extraordinary popcorn

Since 1983 Kernels has been producing Extraordinary Popcorn, with more than 80 stores across Canada.

Kernels has been bringing bold flavour and snack time joy to Canadians for decades. But as the retail landscape evolved, the brand needed to feel more modern, energetic, and emotionally connected to today’s shopper. The opportunity was to reintroduce Kernels as more than popcorn and live up to the tagline ‘Extraordinary Popcorn’.

Our partnership with Kernels began over a decade ago with a logo and in-store refresh. That grew into packaging, digital, and retail work across the business. More recently, the focus has been on how the brand shows up visually, especially on packaging. With an objective to be bright, expressive and dynamic, we strove to evoke an emotional response from fans of all ages, from kids to adults. With a legacy brand it was critical to remain immediately familiar to those that have celebrated us for decades, while capturing the hearts and hands of a growing cohort of new shoppers. Fun, flavour, and shared moments were the recipe to delivery extraordinary brand visuals.

Packaging as the platform. Deliverying the Kernels product was reimagined as the most important brand touch point, designed to carry the Kernels experience out of store and into everyday moments. A legacy brand blue coloured bag anchors the system, with a more prominent Kernels logo creating stronger recognition away from retail. At the same time, the design entertains with expressive scenes and character-driven storytelling.

Built for Storytelling. The Kernels character system was created to unlock a wider brand world. From seasonal releases to social content, the identity now has the flexibility to evolve and expand over time. It’s a system designed not just to communicate flavour, but to create emotional connections.

The packaging and scenes created are a celebration of fun, snacking, shared moments, and exraordinary popcorn. The evolved packaging extends naturally into real-life settings. Whether shared between friends or featured in everyday moments, the brand holds its presence while feeling approachable and easy to engage with. It’s designed to live beyond the retail space.

Kernels is popping with personality. We introduced a series of brand characters specific to the flavour profiles. They are a family of what we call ‘The Poptopus’. The core group embodies and represent the instore flavours, but along the way they have ammased a huge collection of friends.

With research done, we used learnings and service model concepts from the most popular and profitable fast-casual offerings to develop the Basil Box concept.

What started as a rebrand has grown into a living brand system one that continues to evolve through packaging & co-packaging. The flavour shakers are a huge hit in the CGP sectore represented in all the major grocery stores.

It was critical not to over design the space, letting important consumer-focused elements like sustainable, biodegradable packaging and gluten- and allergen-free menu options resonate with customers.

Whether you’re a school trying to raise money for supplies, a company raising money for a charity, or a sports team raising money for a tournament; Popcorn is a perfect snack for fundrasising. Specific flavour focused packages were developed to deliver just the right amount of pop.

Whether you’re a school trying to raise money for supplies, a company raising money for a charity, or a sports team raising money for a tournament; Popcorn is a perfect snack for fundrasising. Specific flavour focused packaging was developed and has been a popping sucess for years.

On the website the food is the star of the show.

It was important to highlight the different ingredients, spices, and sauces in order to communicate the freshness and authenticity of the offering, but we also had to balance that with shots of complete meals that create appetite appeal. Shooting the food on authentic surfaces like bamboo and dark hardwoods bolsters the Basil Box position of being inspired by the streets of Southeast Asia. Contrasted with the white stained wood background of the rest of the site and the hits of the signature brand red throughout, the food really pops, and encourages trial. Messaging throughout the site reinforces the order process and the complete customization that is the hallmark of the concept.

With so much attention paid to social channels and a brands’ online presence, it was important that we captured the excitement behind Kernels and how it relates to everyday lifestyle. The poptopus characters that captured everyday moments. These scenes are seasonally updated and so much fun.

Where It Started. Before the expansion, we established a strong visual foundation rooted in clarity, recognition, and legacy. This original work remains a critical foundation providing the structure that allowed the brand to grow in new directions. It’s designed to live beyond the shelf.

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