NEW YORK, June 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Concluding a yearlong study, John Wm. Macy's CheeseSticks will display a new brand identity to attendees of the Summer Fancy Food Show in New York City today. With a new logo and redesigned retail packaging, the Company will do business as John Wm. Macy's Family Bakery.
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"This year we're celebrating the fortieth anniversary of the CheeseSticks recipe that launched our business," said John Macy, founder and President, "but we thought we could do a much better job reaching consumers. We think our new branding and packaging will help us do that. Since the Summer Fancy Food Show is America's largest specialty food and beverage show, this is definitely the place to roll it out."
A brand-consulting project in the spring and summer of 2015 convinced John and his brother Tim, Vice President, that their packaging could be more effective if its design and brand messaging highlighted the values and character of their family business. In January 2016, John and Tim appointed Zunda Group, a branding and package design specialist based in South Norwalk, Connecticut, to rebrand the business and its packaging.
Zunda Group kicked off the process by going back to basics, hosting a brand-building workshop for John Wm. Macy's family members, sales team and key marketing advisors for an open exchange of ideas. Input from the workshop established initial branding priorities and led to the development of 18 preliminary design concepts. Subsequent dialogue between Zunda Group and its client refined the priorities and narrowed the field to four revised design concepts for presentation to focus groups.
"We had our own design favorites going into the focus group meetings," said Tim Macy, "but feedback from consumers made it clear there was more to learn." After six focus group sessions, two leading designs emerged.
Conducting additional quantitative research would have broken the project timetable, so the Company developed and distributed an online survey to its 5,000-member consumer email-marketing list. The survey produced a clear favorite and set the stage for studio photography and final design work. In a race with the clock, final artwork went to press just five days before the Fancy Food Show.
"The results fully justify our decision to go with Zunda Group," Tim Macy added. "Their entire team contributed to a collaborative process that combined their sensitivity, creative insight and strategic design skills with our business values and objectives to produce a brand identity and packaging that really tells our story."
About John Wm. Macy's Family Bakery
John Macy developed his original CheeseSticks recipe in 1976 for clients of his small Northern California catering business. John's twice-baked twists of sharp Cheddar cheese and sourdough quickly became a crowd favorite. In 1985, following a move to New York City, he launched John Wm. Macy's CheeseSticks from a small storefront in Manhattan's East Village. In 1990, the bakery moved to its current location in Elmwood Park, New Jersey and John's brother Tim moved his family from California to join the business. At the Winter Fancy Food Show in January 2016, the Specialty Food Association inducted John and Tim Macy into its Hall of Fame.
John Wm. Macy's Family Bakery produces gourmet snacks made from natural ingredients without artificial flavors, colors or preservatives. The Company distributes its products throughout the United States and Canada. For more information about the John Wm. Macy's Family Bakery, visit www.johnmacy.com.
About Zunda Group
The Zunda Group is a creative agency that specializes in brand building and package design located in South Norwalk, Connecticut. Partnered by Gary Seve Esposito and Charles Zunda, the firm has been helping brands reach their unrealized potential for over 30 years. For more information, visit www.zundagroup.com.
John Wm. Macy's Family Bakery Contact:
Tim Macy
Vice President
(201) 791-8036
Email
80 Kipp Avenue
Elmwood Park, NJ 07407
Zunda Group Contact:
Gary Seve Esposito
Partner, Chief Strategy Officer
Email
(203) 853-9600
41 North Main Street
South Norwalk, CT 06854
SOURCE John Wm. Macy's Family Bakery
