Farmer & Chemist
How do you bring a cannabis derivative to one of the most conservative communities in the country?
CBD in Utah
With the growing amount of research surrounding the health and wellness applications of CBD and other cannabis derivatives, our clients wanted to be early to capture the market on CBD in Utah.
With a background in founding and operating pharmacies in the Salt Lake Valley, they were experienced in navigating controlled substance regulations. Where they needed help was in how to create an on-ramp for a community stigmatizes even things like tea and coffee.
Our
Customers
While Utah still has a strong taboo around any vice or "dark market" industries, it's not an unsolveable problem. Utah is one of the world epicenters for wellness brands. DoTerra, Young Living, and Nu Skin all built their empires starting right in Utah, so the community has a strong disposition towards wellness brands and products.
A large part of that is attributable to the cost of healthcare. Even a premium wellness alternative could be more affordable and approachable for younger customers. We didn't anticipate as much cultural friction with younger Utahns as will older demographics.
Older Utahns are more hesitant of anything remotely connected to cannabis, but by building a vintage and wholesome visual language and keeping our messaging strictly focused on health and wellness, we thought we might be able to create a more gentle on-ramp for exploring the beneficial health effects of CBD.
The Name
Our first and largest challenge was what to name the business. In a market that would be highly dependent on word of mouth and reputation, finding the right words to speak to our customers was make or break.
After filtering down over a hundred concepts, Farmer & Chemist felt like the right balance of highlighting the product's natural roots while still emphasizing it medicinal uses.
Apothecorp
The Good Pharm
Farm to Counter
Herb & Crop
The Herbalist
From The Earth
Farmer & Chemist
Green Wellness
Health & Herb
Pharm to Table
Good Medicine
Plant & Body
Chemist's Crop
Leaf and Lab
Logos
In order to help support our vintage aesthetic, we opted for a highly ornamented and vintage feeling branding system, inspired by turn of the century sign making. We also created a range orientations and lockups to support the brand across a wide range of products and print mediums, as well as simplified versions of each for small format printing.
Square Ornate Lockup
Round Ornate Lockup
Horizontal Ornate Lockup
Square Simple Lockup
Simple Wordmark
Horizontal Simple Lockup
Packaging
When it came to packaging, there were a few important things to keep in mind. It obviously had to feel vintage, but also due to the state's high tax on CBD, it had to feel premium to justify our price point.
To accomplish this, we kept our ornate typography and made sure to highlight it well in the hierarchy. Our brand pattern also helped sell the high end nature of the products.
Our brand palette kept everything bright and warm feeling to make sure our products felt harmless and wholesome.
Finally, when we did lean on illustration, we used antique lithographic imagery to keep ourselves grounded in nostalgia.
Another large element of designing packaging was regulatory compliance. Particularly since we were developing the brand and packaging as the laws were being modified, we had to do regular research to keep up to date with the latest available information on the regulations as well as submitting the packaging to the state for compliance approval.
Fortunately we were able to develop a design system for the packaging that was compliant with regulations and true to the brand.
Marketing
Billboards
With several of the nation's largest billboard companies headquartered in Salt Lake City, there was ample space for us to get the word out.
Digital Ads
Leading up to the brand launch, we put out an extensive digital campaign using vintage photography to reinforce the vintage wholesome feel of the brand.
Doctors
In addition to traditional marketing, we reached out to local medical practices to provide them with information about CBD as a treatment and our products in particular.
Brick & Mortar
Much like the rest of the brand, Farmer & Chemist's retail location was built to evoke a feeling of nostalgia. Modeled after a mid-century pharmacy, we selected fixtures and furniture that felt would have felt at home in an earlier time.
The location is also positioned right on Main Street in Midvale, Utah, which has exactly the kind of quaint, walkable main street feel you might expect. You can practically hear the children stick-hooping in the street.
After a launch in late 2019, Farmer & Chemist was able to connect with the community, survive the pandemic, and has built a strong base of loyal customers. Customers frequently comment on the quality of product, the customer service, and the safe and welcoming atmosphere.
Conclusion
