The philosophy of redesign the packaging of Ashhadi’s “Ghoo” cookies

Gilan is one of the famous tourist destinations in Iran. Its tasty cuisine is like the signature icon of the province. Every year, many domestic and international tourists travel to Gilan to experience and enjoy the delicious food and pastries. When it comes to cookie, people like to bring it home as a typical Gilan souvenir.
Many of the souvenirs are industrial food products manufactured in factories around the country. On the contrary, we, as Ashhadi’s team, decided to offer a different souvenir: a tasty, healthful, preservative and additive free, but long lasting one. More importantly, we assume to present these delicious gifts in a modern packaging design from Sowme’eh Sara and Gilan.
What better than Gilan’s handmade cookie whose baking technique and secret have been developed over years?
In Ashhadi Pastry, we have worked on the taste and quality of the cookie for many years, developed an ancient recipe from the cooking history of this land and presented it using the finest ingredients and pastry art and technique.
After studying tourists’ souvenir purchasing behavior and reviewing previous researches and experiences, we’ve found that besides the best taste and quality that we have been seeking for many years, we have to present our cookies as a special token in a safe, delicate, healthful and attractive packaging.
In the process of new packaging, while trying to maximize efficiency and increase the shelf life and quality of Ashhadi Ghoo Cookie, we’ve also focused on the elegance and recreated traditional cookie packaging style to metal tins.
About year 1961, when tourists wanted to bring the cookies to home as souvenirs, they were suggested to find an imported tea or spice tin. Then, Ashhadi’s personnel put the cookies inside the tins to keep them fresh and tasty longer and preserve them well.
Handed down from one generation to another, this experience motivated us to redesign the style of previous packaging and change it to the metal tins.
To design the tins, we tried our best to provide a picture as realistically as possible of the Sowme’eh Sara at that time, by examining dozens of old photographs of Ashhadi’s Pastry and listening to the memories of senior citizens.
“Ghoo” as a graceful wetland bird, which is a symbol of the traditional Ashhadi’s cookie, has played a major role in new design to remind us and our respected customers, as a social responsibility, to care about the lives of Gilan’s wetland and migratory birds.
Therefore, every part of the new design has a story behind cultural and historical heritage of Sowme’eh Sara. The silkworm store tell us it has once provided the purest silk Persian carpets, poplar trees have been the reminiscent of the glory era of region’s wood industry, and even an umbrella bike rider is the special highlight of this city. Moreover, the color of the tin presents the everlasting greenness of this city.
All of our effort in baking Ashhadi’s Ghoo Cookie is to provide the highest quality product and make the customers delighted, which is what Ashhadi’s founder aimed. So redesigning the package was the first step we took toward achieving our goals.