The packaging and branding needed clear differentiation from any other similar products and very strong shelf impact. The Sicilian heritage needed to be an integral part of the brand story. The brand logo needed to be an evolutionary update from its old appearance with a connection which reflected the centuries old traditional skills of wine producer. We used a rich red illustration of a hand making a horn sign. In Sicily, specifically, the gesture known as the corna. This gesture is meant to conjure supernatural protection. It was used to underpin Cantine Galluffo traditional wine story and it also acted as a powerful visual differentiator on shelf.
We started the process by reviewing the competition among red wine in the U.S. Market and abroad and found that most of the red wine brands already on the shelf were staid and conservative. We believed that a fresh, modern offering could really stand up and sing, and do so with enormous promise. Working closely with Galluffo we developed the name Vino Cornuto (Horned Wine) and we went through an extensive on-site brand strategy session in which we clarified and defined the audience, brand personality, competitive advantages, as well as the emotional and functional product benefits.
FOMG incorporated an iconic religious illustration, which better communicates the core of the brand story and the craftsmen behind the product. Intricate detailing and silver foil treatment elevate the quality perception and communicate the detailed care that goes into the product itself.
There is a strong graphic language at play that shuns convention and taps into a Sicilian legacy, one that brought together art, religion and craft, and feels fitting for a contemporary craft winery.
Using a historic Sicilian artwork as the foundation, we created an entirely new piece of artwork that echoed the magic of the original poster and was completely unlike any other label on the shelf. Colorful and slightly controversial, the package was sure to turn heads. A bottom strip label was added as a design element that allowed for a space to highlight estate and important winemaking information.
FOMG’s research and analytics team conducted a deep-dive study on the wine industry, particularly looking at the niche and growing market for premium Shiraz. Since Galluffo had not conducted any industry research or undertaken any significant marketing efforts to date, our team’s from-scratch efforts were used to inform business strategy, social media outreach, brand messaging, and more. By considering the creative approach and packaging of Galluffo competitors, we were able to identify concepts that would help the brand stand out to discerning wine consumers.
The Galluffo brand was set to achieve a hard and complicated task: to bring itself apart from the other wine brands that seem to be trending at this time. High-end design was part of the brand values, but it wouldn’t be enough since many other brands were already on this path. The combination of design with more traditional materials and experiences, was what made Cantine Galluffo unique.
Outlining the goals of the redesign gave our team something clear to focus on: attract new hires, show that the brand is changing, and promote their different bowls. Invigorated by the challenge, we jumped into a collaborative wire framing session to lay out the content for the homepage of the site. With that in place, we moved on to defining the rest of the architecture and wire framing the remaining pages. One of the things we had been asked to do was put "Wine first". This request played a hefty role in how we planned to lay out content across the site. Consequently, a large part of our UX strategy hinged on determining what types of images we needed to mix with the supporting copy to help us accomplish the goals of the redesign.
With a strategy firmly in place, our designers jumped into crafting a design that employed the perfect combination of imagery, colors, and text. We presented various design directions to their team for their input on which they felt would help them best accomplish their goals. Pleased with the options, they honed in on the one that presented their new values the best, and we worked with them to apply and finalize the designs across all the pages on the site.
