Seghesio Packaging Brand Refresh

In the fall of 2019, Crimson Wine Group approached Gatto Rivera with the opportunity to evolve the packaging for their main tier of Zinfandels and develop a revolutionary redesign of their Italian and red blends. Since acquiring Seghesio Family Vineyards in 2011, Crimson had continued to rely heavily on Seghesio Family history for the brand's positioning and company leaders felt the marketing lacked a compelling reason "why" for the brand and its customers today.

Crimson partnered Gatto Rivera with True Stories, a market research company, to undertake a robust Discovery Phase to uncover the brand as it operates in present day and develop a future-oriented narrative to bring to market. After holding one-on-one stakeholder interviews, small focus groups, and a visual audit, the core essence of the brand shifted focus from the Seghesio family to one of "chosen family" that would appeal to the targeted demographic; people raising school-age children.

Gatto Rivera worked with True Stories to balance the modernized brand voice with the rich history and visual equity of the existing packaging. For the Zinfandel series, the label height was increased to create more white space, a series of irregular brand marks were reduced to the one most elegant mark, and the iconic "Zinfandel" script was retained as it remained a valuable and attractive brand asset.

The Italian varietals and red blends were consolidated into one consistent look-and-feel that served as a stronger juxtaposition to the other tier, a series of custom illustrations were commissioned to build personality for each wine offering, and an alternate "Seghesio" brandmark was developed that was inspired by the original 1800s winery typography. A hit of a signature orange color calls back to past label designs. These design changes gave the brand a distinct and current voice and resulted in a sizable dry goods cost savings across the entire brand.