A Face for Every Mango Box: Branding Gift Cards for Fangshan's Red Ruby Irwin Mangoes
Grown in the falling mountain winds of Fangshan, Pingtung, Red Ruby Irwin mangoes have skin as rich as gemstones but lacked a face customers could remember. Howdy Creative designed a mascot and branded gift card for Production and Marketing Group No. 56, giving every box shipped out a name and a personality.
Challenge
Red Ruby Irwin mangoes grow in the unique falling mountain winds and hillside sun of Fangshan, Pingtung, producing exceptional quality fruit. Yet the brand had long stayed hidden behind other Irwin mango brands, lacking a visual identity that let customers recognize it at a glance and set it apart from other growing regions. The information included with each shipment also wasn't enough to tell the story of the origin and growing standards within such a small package.
Goal
Design a branded card to include with every shipment, using an endearing mascot character to build a personal connection with customers, while clearly communicating the origin, growing philosophy (naturally ripened, no ripening agents), and contact information, so every box of mangoes carries a brand impression customers can understand and remember.
Approach
- Developed the "Red Ruby Irwin" brand name and mascot from the imagery of a ruby gemstone, using a round, endearing mango character to bring the farmers closer to their customers.
- Put the brand identity and contact information on the front of the card, and used comic-style speech bubbles on the back to explain the origin, flavor, and harvest standards, serving both branding and educational purposes.
- Refined the layout and a die-cut circular window across two rounds of proposals, making sure the brand identity stayed clearly visible once the card was slotted into the mango box.
Outcome
Red Ruby Irwin now has a face and a voice of its own. The card included with every shipment lets customers recognize the brand the moment they open the box, giving Fangshan's falling-mountain-wind mangoes a new way to tell their story.
Questions people ask
about projects like this.
Where should a small farmers' group start when building a brand identity?
We usually recommend starting with something that ships with the product, like a card or mascot. The cost stays manageable and customers feel the brand identity right away, and it's easy to extend into packaging or stickers later.
How do you decide on the look and name for an agricultural brand mascot?
We start from what makes the product distinctive. In this case, we drew on the imagery of a ruby to develop the "Red Ruby Irwin" name and a round, endearing mascot that lets customers connect the character with the quality and origin of the mangoes at a glance.
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