Bloom Bake Shop Achieves Tier 2 Status

Re-Nourish recently launched a new set of rigorous Sustainable Standards, and we’re excited to announce that our Bloom Bake Shop branding project was just awarded with their very first Tier 2 status! Yay! The way the standards are currently set up, it would be near impossible to achieve a Tier 1 status on a commercial design project, but that is our next goal, because we’re crazy like that. The details of our case study are below. Click here to see more case studies on Re-Nourish’s website.

Bloom Bake Shop is a sustainable sweets bakery located in Middleton, WI, baking up delicious treats with mostly organic and local ingredients – the way grandma used to. So needless to say, we knew the brand needed to reflect those same ethos.

• Remove Toxins:
  We started, right off the bat, by designing the identity free of ink colors that contained heavy metals, and carried that through with VOC free paints for the interior, and using PVC free vinyl for the graphics inside the shop (that vinyl couldn't be used outdoors due to the harsh weather). Then for the hanging wood sign out front, we used direct to substrate printing on plywood (as opposed to the more common foam-core materials) to reduce waste and to avoid applying PVC vinyl.

• Reduce and Reuse:
  To reduce the cost of the packaging, and the waste involved in printing custom boxes, we sourced 100% recycled plain kraft boxes, and branded them with a large stamp for general purposes. For an upgraded gift box option, we sourced 100% recycled plastic ribbon, and designed the business card (100% recycled paper) to double as a box tag (hole punch one side, and slide it through the ribbon – logo side up), ultimately creating an elegant solution made from 100% recycled materials that saved the client money. We also managed to squeeze some frequent-purchase punch-cards onto the press sheet for the business cards, rather than printing them separately, thereby saving money, energy, and materials.

• Materials:
  For the shop's promotional materials and merchandise, we printed a line of vintage tees with water-based inks on recycled or organic cotton shirts, and sourced recyclable aluminum water bottles and a biodegradable travel mug – which promoted the shop and encouraged reuse by offering discounts for bringing your mug/bottle/box back for refills. Beyond that, the printed materials and boxes use 100% recycled paper, and items that are used less like letterhead, envelopes, and gift certificates are printed digitally, on demand.

The results from this comprehensive branding project have been overwhelming. Both the website and store give considerable effort to explaining the use of local and sustainable elements of the bakery and customers have provided a loyal following because of this. Media attention has been steady from the opening day. From articles in national magazines to cooking segments on the local news, Bloom is garnering a great deal of attention for their sustainable operations. Probably the greatest compliment of all is the response form neighboring restaurants that have made greater efforts to increase and showcase their own use of local and organic ingredients.