Explore the Canadian creative economy.
Discover the makers/companies behind Brand Canada.
BrandOpus created the Buckwud brand (apparently Buckwud is the native Canadian name for maple syrup) to introduce maple syrup being to the UK. The company sourced Canadian produced syrup and wrapped it in a package that felt “Canadian”, capturing the essence of where it was made. The packaging was a success, awarded a 2013 Design Effectiveness Award, one of the top UK design industry acheivements.
From the brand materials,
“Respectful of the native Canadian culture, BrandOpus created a wider language of hand drawn pictogram symbols to communicate the artisan origins of syrup. The pictogram symbols feature on the front of pack, communicating the spirit behind Buckwud maple syrup, whilst on the back of pack a string of pictograms run around the edge of the label, depicting the order of the ancient production method. The block printed style used on pack also reflects the handcrafted and down-to-earth values behind the origins of maple syrup. Whilst the Canadian origins of Buckwud are further emphasised with a key colour palette of red and cream, and use of the maple leaf.”
So, this is how the UK thinks Canada looks and feels…
3 comments — Leave a Comment
hmm, interesting insight. never heard of the ‘native’ name of ‘buckwud’ before… must admit looks rather fun/naive/attractive [despite stereotypical] compared to some CDN maple syrup packaging. the UK does this quite well for themselves, esp. food/bevs, ie dorset cereal, innocent juice, clipper tea + so many micro-brews/ciders, chips, etc, etc… good spot.
We thought the exact same thing…never heard this term before, and we are in the Maple Syrup belt. Go figure.
The back of pack explains that the name buckwud was taken from the word Sinzibuckwud which apparently means ‘drawn from wood’, not maple syrup as a direct translation.
The symbols are taken from original native pictograms so I guess they are stereotypical indeed!