smilenaturalfoods.com
Web design for private label food manufacturer
Services Provided: SEO, Web Design, Web Development
Client Background
Smile Natural Foods
Smile Natural Foods is a Canadian private label manufacturer of whole food products and packaging. They have been working with large grocery stores and brand partners to provide high-quality products for private label retail for 45 years, mostly specializing in healthy, natural foods such as granolas, grains such as quinoa, seasonings and legumes.
The brand is owned by Shah Canada Group of companies (SCG) who has recently expanded its operations to include a new sister company, Bettayum. Executives in SCG were wanting to expand the presence of all three brands online to reach new customers and showcase their potential to partners, and initially sought the services of a freelance web designer on Fiverr. After being delivered a product that was unsatisfactory, SCG executives were able to get in touch with Awesome Web Designs following a more thorough Google search for web design experts in Toronto. Thanks to our professional portfolio of design experience and reviews from previous clients, the SCG team was confident that Awesome Web Designs would be able to provide the level of service they had been expecting all along.
After meeting with their team at headquarters and consulting on their current situation and where they would like to be with a website, it was determined they would not be moving forward with any of the previous work, and instead, we would be starting from scratch.
The Challenge
Designing a website with a clean & easy-to-use interface
One of Smile Natural Foods main concerns with a brand new website was ensuring it would be consistent with the company’s branding. Previous work delivered was dark and unprofessional-looking, which is not compatible with the sunny and uplifting image present in their logo, so we kept this in consideration moving forward to create something more authentic to Smile Natural Foods.
In addition to being aesthetically pleasing, brand officials also wanted to ensure their website would be user-friendly and would demonstrate their B2B production capabilities to visitors. In order to achieve this, we had to recreate search engine capabilities on the website, so users could search and sort results by product type. This required a visually simplistic design layout and a thorough organization of data that was worked on collaboratively by both Smile Natural Food staff and Awesome Web Designs. Together a spreadsheet was created of all their products by type, packaging etc. that we were able to then organize and use to create the search parameters of their capabilities.
Before we even begin to think about designing the website, the whole first phase of the process is dedicated to consulting, gathering information, and collaborating with the business on ideas. When hiring Awesome Web Designs as your web design professional you get more than a website, you also receive the benefit of consulting from a web professional on the design and administrative processes of your digital marketing. We are also experienced in communicating and collaborating remotely and are happy to take the lead to guide you through this process if it is something that you’re unfamiliar with.
The Solution
A successful result based on collaboration and expertise
After we organized the information in the database for the Capabilities page we had to create a template for each product to be uploaded onto the website. This has to be done in a way that would make it easy for their staff to organize in the future as their production capabilities and offerings grew. We use WordPress, not just for its powerful website building abilities, but because it’s easy to train staff on how to make small updates to the website going forward, so they can refresh their content without having to contact a developer every time.
Our goal in the design of the website was to keep it fun but easy for end-users to navigate and search for information, which was achieved through this clean and visually attractive design. We kept it simple but professional with a neutral white design and pop of colour in the headlines to resemble their logo. We employed the use of fresh and healthy food imagery as it is on-brand for Smile Natural Foods, and helps create a pleasant impression with website visitors. It was really important to us that the website was reflective of Smile Natural Foods’ positioning, and aligned with their brand in order to attract customers within their target audience.
In order to present Smile Natural Foods as a professional private label option for high value clients, it was important to include a comprehensive About Us page to clearly illustrate the company’s values and demonstrate the calibre of brand partners they are capable of working with. Diversity and brand integrity is also an important aspect most companies consider when researching a new partner, so we included Smile Natural Food’s list of accolades they have received over the years including Canadian Aboriginal and Minority Supplier Council’s Supplier of the Year Award. Sustainability, and producing organic level natural foods is an integral part of Smile Natural Foods business so we chose to include a page about their Process and how they turn raw ingredients into a delicious product for grocery store patrons.
In order to ensure that partners at SCG and Smile Natural Foods would be pleased with the results of their website, we worked collaboratively and ensured open communication throughout the entire process to invite feedback. Having the ability to communicate and give feedback really helps us, as website designers, turn your vision and end goal into a professional website that exceeds your expectations. The more information a client can provide us, and the more diligently they are willing to communicate and get involved the better results we can guarantee at the end of the process.
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What they say about us
The Results / Future Plans
Building a strong working relationship for future endeavours
Since the launch of the new website, Smile Natural Foods is now able to direct customers to a professional portfolio of their previous brand partners, production capabilities, and business information. As part of our enhanced web care packages, we will be providing regular maintenance to the website to ensure it stays up-to-date with all plugins and continues to run efficiently. At Awesome Web Designs, we really want you to get the most out of your investment into an awesome new website!
This project was very successful, and the client thrilled with the results due in part to the ample discussion of ideas and feedback throughout the process. We were able to stay on the same page as the Smile Natural Foods team because of our level of collaboration, ensuring they would be happy with the end result. This is why it is best to do your research on a freelancer’s reviews and portfolio before hiring them for such an important investment. True web professionals will have a designated work process to ensure optimal communication to garner information about your brand and the goals for your website before getting to work designing a website. They’re also able to realistically set deadlines based on previous experience and how much time needs to be dedicated to a project, and will strive to meet those deadlines.
Because Shah Canada Group executives were so pleased with this new website, we will continue to work with them on upcoming projects for their parent brand, and new sister brand Bettayum. We value creating long-lasting relationships with clients, not just transactions. Engaging the same website designer for multiple projects with a common element is a good idea to help ensure unity and cohesiveness throughout the different branded elements.