Bronze Packaging Design · 2021

Tokinone Food Package

by Toshiki Okada

A' Design Award 2021 Bronze Winner in Packaging Design
Awarded April 15, 2021
CLIENT: Zikkichi Co.,Ltd.
Estimated Number of Design Views: 11,357
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About Tokinone Food Package

Tokinone is a package design for Dorayaki, a traditional Japanese pastry made by sandwiching bean paste between pancakes. The Tokinone version adds butter cream and flavors such as fruit and green tea. The pattern uses seven colors, one for each flavor, with random shapes that suggest a soft texture. The colors and forms combine old and new, Japanese and Western references. The box is made of non-glossy high quality paper that matches the texture of the pastry. Each cake is given ample space inside the box. All parts are recyclable paper and can be folded flat after use.

Press Kit

Unique Properties: Tokinone is a new and nostalgic product that adds butter cream and flavors such as fruit and green tea to Dorayaki , a traditional Japanese pastry made by sandwiching bean paste between pancakes.
Fun patterns with colors representing the seven flavors and random shapes are expressing the fluffy texture.
Unlike traditional Japanese confectionery packaging, the colorful, pop, and high quality atmosphere of this product is appreciated as a gift. It is made of non-glossy high quality paper, all made from recyclable paper products.
Dimensions & Packaging: Small box:(W)200mm x (D)120mm x (H)105mm
Large box:(W)200mm x (D)98mm x (H)235mm
Individual:(W)118mm x (D)30mm x (H)138mm
Tags: Sweets, Traditional sweets, Japanese sweets, Wagashi, Japanese food, Package design
Production Technology: The Dorayaki cakes that come in the box are very soft, so each one is specially designed to have sufficient margins. The box is made of non-glossy high quality paper to match the texture of the Dorayaki. Also recyclable paper products were chosen for everything related to this product.
Design Challenge: Many of the traditional Japanese confectionery packages were expected to be of high quality as gifts, and this project was required to express a modern style while inheriting the tradition. In the design, expressing the warmth was the most important part of this product, which is prepared by hand, while at the same time achieving both the quality as a gift.
Project Duration: Development began in 2019 in Kawagoe City, Saitama Prefecture, and sales began in 2020 at a long-established Japanese confectionery store near Kita-in, Kawagoe City.
Operation Flow: The design is consistent with the rationale behind the color choice, but also visually catches the eye with a pop and high quality atmosphere that makes the product tasty and enjoyable. All packages are made of paper and can be easily disassembled and folded, making them environmentally friendly.
Research: Kawagoe City, where this product is sold, is a tourist destination, and in recent years has become a popular dating spot among young people and foreigners. With the shift in tourist demographics, the traditional souvenir wagashi also needed to be reborn. The branding and package were designed from scratch to create a product that would be loved by people of all ages and languages, while retaining the Japanese tradition.
Inspiration: Tokinone means "tone of time" in Japanese. To revive this Japanese traditional confectionery Dorayaki (pancake-like patties wrraped around filling of sweet bean paste.) handed down from long ago as a new local specialty of the modern age, colors and shapes that give a sense of both new and old, Japanese and Western styles are used.
The colors used in the design were imagined from butter, strawberry, tangerine, rum, sweet potato, matcha, and hojicha.
Image Credits: All Image: Photographer Nozomi Suzuki 2021 / Art Director Toshiki Okada 2019 / Graphic designer Toshiki Okada 2019