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Hippeas: Revolutionising the global snacking market, one chickpea at a time

“To revolutionise the global snacking market, one chickpea puff at a time” – that’s the idea behind Hippeas. Organic chickpea puffs that are gluten free, high in protein and fibre, and low in fat, Hippeas are a healthier alternative to traditional snacks. Its owners wanted to transform the snacking world. But to become a mainstream snacking brand, rather than a challenger one, Hippeas needed a strong design with wide appeal, which would resonate with a much broader consumer way beyond the traditional ‘foodie’ audience.

The savoury snacks market is highly competitive and saturated. Hippeas needed to stand out in order to convince stores to stock them.

Designers, jones knowles ritchie, were asked to create the bold and brave design that would get Hippeas noticed. The brand positioning and design idea were both inspired by the brand’s unique name and its immediate phonetic reference to the hippie movement. The design language needed to avoid clichés, yet speak directly to a modern generation of ‘hippies’ – those in search of a healthy lifestyle that has a positive impact on the world and communities.

jkr-hippeas-1The design was created around the graphic of a smiling ‘Hippeas face’ to instil positive perception in its buyers at the shelf. A chickpea for the eye is a quirky way of hinting at its main ingredient and each flavour has a different colour for the tongue.

The branding went beyond the design, jones knowles ritchie developed Hippeas’ identity, personality and tone of voice, which tell the story of its socially-conscious ethos. Irreverent humour that builds on the hippie movement appeals to today’s savvy consumer market and words and phrases such as ‘power to the peaple’ and ‘peas and love’ have become part of the brand vocabulary.

Despite an increasingly saturated snack food market, Hippeas managed to break through with an unprecedented product launch. Not one retailer that Hippeas approached refused to list their products.

Having only been trading for six months, they managed to gain listings in 16,000 stores in the UK and the US, with the likes of Whole snackingFoods and Starbucks amongst them.

Beyond the launch, jones knowles ritchie has helped Hippeas to develop its social missions and initiatives. They now partner with Farm Africa on a joint initiative, ‘Food for Good’, where Hippeas supports farmers in Ethiopia to grow themselves out of poverty and build a more prosperous life for their families. They are also embarking on a three-year journey to fund and develop a fair trade, self-sustainable chickpea farming community in Ethiopia. The brand’s commitment to improving the lives of farmers and Ethiopian communities is paramount to its vision.

Hippeas won Gold at the DBA Design Effectiveness Awards.

Judged by business leaders and entered jointly by client and designer, the DBA Design Effectiveness Awards recognise and reward designs that have had a tangible, measurable impact on business success. The Call for Entries is now closed. Email awards@dba.org.uk to express your interest in the 2019 DBA Design Effectiveness Awards.

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