Telling a Food Education Story: Wahaoo Rice's Product Catalog Design
Following the earlier packaging project, Howdy Creative continued the same illustration style for Wahaoo Rice's (花蓮哇好米) product catalog, letting the brand's rice-grain character take on the role of brand ambassador throughout the book, using the catalog to share food and farming education alongside the brand's personality.

Challenge
After the earlier packaging collaboration, Wahaoo Rice's product line and partners had grown, and the brand needed a catalog that could carry both its brand story and its full product range. The challenge was making the catalog feel nothing like a cold spec sheet, while staying true to the brand's already-established playful identity and still working effectively as a marketing tool for an agricultural product.
Goal
The client wanted this catalog to be more than a sales tool: a brand storybook. The goal was to continue the established illustration style and produce a catalog that was informative, educational, and engaging, clearly presenting every product while carrying the core message that this brand is about more than rice, it's about a way of eating well.


Approach
- Carried the brand's core message, 'Wahaoo Rice brings the beauty of Hualien's table to life,' through as the narrative thread running through the entire catalog.
- Cast the rice-grain character that was already popular on packaging as the catalog's 'brand ambassador,' guiding readers through the product lineup from start to finish.
- Used playful illustrations to explain rice knowledge, such as how to cook a perfect bowl of rice, adding educational value to the catalog.



Outcome
The Wahaoo Rice product catalog was completed on schedule, with the rice-grain character guiding readers through the full product line and rice knowledge from cover to cover, turning the catalog from a one-way sales tool into a storybook that combines brand communication with food and farming education.


Questions people ask
about projects like this.
How can a product catalog avoid feeling like a cold spec sheet?
One way is to let an existing brand character or visual element run through the entire book and introduce product knowledge through storytelling. For Wahaoo Rice, the rice-grain character from the packaging became the catalog's brand ambassador, giving the catalog both a sales and a brand communication function.
Should a catalog design match the brand's existing packaging style?
Generally yes. Carrying over the same illustration style or visual language lets customers recognize the same brand across packaging and print materials, strengthening recall and trust while reducing the cost of re-establishing brand tone.
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