Wahaca Taco Kits

Design: Without
Location: United Kingdom
Project Type: Produced
Client: Wahaca
Product Launch Location: United Kingdom
Packaging Contents: Taco kit
Packaging Substrate / Materials: Cardboard

Wahaca Taco Kits relaunch in supermarkets across the UK, with a fresh brand and packaging identity by design studio Without that marries the range with the popular restaurant chain.

Without has partnered with Wahaca restaurants since the first outlet opened in 2007, working closely with founders Mark Selby and Thomasina Miers as they have expanded their love of authentic Mexican street food into a chain of 25. As such, the design team at Without were the perfect choice when it came to creating a fresh brand and packaging identity for Wahaca Taco Kits.

Without’s work demonstrates how an authentic cuisine and eating experience can be made to work effectively in mass-market retail, appealing to consumers from all walks of life.

High-end approach
The multinational premium food-kit market is experiencing a boom at the moment, so the design work needed to celebrate that this is a modern, restaurant-quality cuisine that can be enjoyed at home easily.

Roly Grant, Creative Director, Without, says: “Wahaca is a pioneer in the street-food movement, and we wanted to take that spirit and make it work on the supermarket shelf for everyone.”

Rather than focus on ethnicity and accepted Latin American design cues, the design team decided to hero the eating experience itself.

Grant says: “We wanted to celebrate the sense of occasion, the ritual, the format. These tacos are the real deal. And by referencing the brand and identity work that we did in the restaurant space, we have created a sense of cohesion that will engender trust and confidence in consumers perusing the supermarket aisle.”

The whole kit and caboodle
To achieve this, the striking colour palette, chevrons, san-serif font and quirky logo have made the crossover from restaurant to kit. Photographic images of serving suggestions and the food products themselves guide consumers and re-create the interactive restaurant experience, and ‘Tommi Tips’ further amplify the relationship with the restaurant chain.

Thomasina Miers, Co-founder, Wahaca, says: “Without has played a hugely important role in our quest to take Mexican food away from the tequila girls, cheap shots and greasy food we knew and replace it with fresh, vibrant recipes inspired by the real Mexico. Now the team has shown how it’s possible to balance the excitement and energy of the restaurants with the reassurance and ease needed to take the brand into the home.”

What's Unique?
The finished product avoids stereotypical Mexican design cues, like cacti and sombreros, and replaces them with fresh vibrant colour palettes, allowing the quality of the food to speak for itself.