Odwalla Bars!
In 1997, still reeling from a product recall that nearly killed the company, Odwalla's leaders decided to launch a convenient, nourishing food bar – their first non-beverage product. As Art Director, my task was to take the sketches of illustrator Don Faia and make a finished package from them, initially for five flavors. The familar, jaunty Odwallabird donned multiple hats – saxophonist, guitarist, mountaineer, hoopster, martial artist, and student (complete with computer terminal). I worked up a background scrim of repeating bundles of grain, adapted the juice bottle's color bands for the crimp seals and added sell copy there, and worked out the color scheme which would differentiate each bar. Besides writing the copy, I also named some of the succeeding bars as they came out, such as Berries GoMega. The launch was a smashing success – the company's biggest to that date – and the Odwalla Bar continues to fly off the shelves today.
