Saint Augustine's Pepper Sauce
The Project
The focus of this project was to brand a line of Pepper Sauces for a small, family owned producer of fermented pepper sauce. I started with market research, evaluating the competitors in the hot sauce market, and what makes a brand successful.
I found that smaller brands depended on comedy to get customers to get that first taste. If done properly, this comedy can lead to significant word of mouth advertising. This Humor if done wrong however, can lead to the sauce never escaping the cult popularity, particularly if the label is obscene, graphic, or offensive.
Background on Saint Augustine
Saint Augustine of Hippo was an important theologian who lived 354-430 CE. He converted in the late summer of 386 CE, 61 years after the first council of Nicaea and 6 years after emperor Theodosius made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. During his life he made significant contributions to the Christian cannon, pioneering the philosophies of original sin, just war, predestination, the nature to the trinity, the nature of evil, and the doctrine of eternal punishment.
His works were foundational for the largest branches of Christianity today, including Catholicism, Protestantism, and Eastern Orthodoxy. Augustine is recognized as a saint in the catholic church, the eastern orthodox church, and the Anglican communion. He is the patron saint of brewers, printers, and theologians.
My Solution
Saint Augustine’s Pepper Sauce is zealously brewed under his protection Ad maiorem Dei gloriam. Our sauce is there for your morning penance and when you break your fast. For the spiritually famished, hungry heathens, and every cafeteria Christian in between. With three flavors, original sin, Hellfire, and Eternal Punishment, there is something here for each of god’s children.
The tongue and cheek humor of this hot sauce is both alluring and memorable while the layered meaning and historical reference add enough depth and reverence to avoid disrespect. the presentation of the sauce and the sophisticated Humor appeals to the die hard hot sauce fan and the casual consumer.
