Media Contact: Heather West, (612) 724-8760, heatherwest@earthlink.net

Compass Design Creates Packaging for Kemps/Marigold Foods' Single-Serving Ice Cream Novelties

All American Pops, Orange Cream Bars, Krunch Bars,
Vanilla and Neapolitan Ice Cream Sandwiches, Maltball Crunch Bars and Koala Bars

MINNEAPOLIS (September 2002) - Working closely with Kemps/Marigold Foods, Minneapolis-based Compass Design helped draw supermarket shoppers' attention to the single-serving frozen novelties positioned in store end-caps and check-out aisles.

Developed by Kemps as impulse items for grocery and convenience stores, the group of frozen novelties includes nine favorite novelties, such as All American Pops, Orange Cream Bars, Krunch Bars and Vanilla and Neapolitan Ice Cream Sandwiches. By individually wrapping each item and increasing its size, Kemps dubbed them "King" versions of the originals. Additionally, Kemps added two new items to the group: Maltball Crunch Bars and Koala Bars.

With the items developed and the flavors in place, Kemps turned to Compass Design to create packaging as eye-catching and diverse as the novelties themselves.

"Since all the novelties would be placed together in an end-cap or movable freezer case, we approached them as a line," says Mitch Lindgren, partner/designer at Compass Design. "We wanted to give each individual product's package a personality of its own, yet have them look like they belonged together."

Lindgren and his team of talented designers began by determining what one or two design elements the frozen novelties could share. After brainstorming, the group decided that each frozen novelties' name would be spelled out using an identical set of hand-lettered fonts with yellow tones.

"We felt that a continuity of font style and color would help consumers easily understand that these 10 different products were all made by Kemps," says Tom Arthur, Compass Design partner/designer, who hand-lettered the fonts used in the final package design.

Since Kemps requested that each package feature an image of its contents, Compass was free to concentrate on creating a visually appealing background for each novelty product.

"One of the first things we looked at was package color," says Lindgren. "How fixed in consumers' minds were the colors used in the existing multi-serving packages? Did we need to pick up those colors, or would consumers be open to something different?"

After studying the multi-serving package design and conducting some informal research, the Compass team determined that in order to capture consumers' attention as an impulse item, each frozen novelty would need to have its own vibrant color. With that in mind, Compass selected bright shades of blue, red, pink, purples, oranges and other colors to use for the background. The exception was All American Pops, which features a clear cellophane wrap to show off the product's own red, white and blue colors.

Once the package colors and fonts were decided, the only design piece remaining was creating the images that would be overlaid against each package's solid color background. "We really had a lot of fun with this part of the process," says Arthur, "We selected designs and shapes that felt good, played off of each flavor's name and also gave the package a bit of personality."

The final designs were a hit with the client. "We thought Compass did a wonderful job," says Patti Johnson, Kemps Product Manager-Novelties. "The designs were unique, eye-catching and fun - exactly what we were looking for."

Kemps' single-serving frozen novelties are available now at selected grocery and convenience stores across the upper Midwest.

Compass Design is a dynamic, Minneapolis-based design office specializing in comprehensive identity and consumer packaging programs for established and growing companies. With its experienced and knowledgeable staff, Compass Design strives for integrity and accuracy in its cost-effective, award-winning strategic design solutions. For more information on Compass Design, please contact Julia Hemphill at (612) 339-1595 or visit Compass Design's Web site at www.compassdesigninc.com.