Artisanal snack manufacturer Maine Crisp debuted new packaging at the grand opening of its production and retail facility in Winslow, ME, in October. With the production capacity increase afforded by the new facility, the company is well-positioned to capitalize on its national retail and ecommerce growth. This milestone offered ideal timing for a packaging redesign that reflects the product’s clean label and education about buckwheat, a superfood that is the foundation of Maine Crisp’s current and future product lines.
Grown along Maine’s Canadian border, the naturally gluten-free buckwheat inspired Maine Crisp founder and president Karen Getz to create a snack with purposeful ingredients for gluten-free and gluten-loving consumers. She launched the company in 2014 with one flavor, Cranberry Almond. The product line now offers four flavors, including its vegan option, Savory Fig & Thyme.
The new packaging employs illustrations of buckwheat, a soft color palette, and a window to convey approachability and transparency. Studio Linear, a creative firm founded in Maine, led the design.
“My mission is to create better products for people, and our new package design really highlights the sense of naturalness that I strive for,” explains Karen Getz, founder and president of Maine Crisp. “We’ve pared down busier elements and focused on the story of buckwheat so consumers can be confident that they understand what we’re all about.”
Distribution of crisps in the redesigned packaging has begun, though store shelves may not carry the new packaging for several weeks. The timing coincides with the grand opening of Maine Crisp’s new facility, accelerating the company’s national growth.
In 2021, as national distribution deals with UNFI and KeHE drove substantial increases in demand, the company planned renovations to a vacant building in Winslow. Now transformed into a certified gluten-free facility, the 17,000 square-foot space enables Maine Crisp to launch new product lines and offer co-packing services to gluten-free food startups.
Maine Crisp worked with the Maine Manufacturing Extension Partnership to design critical workflow enhancements. In the production room, a Somengil multiwasher saves hours of laborious handwashing by cleaning and drying 80 sheet pans in 20 minutes. A custom Grote slicer offers consistent thinness for the twice-baked crisps, and just one of the four new Revent ovens does the combined work of all ovens at the former production facility. In the packaging room, plans for an automated packaging line are taking shape, a result of the company’s successful application to the Maine Dept. Agriculture, Conservation, & Forestry’s Agricultural Infrastructure Investment Program in spring 2022.
“We are beyond excited to have a new state-of-the-art facility to continue to offer our retailers and consumers our delicious crisps while preparing for our aggressive innovation plans to bring the healthfulness of buckwheat to new snacking and baking categories,” states Lewis Goldstein, CEO, Maine Crisp. “Moreover, this facility supports our mission to support Maine and its rural communities by providing good jobs that offer fair pay and benefits.”
A gluten-free retail space featuring products from Maine Crisp and fellow Maine purveyors will be open to the public in 2023. Consumers can find Maine Crisp products in supermarkets, specialty food shops, and online at mainecrisp.com.
