News Release

Contact: Dorothy Radlicz
            203.562.9007 x838
            dradlicz@chabaso.com

NEW HAVEN Conn. (January 12, 2010) – Chabaso’s new bread packaging has barely hit store shelves, but has already won a prestigious industry award, taking silver from among thousands of world-wide entries in the 39th Annual Creativity Awards. One of the longest running international competitions in the world, the Creativity Awards is a showcase for the best in global graphic design and advertising.

Inside that packaging are more than two dozen varieties of all-natural artisan breads fresh-baked daily by Chabaso Bakery, the fast-growing northeast regional artisan bread company known for taste and all-natural ingredients.

“When we redesigned the packaging we leveraged the equity that we had,” said Dorothy Radlicz, Chabaso’s Director of Marketing, who initiated the packaging change to provide more continuity between the company’s growing numbers of products. “If we didn’t have a fantastic product we wouldn’t be where we are today,” Radlicz said. Chabaso founder and chief executive officer Charlie Negaro said the product will still be recognizable to the consumer. “It’s not much of a change; it’s more of a segue,” said Negaro, who emphasized that the revisions are intended to reinforce the brand image and unify the various Chabaso products while also differentiating one type of bread from another as they sit side by side on store shelves.

This is the first packaging redesign in the company’s 14-year history, but it is not a drastic departure from the original. The changes are subtle and much of the branding is reminiscent of what Chabaso had in the stores. “We really just improved on Chabaso’s success, said Charlie Zunda, of Norwalk-based Zunda Design Group.

Radlicz said the new packaging retains the popular brown kraft bag concept, because people identify with it. It’s probably the first thing that consumers notice so it helps reinforce the brand, she said. The brown bag helps position Chabaso Bakery as the “down-to-earth” company it is.

Slight modifications were made to the graphics to enhance the Chabaso logo and unify the information on the bags. “The new design actually gives important information, such as the all-natural ingredients, more prominence” Radlicz said.

Among the revisions is the addition of new illustrations and color-coded, flavor-defining ribbons. The flavor ribbons provide consumers with more product ingredient information, highlighting Chabaso’s use of all-natural, high quality ingredients, such as its fresh-roasted garlic. Consumers will know they are reaching for the Roasted Garlic Bread by its red flavor ribbon. Rainin’ Grains has a blue ribbon, Olive Oil is green and Wheat is brown. If eight different Chabaso products were lined up on a store shelf, the consumer would know instantly which product they were looking for, Zunda explained.

Other products getting the new package treatments include Chabaso’s New Classic Baguette, Cranberry Pecan Loaf, Classic Ciabatta and the new bestseller, Ciabatta Stix, which come in several delicious flavors including Olive Oil and Roasted Garlic.

Chabaso Bakery not only brings consumers a great product, but they provide a little something extra, too. All the packages contain brief but unexpected action comments such as “Smile,” “Hug,” “Ride a Bike,” “Read a Book” and “Learn Something New.” These whimsical, perhaps even inspiring life messages are always friendly and fun.

Zunda said the messages represent Chabaso’s quirky playfulness, which supports its brand. “It’s a show of confidence. They take themselves seriously about their high quality product, but they don’t hesitate to show their light-hearted personality in its place,” he said. “Chabaso doesn’t expect be a bakery Goliath, their breads just can’t be made that way. They are artisan breads, characterized by all-natural ingredients, a crispy crust, soft and airy interiors, and personalized craftsmanship that allows the company to stand away from the larger brands in terms of quality and taste,” Zunda said.

Owner Negaro admits to a bit of quirkiness. “We take baking great bread and providing efficient customer service very seriously, and we really accomplish that. But, putting it in perspective, we know it’s only bread, so let’s have fun with it. We started off having fun making it and we’re still trying to have fun. The proof is in the Eating” he said. For six years running, Chabaso has been selected “Best of Connecticut” by readers of Connecticut Magazine.

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Photo caption: The new colored labels on Chabaso's Ciabatta Stix help customers identify them at a glance. (Click for full-sized image.)

Photo Caption: Olive Oil and Roasted Garlic Stix are two of Chabaso's best-selling varieties.