Jar Goods Brand of the Week
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Jar Goods: Brand of the Week

In this Brand of the Week, our team had the pleasure of featuring Jar Goods: a small batch specialty foods company that crafts delicious tomato sauce variations using simple ingredients. Jar Good’s intention is to make healthy meal preparation easier for the busy but discerning home cook. They distribute to small specialty stores located in Baltimore, DC and Northern VA.

We put Jar Goods through the ultimate consumer goods test: analyzing their packaging and label, promotion and digital strategy, overall brand, and, of course, the taste (which won 5 stars from our team).

“Quality products, like Jar Goods, will continue to face obstacles offered by services that can get dinner served quickly. The rise of meal kit services and instant delivery require authenticity of ingredients to be met with the same speed of enjoyment. I see an opportunity to help position easy and homemade as customers seek better quality ingredients on a schedule.

As a start, create a digital recipe book for social and email promotion that can focus on speed and variety. This helps diversify the uses for Jar Goods products and helps busy lifestyles understand they can swing into their local boutique grocer to pick up a sauce on the way home. There are several ways to extend and develop an integrated campaign to support a recipe book.” —Aaron

You’re gonna wanna screenshot this recipe or click that Instagram save feature, because the sweet and spicy sausages mixed in our Classic Red Tomato Sauce make this combo IRRESISTIBLE. Hearty and filling, toss the meat sauce with some rigatoni and this recipe is sure to become a fast favorite of your family and friends 💃🏼❤️🍅 EnJOY! #joyinajar #justaddjargoods #happyholidays - Serves 4 - Ingredients 1 tablespoons olive oil ½ tablespoon butter ½ large onion finely chopped ½ tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary 4 sausages removed from their casing (a mixture of half sweet and half hot works nicely) ½ cup red wine 1 jar Classic Red Tomato Sauce 1 lb. rigatoni ¼ cup of heavy cream ¼ cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese Basil leaves for garnish Method 1. In a heavy cast iron Dutch oven on medium heat, add the olive oil and butter and sweat the onions and rosemary until translucent (about 10 minutes). 2. Add the sausages and mix well with the onions. Use a wooden spatula to break up the sausage meat. 3. Cook until the sausages are no longer raw – about 5 minutes. 4. Add the wine and cook for another 5 minutes until most of the wine has evaporated. 5. Add the Classic Red Tomato Sauce and reduce to a simmer and let it bubble slowly away for a minimum of 3 hours. 6. Fill a large pot with water and salt generously. 7. Cook pasta according to the directions on the package and then drain. 8. Add the drained pasta to the sauce and then add the cream and cheese and stir well over low heat for a couple of minutes. 9. Serve with extra grated Parmesan cheese and fresh basil leaves.

A post shared by Jar Goods (@jargoods) on

“To become an ‘inner aisle disruptor,’ Jar Goods should reach out to the community for a wider reach and awareness of their product. Consumers will become more aware of the product and flock to stores once they see it in their newsfeeds. Local food bloggers (like LiketheTeaEATS or PS.NY) would be a perfect outlet to share Jar Goods’ story, versatility and ease of use while maintaining their local gourmet identity. To take it to the next level, contacting specialty food outlets like Tasty or Gather Journal could grant exposure in places Jar Goods has never reached before.

Finally, to emphasize the ease and simplicity of this product, Jar Goods should partner with meal planning services like DinnerTime to target busy families and professionals looking to get dinner on the table as fast as possible. There are even videos in existence (below) where kids rate Jar Goods, which can further promote this sauce to families.”—Hannah

“Within the health foods community (especially vegan), YouTube is a great resource to learn recipes and cooking techniques. It also provides a platform for people with similar interests to interact with one another. The Jar Goods brand could benefit greatly from creating a YouTube channel that includes videos with quick recipes and cooking tutorials. The channel would also give Laura and Melissa Vitelli the opportunity to interact with people who are interested in their product and want learn more about the brand. Whether it’s through special guest videos where YouTubers from the health community are featured cooking with Jar Goods sauce or people directly from the Jar Goods brand, these types of videos would help improve brand recognition, as well as support the idea that Jar Goods sauces aren’t just meant for pasta.” —Kendall

“To increase shelf presence, Jar Goods should consider leveraging community maker spaces. Organizations like Bmore Kitchen provide startups and small businesses with community support and resources. It could be very beneficial for Jar Goods to collaborate with local chefs and host community cooking events and classes. Getting individuals directly involved with the brand provides a great opportunity to promote specific products along with some simply healthy recipes.” —Jaclynn

“Jar Goods’ packaging does a great job showing off the product inside, and standing out from competitors on the shelf. I love the reference to natural ingredients on the label (with the spade digging into a pot of “ingredients”), but I think this could be emphasized a bit more, as the pot can get a bit lost against the background. Another addition might be a paper seal that wraps around the lid, forming the “handle” of the tool. Suggestions for creative ways to use their products in recipes could also be a nice touch under the lid.

As Jar Goods expands outside of the sauce aisle, it will be crucial to create an instantly recognizable look throughout the store (think Whole Foods’ 365 Brand) but retain a high-quality brand feel. With different jar shapes and sizes, colors, and different product categories, label design and color will be key to having consumers connect the dots as they shop. Taking a consistent approach to the packaging (clear glass) but showing off different categories of product (olives/spreads/dessert) within could really propel the brand forward.”—Andy

“The Jar Goods promo video on YouTube (below) is really inspiring and should be featured on the Jar Goods ‘About Us’ page. Consumers who shop at organic markets care a lot about where and how their food is made, and this video helps showcase Jar Goods’ wholesome origins and the dedicated team behind it. Propping up the video this way will provide more views and more shares around the content. Short-form cooking videos would also be a great marketing tool for JarGoods’ social media because JarGoods can demonstrate the many uses of their products in ways other than pasta and pizza.”—Zoe

View our other Brand of the Week products and reviews here.