LUXURY TAKE-OUT BAGS

FROM THE GROUND UP: DEVELOPING PIQUANT’S LUXURIOUS TAKE-OUT BAG

When Rosana Rivera, chef and co-owner of Piquant in Tampa, Florida, asked CRP to design carry-out bags for her restaurant, we were honored to partner with her on this exciting project. Rivera opened Piquant a year ago, at which point she said it “looked nothing like it does now. I’m very brand observant, and we’ve always used brand components in our business because everything needs to convey the same message.” While researching packaging design, Rivera found CRP’s website and said what caught her eye was our work with Sur La Table. “I’ve always admired Sur La Table’s bags, boxes, and ribbons. That’s the main reason why I made the first point of contact with CRP.”

It’s luxurious, sophisticated, artistic, and very branded. It reflects our restaurant very well.

In order to gain artistic direction for the design, we asked Rivera to send us photos of the interior of her restaurant to understand the design aesthetic already in place. The space featured an overall sense of indulgence, with a primarily black, gold, and white color scheme and chevron patterning on the walls. With that in mind, we came up with the design for the bag: black beater-dyed paper with metallic gold ink and a gold foil hot stamp for their ornate logo. The result is a simple, yet luxurious design that reflects the “sophisticated, artisanal experience” Rivera’s customers have come to enjoy in her restaurant.

Using a substrate not commonly found in the restaurant industry, the beater-dyed paper gives the bag an added sense of extravagance. The size of the bag was customized to feature a wide gusset that specifically fits the restaurant’s carry-out boxes. CRP also designed custom labels which helped tie the whole consumer experience together. “[Working with CRP] so far has been great. I love the ideas we come up with, and the design team really nailed overall what we wanted to do with the bag,” said Rivera. “It’s luxurious, sophisticated, artistic, and very branded. It reflects our restaurant very well.”

Since the launch of her new program, Rivera has noticed that her customers take pictures of the packaging and post them to Instagram.  “We want that to happen with all other components of our brand,” she said. “We now have pens that are branded for people to sign their checks, and branded mints as well. The bag has definitely made us step it up a notch.”

Rivera hopes that customers leaving Piquant with a carry-out bag portray a message similar to that of being pampered. “When you leave Tiffany, people see that blue bag and know you have a treat,” she remarked. “We want people to see our bags and know that there is a special treat inside. Everything in here is so artisanal that we want people to see the bags and think, ‘Oh, wow, they got something from Piquant.’”