Cosmic Candy

Building a strong brand before the national players come to town.

A new generation of candy stores was starting to sweep across the mainland in the early 1990s. Our challenge was to help our client develop a name, concept and brand identity that would be competitive with the national players while staking turf in Hawaii.

After a trip to Los Angeles to audit the competitive set, we came up with a campy space ship theme and carried it through the design of the store, identity and packaging. Our client needed a flexible but consistent identity so that the store's candy and popcorn modules could be separated depending on lease restrictions. Also, the identity had to be adaptable to a branded product line that could be carried by other retailers.

The concept established the brand right away. It appeals to children of all ages and has won numerous design and architecture awards.

The identity system was structured to allow the owner to open a store selling popcorn or candy or both. The system also works for developing branded product lines.

Bringing the concept to life

For a themed retail concept to be successful, the brand experience must come alive in the retail environment. With Cosmic Candy and the Popcorn Planet, we wove a convincing tale about an enduring childhood fantasy and ex-pressed it consistently through the theme, materials, and overall design program.

Our story centered around a magic rocket ship filled with candy, on a secret mission to find the mythical Popcorn Planet.

We began by researching vintage science fiction movies, TV shows, toys, modern industrial materials and high tech lighting systems. After we developed the theme and produced the concept sketches, we worked with the architects of AM Partners to help build out the concept. While each store is slightly different, the strength and adaptability of the theme to different spaces carries the brand through from mall to mall.

These visual and conceptual references from America's rich science fiction history provided wonderful clues for what would ultimately become the Cosmic Candy spaceship. From the top, a Milton Bradley Captain Video puzzle, a 1958 Erector set, and the ever popular robot.

Top: The store entrance at Pearlridge mall, given the deluxe treatment by AM Partners. Middle and bottom: A blend of campy humor, high tech fun and brightly colored candy create an enjoyable and memorable place to shop.