Based out of Toronto, Kopi Thyme creates Southeast Asian inspired soup bases and marinades, delivered directly to your door! Their goal was to create packaging that reflected the flavours from their roots they were sharing.
We had the chance to sit down with co-owners Sara Tang and Tao Yee Lim to ask them more about their custom packaging process. Read on to learn more!
ABOUT KOPI THYME
The name Kopi Thyme plays on the word kopitiam, referring to a type of traditional coffee shop mostly found in Southeast Asia. Both Sara and Tao Yee’s grandparents owned kopitiams, so the word had a sentimental meaning which they wanted to incorporate into their business.
Sara and Tao Yee wanted to bring the flavours of Sara’s family’s Laksa paste into everyone’s homes, and they realized how time consuming it was to create authentic Southeast Asian flavours from scratch. They developed recipes in their homes using no artificial preservatives and natural ingredients.
Kopi Thyme allows Sara and Tao Yee to not only share their creations with everyone but also capture their hearts through food.
SOURCE: Kopi Thyme
THE ISSUE
Launching a business isn’t easy, but launching in the middle of a pandemic is an additional challenge! Kopi Thyme mainly sells their products online, with some appearances at popups and local markets. Their sauces are packaged in glass jars that are mailed to their customers, so their main concern was security in transit.
Thankfully, Sara and Tao Yee were introduced to LeKAC through Muskan AKA Flavours of Art, a former LeKAC employee who they befriended through social media!
INITIAL CONCEPT
For the initial designs, Sara and Tao Yee didn’t have anything specific in mind, but wanted something “traditional yet nostalgic” to tie in their brand. In addition to the mailer boxes, they also asked us to design a cardboard paper bag for them to use at popups!
Using Kopi Thyme’s existing jar labels as inspiration, our graphic designer created an initial design. We also included a custom insert (pictured further below) to keep the jars secure.
Though they liked this design, they wanted a slightly different tone. Sara and Tao Yee asked for more vibrant colours and traditional batik motifs to emulate traditional kopitiam culture.
DESIGN MODIFICATIONS
The brand’s slogan is “bringing flavours from our roots”. Reflecting this in their packaging was important for Sara and Tao Yee, since that’s what brought their brand to life!
We pulled these colours from Kopi Thyme’s original logo file to tie in the colours from the jars. Our graphic designer also researched batik designs and incorporated them to emphasize the traditional patterns Sara and Tao Yee were looking for.
THE RESULT
While the second version was closer to their vision, it still wasn’t just right. They asked for one more version, just as an option, showing a lighter, brighter colour palette.
As part of our quality control process, we always make sure to provide samples! This gives our clients an opportunity to make any final changes before the packaging goes into mass production. After viewing the samples, a couple of minor adjustments were made before mass production began.
Throughout the packaging process, Sara and Tao Yee were in constant contact with our graphic designer.
EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH LEKAC
When asked about their favourite part about working with LeKAC, Sara and Tao Yee agreed that it was working with our design team! Though they didn’t have a clear idea of what design they were looking for, we were able to make suggestions to get them to the final product!
Interested in creating your own custom packaging with LeKAC? Contact us today to learn how we can help!
If you’d like to try Kopi Thyme’s flavours for yourself, you can check out their website to order. If you want to visit them in person, check their Instagram to see where they’re popping up next!
