In 2004, Hubbard & Cravens Coffee Co., was invited to judge the prestigious Costa Rica Sintre Café, where they, along with the rest of the judging panel, awarded a small, family-owned estate coffee the Crop of Gold designation. Owners, Rick Hubbard and Jerry Cravens were then invited to visit the estate, in the fertile heights of the Naranjo of Lourdes de Cirri region of Costa Rica, where they were greeted with open arms by the entire Barantes family.
The relationship blossomed into an exclusive agreement to market the award-winning coffee in the U.S. Hubbard & Cravens asked Gerardot Design to develop the Café Herbazu brand identity, package design, in-store environmental graphics, point-of-sale, Web site and other promotional items.
To honor the rich culture and heritage of the region, we thought it was fitting to pay homage to the carretas (oxcarts), which has a prominent place in Costa Rican history. The carts are usually painted in dazzling white or burning orange and decorated with geometric mandala designs and floral patterns. After researching and developing similar organic patterns, we also gave Herbazu a hand-painted, rustic character by distressing a classic serif typeface. The combination of these treatments seemed to work together beautifully, and when we introduced the rich brilliance of metallic gold, a brand was born.
The deep crimson label on a metallic gold bag gives it a commanding shelf presence in six retail stores, resulting in resounding sales success. Café Herbazu has become one of the most successful brands for Hubbard & Cravens, and is now being marketed to restaurants, hotels and other fine dining establishments across the country.
