale beyond the local market, reaching a broader audience while staying true to their values. The visual identity now aligns with their growth ambitions, and the new packaging has streamlined their operations, allowing them to focus more on what they do best: making delicious, allergen-free granola.

  • Increased Efficiency: The new packaging reduced the time spent on packing and shipping, enabling the team to focus on production and sales.
  • Brand Growth: The refreshed branding and packaging helped Living Smart Granola establish a more professional presence, building confidence among new and existing customers.
  • Customer Engagement: The enhanced packaging experience has encouraged more repeat purchases and stronger brand loyalty.

Conclusion:

By refining the brand identity and optimizing packaging for their five core products, Living Smart Granola is now better positioned to expand and meet the demands of a larger, more geographically diverse audience. The brand’s authentic story continues to resonate with their loyal customers while drawing in new ones who share their values of family, love, and good food.