Defining a new image
In the past, the pungent flavors of pickled plums, fermented tofu, and fermented black beans were only available to the people of Kungkuan, Miaoli County, or those with a mind to make the trip to procure them in person. Back then, packaging these pickled items in either glass or ceramic containers was impractical. But today, thanks to superior packaging, Guo Jia Zhuang Pickle Shop has been able to sell their products at Taoyuan International Airport's duty-free shops since October 2006 as part of the Tung Blossom Festival activities sponsored by the Executive Yuan's Council of Hakka Affairs, allowing expatriates and tourists to take some Taiwanese soul food home with them.
In order to whet the curiosity of customers in search of novel flavors, Peng came up with a variety pack featuring small portions of six different flavors, including red yeast rice pickled tofu, pickled tofu, and seeds of fragrant manjack. The aim is that by casting a wider net, consumers will be more likely to encounter a flavor stimulating enough to warrant further purchases-in larger quantities, of course.
The inspiration for this design came from the original Guo Jia Zhuang Pickle Shop logo of five hexagons joined together in a honeycomb pattern. When he received a commission from the Council of Hakka Affairs in 2006, Peng began researching the history of the Guo Jia Zhuang Pickle Shop company, and soon discovered the originality of its founders' thinking.
In 1969, Kuo Chu-hung, father of current, third-generation company head Kuo Hsueh-mei, saw Neil Armstrong's team land on the moon in a hexagonal space shuttle, and was inspired to create the company insignia of six hexagons in a honeycomb arrangement. The honeycomb was symbolic as well, representing the bee's legendary diligence.
Peng was worried that younger Hakka might think that Guo Jia Zhuang was selling honey. He retained the hexagons for the shape of the glass jars, but dispensed with linking them together in the five-sided honeycomb pattern. Instead, he inserted the six tiny jars into a biodegradable paper pulp tray. On top of the hexagonal shell he attached a paper rope for ease of carrying.
(left to right) CHAngrila green tea is presented in an ersatz tea basket. The Rare Seed Ranch Milk Nougat package series, ever popular with travelers, features tour maps on the reverse side of the cover. The real thrill is that the boxes emit a hearty "moo!" when opened, produced by a sensor-activated buzzer resonating in the box. Peng earned a patent for this ingenious design. He also won the German iF Communication Design Award for his design for Guo Jia Zhuang Hakka Pickles. He packed nougat candies in a camera-shaped box as a charming allusion to a famous confectioner's shop on Po-ai Street in Taipei, a street lined with camera stores. Hsinchu dried persimmons nest in a package that looks like a flower in bloom. Peng's designs for grass-jelly powder can be traced to his childhood memories in Kuanhsi seeing his grandmother take a steel pail with her on trips to buy grass jelly. Each of these efforts reveals a rich appreciation of Taiwan's past.