Baker's Secret and Anthem Stand Up To
the Competition in a New Category

The design elements of the package for Baker's Secret Flexible Silicone Bakeware were constructed to sell the new category of bakeware, as well as the brand.

Baker's Secret has held the number one position in metal bakeware since its inception in the early '70s. It was only natural that they would enter the new silicone bakeware market. Though gaining popularity in Europe over recent years, the category is still new in the U.S., as baking food in silicone does not necessarily sit comfortably with the typical U.S. consumer.

In addition, the premium price may scare potential customers away, so the package had to educate. The pans are as versatile as the package indicates, and the pans, in reality, easily turn inside-out or fold in half to squeeze into any available storage space.

Wal-Mart told Baker's Secret that they already had two brands of silicone bakeware on the shelves. They asked Baker's Secret to give them a good reason why they should have a third. Baker's Secret, with help from Anthem Worldwide, gave them several good reasons with a design strategy that stands out, stands up, and makes a connection.

"The competition wasn't communicating what it was," explains Jean Marie Plumhoff, director of business development at Anthem Worldwide. In truth, the two brands on Wal-Mart shelves did not reveal much of anything about the use of the product, the pans were lying down with no billboard effect, and the packages were rather plain. Anthem was able to improve greatly on all these deficits and turned the Baker's Secret packaging into a sales vehicle for the category overall.

Anthem also created the sub-brand name, Flexible, and let that word dominate the package. With two "feet" tabs on the back panel of the e-flute board, the Baker's Secret products stand tall on the shelf. Add to that the vibrant graphic elements and clear communication of benefits, and Wal-Mart was sold on the package.

Other fine design elements are blended into the package. The curvy "X" in "Flexible" effectively reinforces the meaning of the word. The curve of the die cut also expresses flexibility, allows the customer feel the flexibility, and shows the customer the curvy pattern at the bottom of the pan. A wavy strip along the die cut adds even further emphasis.

There were six benefits that the designers hoped to communicate about the product, and they had to communicate them quickly. "We didn't want to lose the customer," says Plumhoff. These benefits are clearly indicated on the front, in two groups of two. At the top, in simple sans-serif type, are "Microwaveable," "Dishwasher-Safe," and "Easy to Store."

At the bottom, three benefits are cleverly expressed in iconic pictures that are reinforced with text that follows the progression of the images. The images show the pan in action with a full pan of a baked cake floating in front of an oven rack, the pan being placed into a freezer, and the pan being bent to release the cake. The text expresses what is in the images in a straightforward and efficient manner: "For Use in Oven or Freezer with Easy Release."

The color palette was built off the terra cotta of the pan and the brown of the Baker's Secret traditional logo. The colors don't vary much, and the most divergent color is a blue napkin in the background of the square pan package. "There were colors that were not appropriate," says Plumhoff. Even the beautiful, short depth-of-field photography of baked goods is of products well within the limited color palette.