Skinner Baking's See-Through Pastry Package

After 24 years of baking high-quality goods for private label brands, bakery in-store stock, and national brands, the James Skinner Baking Company, in Omaha, NE, wanted to make a big impact with its first self-branded product. First, the management and bakers invented a traditional-looking rolled pastry, called a "roulade," that met their high-quality standards while allowing for frozen retail distribution. Next, director of marketing Andy Greenberg developed a package that would match the new pastry in appeal and promise.

The James Skinner Baking Company is currently the nation's sixth largest baker of coffee cakes, Danishes, and muffins, baking over 200,000,000 pastries per year. The new frozen Dulce de Leche Roulade is the first of many planned Skinner Baking brand products.

Seeing is believing

After surveying the category fully, Greenberg said to himself, "I've got to create a see-through package." He found that the category was rife with pretty product pictures on the front panels, and Greenberg was slightly surprised to find that no one had tried a see-through box before. Greenberg and the company felt that seeing the quality pastry inside would entice consumers much more than a simple picture.

Greenberg took his idea to Brian Thalken at Specialty Finishing in Omaha, as there were moisture and condensation concerns for the see-through window. After experimenting with several substrates, Thalken found a fog-free acetate film that held up and stayed clear under all conditions. "The product speaks for itself," says Greenberg, "as it is very appealing and appetizing. There is no condensation, ice burn or any other distraction on the film that would prevent a clear view of the product."

Greenberg explains that sales have exceeded both our and the retailers expectations. "It is very rewarding to see how the consumer responded to the new product and packaging and how interested retailers are in featuring it in their cases. " The Dulce De Leche Roulade is being marketed as the pastry of choice for special occasions —holidays, family get-togethers, and business meetings. To that end, Greenberg and staff transformed and expanded the James Skinner Baking tagline of "Where good things are rising" into "Pastries of Distinction – Rising to Your Occasion."

Delivering the promise

To deliver all the brand messages on the package, Skinner Baking turned to the Light Inc. design firm in Omaha. Alicia Qualset, senior designer at Light Inc., says that they focused on the "occasion" message the most. They placed the expanded tagline right under the clear window and created an elegant party motif. The silhouetted characters suggest a sophisticated cocktail party atmosphere that aims to appeal to a broader range of consumers, according to Qualset.

"When you use faces, you kind of limit yourself," she says. Qualset says the final package design was a merging together of two "final" concepts, taking the best parts of each. It was important to have a circular window and to have the aroma waves echo the company logo in a strong but not overbearing manner. On one end panel, there is a two-paragraph "letter" from Jim Skinner himself, beginning "Dear Family Friends," that tells the entire story of Skinner Manufacturing from 1911 to the present.

Skinner's products are also certified kosher by the Orthodox Union, which means they are manufactured following strict preparation standards and have no animal byproducts.

To emphasize the kosher appeal to mainstream America, the package has the industry's first exclamation mark after the kosher certification, a symbol Skinner Baking trademarked. Studies show that 25% of non-Jewish consumers perceive kosher products as healthier and safer.