Rebrand and Packaging for Sobrano V Sadu
Eight months, three failed directions, one mascot: “The Hedgehog That Survived”
Sobrano v Sadu is a new apple brand that reimagines how consumers perceive apples—highlighting their diversity, natural taste, and nostalgic charm. The identity centers around a friendly hedgehog mascot and playful packaging details, from apple-seed-shaped handles to bright palettes for each variety, creating a joyful and memorable brand experience.
Insights
- The core strategy answered the client’s blunt feedback (“apples are boring”) with a shelf-stopping mascot: “a hedgehog is wildly fun.” The hedgehog evolved from early “fashion-forward” sharp versions into a confident, lively, friendly character that anchors packaging, web, social, and animations—so people remember the product even if they forget the name.
- The project explored three major directions—“Apples on the tree” (tree-shaped packaging, rejected), “Imperfect apples” (rough, sketchy hand-lettered texture; client liked it, then asked for “more fashionable”), and finally “Who collected them?” which led to the hedgehog and the internal title “The Hedgehog That Survived.”
- A key logo/typography fix: the name “Collected in the Garden” read like a generic label when typeset normally, so the team created a custom typographic element where the letter “V” becomes an apple with seeds, making the mark ownable and distinctive.
- Packaging details deliberately turn function into story: a new box shape (no longer the team’s “underwear” joke), one-hand-carry handle cutouts shaped like apple seeds (also a nod to a Cyrillic “v Sadu” letterform detail), and variety-specific hedgehog illustrations carrying that exact apple.
- Each variety is treated like a mini narrative + decision aid: bright palette per variety, keywords and serving tips, hedgehog-narrated back-of-pack stories, icons, and a flavor scale/“flavor gradient” to communicate diversity (examples: Granny Smith—childhood fence-hopping; Fuji—post-office escape picnics; Honeycrisp—family waiting for apple pie; Liberty—lying in the grass all day). For larger apples, an oversized-apple illustration includes a joke note from the hedgehog about the heavy carry being “worth it.”
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