Calabash

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HONOLULU, HAWAII

Calabash
Dinner Made Easy

Foodland, Hawaii’s largest locally-owned grocery chain approached Welcome Stranger to help with concepting, strategizing and branding a new meal kit perfectly suited to Hawaii’s tastes and eating habits.

Following a national trend, Foodland had noticed their customers responding well to pre-made foods in their hot bars and in-store food offerings. After a long day, customers were looking for an easy solution to fill their bellies. Foodland asked themselves what kind of product could they offer that would fit their customers needs for a home-cooked meal that’s simple, delicious and effortless?

The result is Calabash; delicious and easy mix and match meal kits that help you prepare healthy Hawaii-inspired favorites at home. The Calabash twist on the meal kit model is that we let you choose your main and side dish for a custom experience. Hate broccoli? No worries, each week Calabash offers five main dishes and five side dishes for you to choose from. Already have leftovers at home? Amp up your meal with a delicious main or side dish. Calabash is perfectly tailored to your ideal dinner.

Based on what we heard from focus group testing, customers had concerns about the quality and freshness of meal kit ingredients. The Calabash packaging was designed to be transparent, letting customers see exactly what’s inside, while a modular system of labels allows for quick identification of the mains and sides on the store shelves.

NAMING

What’s a calabash anyway?

We needed a compelling name for such a great product. Early on, the name “Calabash” quickly rose to the top. In Hawaii, the humble, wooden, calabash bowls, sitting on Hawai‘i dinner tables for centuries, are a symbol of nourishment and bringing people and cultures together. What better name to get people back around the dinner table?

Less “Oh, no.” More “Ono.”

Each main and side kit comes with a chef recommended pairing with complementary flavors. Pre-prepped ingredients and easy to read recipes assist in derailing dinnertime disasters. If you can make ramen, you can Calabash.

Hand-drawn illustrations add warmth to the brand and simplified icons help tell the Calabash story on the website.

IN-STORE DISPLAY

Proceed directly to the express lane.

No need to run around the store searching for obscure ingredients. Bold in-store graphics with branded messaging introduce the kits to customers and educate them on why Calabash means less kitchen time and more dinner time.