Maschmanns Packaging, Olssøn Barbieri

Maschmanns Packaging

Building on the redesigned identity and storytelling of Maschmanns, the packaging was designed to maintain a connection with existing products while introducing a fresh character and relevance for today’s customer—yet still carrying a warm sense of nostalgia and timelessness. The solution needed to allow flexibility across the packaging line, while adding a handcrafted, premium feel.

From Extra Virgin Olive oil and Risotto to Granola and takeaway pizza, we translated the new identity onto Maschmanns’ everyday favorites. Each packaging design carries the story forward, connecting heritage with contemporary relevance and transforming these small-scale classics into tangible expressions of the brand. Every product becomes a natural extension of Maschmanns’ new platform—where traditional craftsmanship meets the awareness and curiosity of a new generation.

Year

2024

Deliverables

Packaging, Art Direction, Storytelling, Illustration, Tone of voice

Industries

Food, Retail, Hospitality

Client

Maschmanns (Norway)

Collaborators

Morten Kantsø, Illustration

Bill Rebholz, Illustration

Tomas Lindell, Illustration

Lars Petter Pettersen, Photography

Federico Leggio, Animation

Awards

2025, Pentawards Shortlisted

2025, Dieline Awards Shortlisted

2025, Visuelt, Gold

Inspired by the origins of early grocery shops and vintage food labels, we designed a new packaging system that feels modern while drawing on nostalgic references. Illustrations became a central element—effortlessly showcasing each ingredient and celebrating the character of the produce with a flavour that is both nostalgic and contemporary.

The labels were developed to be flexible and simple to implement across product lines, while adding a handcrafted, premium feel. Together with the new visual identity, they turn Maschmanns’ everyday favorites into small-scale classics that reflect both tradition and modern curiosity.

Canned food labels

Canned food labels are more than packaging—they are snapshots of design, culture, and taste. When canning first spread in the late 19th century, labels resembled miniature posters, adorned with ornate borders, coats of arms, and idealized produce that conveyed refinement and trust.

By the early 20th century, as exports expanded, labels grew bolder and more direct—bright colors and national symbols proclaimed origin and freshness. The postwar supermarket era marked another shift. In the 1960s, photographic realism dominated: glossy tomatoes, steaming plates, and crisp typography tailored to the new mass-consumer culture.

Later, the branding wave of the 1980s and 1990s introduced sleek, unified identities designed to stand out on increasingly crowded shelves.

Today, canned food labels balance nostalgia with modernity. Some revive vintage illustrations and artisanal typefaces to emphasize tradition, while others embrace pared-back minimalism, featuring clean layouts, a single gleaming tomato, and eco-labels signaling sustainability.

Every can tells a story—not only of what’s inside, but of the cultural and commercial currents that shape how we see and value food.

1. Canned fruit and vegetables from the 40s/50s
2-3. Conserva di Pomodoro , 1938

We’ve expanded the color palette to bring greater variety and expression across the packaging range. Each product is paired with an illustration created for the fresh counters, connecting each product to its craft and traditions.

The typography has been refined to strike a balance between classic and modern, elegance and craftsmanship, giving the brand a more contemporary expression.

Together, these elements form a cohesive visual language that connects communication and product, while remaining flexible enough to adapt across contexts and formats.

The identity for the pizza range is designed to feel more playful, while staying in harmony with the rest of the brand. For the box, we moved to a white carton to reduce ink coverage, highlight the material’s natural texture, and create a lighter and more sustainable expression.

The box is flexo printed, and we show this process through visible overprints and bleeding edges in the illustration, using only three colors. The bright orange adds presence and freshness, while the brand’s green replaces black to make the box look more appetizing and distinctive.

The die-cut was refined to align the side holes with the “Mmm Pizza” text, and the round opening on the lid was enlarged to frame the mark. Inside the lid, we added product information that appears as the box opens, creating a small moment of discovery.