Back in 2015, when we first met Banza, chickpea pasta was practically unheard of. They came to Gander with the goal of creating a fresh new brand, and dreams of one day launching nationwide at stores like Target and Whole Foods. To break through the sea of competition and captivate retail shoppers, we needed to create a brand that communicated from afar: you’ve never seen pasta like this before. We got to work overhauling the brand from the ground up, starting with a fresh strategic positioning. We believed pasta didn’t have to be a commodity. Banza could be the first brand to give people the warm and fuzzy feeling of eating pasta for dinner, now with the upside of protein and fiber. Banza could be the only pasta that loves you just as much as you love it.
With “the pasta that loves you back” as our guiding principle, we began to reimagine the brand identity with a few distinguishing characteristics. We saw the opportunity to infuse their brand mark with more meaning. Inspired by the heart-shaped chickpea, the “B” in Banza reflects the shape of this generous seed, the hero ingredient behind all of their products. The color we chose was bright, bold and instantly noticed from miles away, particularly in an aisle which had previously been teeming with blue. We ditched the delicate twirls of plain pasta on forks and let the ingredients be the new hero. Pasta made from chickpeas had arrived.
The result was a super friendly, easy to love pasta brand that quickly became a supermarket icon. Now synonymous with the brand, “Banza orange” has allowed the brand to expand to several other categories—from pasta to mac-n-cheese to pizza— all while allowing consumers to find Banza with ease. From there, Banza started rolling. Not just into grocery stores near and far, but into the hearts of pasta-eaters everywhere. Nearly a decade later and they’re now the #5 pasta sold in America and in just about every grocery store imaginable. Mission: accomplished.
