Ménage à Trois
Client
Ménage à Trois, Napa, California
Deliverables
Project 1: Brand Guideline Book
Project 2: Carton Redesign
Goals
Create brand guidelines to ensure consistency across all marketing channels
Costs savings initiative to transition all corrugated cartons from lithography to flexography
Total Savings of $1.5 million over 3 years
My Role
Graphic + Production Designer
Working on behalf of Trinchero Family Estates
About Ménage
Ménage à Trois launched in St. Helena, California in 1996 with a convention-shattering blend of three red varietals. In a pacesetting move, Ménage à Trois combined Zinfandel, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. This was before red blends were the iconic segment they are today, and it cemented the brand as a catalyst behind the popular California Red Blend category.
Visit their website here
Brand Guidelines
The Ménage brand underwent a huge packaging overhaul and brand redesign for 2 years under the direction of the marketing team at Trinchero Family Estates. In Fall of 2024, I was tasked to organize the efforts of the designers involved and champion a set of new brand guidelines to guide freelancers and partner agencies on the design collateral.
While I was lead designer on these guidelines, I had assistance from Design Director Maya Ostrander, who managed this project and deliverables.
Carton Redesign:
The Scope
Ménage's corrugated cartons were printing using the lithographic process – which involves printing on paper and fusing the paper onto the fluted material.
In a cost savings initiative, the brand learned that they could cut a third of the costs for cartons if the printing method shifted to flexography – printing directly on the corrugated material.
Flexography has more limitations than lithography, including color and 4C process image limitations. I was asked to redesign more simplistic cartons for this new production transition. This was also a great opportunity to standardize design across many SKUs.
Top Row: Lithography Designs
Bottom Row: New Flexography Designs
This redesign and switch from lithography to flexography ultimately will save the company $1.5 million over a 3 year period. I lead this redesign, which effected 16 different SKUs.