Featured image for Say Goodbye To That Gross Hickory Farms Sampler With Cook & Nelson's Hamper Boxes

Say Goodbye To That Gross Hickory Farms Sampler With Cook & Nelson's Hamper Boxes

by Casha Doemland on 07/09/2018 | 5 Minute Read

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Gift giving can be a stressful experience.Fortunately for you, gift boxes have been created by companies all around the globe, offering a variety of styles and personalities to match the person in question.  They're incredibly handy when you need to buy a gift for that picky friend or judgemental in-law of yours.If they just so happen to love food or being in the kitchen, then Cook & Nelson's Hamper boxes are the way to go.

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“Cook & Nelson are obsessive about great food,” says Mat Bogust, cardboard engineer from Think Packaging. “They scour the globe to find products that are life-changingly delicious, and each has been lovingly created by a master craftsperson for whom exceptional flavor is of the utmost importance. Their products excite you and make you rethink their traditional use – of opening up a new world of culinary possibilities.”

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When it came to packaging these products, Nic and Becs, founders of Cook & Nelson, sought out Bogust and his team to develop something free of wood shavings and cellophane."This project started with a pretty awesome and open brief from the client," says Bogust. "In a nutshell, we were asked to make something extraordinary and compelling."

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Given what information they had, and a whole lot of freedom, Think Packaging immediately hit the drawing board and created a series of sketches. When they landed the final design, Think Packaging decided to build a prototype instead, so everyone could "feel the idea.""Numerous hand-cut and crafted packaging models were made, creating custom fit inserts and pull tab systems for ease of opening/exploration and keeping the products safe and secure," says Bogust.

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Bogust wasn't alone in designing the structure of the hamper. Butcher & Butcher lent a hand and then proceeded to handle all things graphical."I wanted to focus on provenance and celebrate the individual artisan producers who create these wondrous products," says Noah Butcher, graphic designer at Butcher & Butcher. "I looked at each location from where the producers made their products, Wellington, New Zealand, Chicago, USA, Thessaloniki, Greece and Kyoto, Japan to name a few. Conceptually this is tough brief, to essentially repackage packaging, yet still pay homage to the creators and purveyors.”

Lillie's Q Barbeque sauce calls a baby blue striped box with red six-point stars home to represent Chicago. The City of Goodwill logo in contrasting white and teal house Seattle's Noble Maple Syrup, while dark squiggly lines and a gold shield encompass Vancouver's Amola Salt.

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"Discovering these graphic design gems was exciting," states Butcher.Even though it proved to be his greatest challenge, the designs are a hit and watching the project come to life after a long wait was beyond rewarding.Cook & Nelson's products come in a variety of Hampers from The Cook & Nelson, which features all of the products, to Designer Kitchen Box that is all about chic and elegant aesthetic and the BBQ Box for all your pulled pork sandwich needs.Whatever your flavor, there's sure to be a box for you.

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