How LesserEvil Is Improving Team Collaboration For Faster Artwork Approvals

Sumedha Gurav

February 22, 2024

Read how Lesser Evil, the snack brand trendsetter onboarded Artwork Flow to increase efficiency, reduce labeling errors, and release artworks faster.

Artwork Flow Impact

- Better alignment between teams 

- Accurate error-proofing for multiple projects

- Increase in efficiency and visibility 

Meet LesserEvil


lesser evil case study

LesserEvil is a healthy snack brand that uses only clean and sustainable ingredients. 


The product line offers a variety of organic, vegan, paleo, keto, gluten, dairy, and grain-free snacks such as Buddha Bowl popcorn, Grain-Free Paleo Puffs, and Salt and Apple Cider Vinegar Potato Chips.  

Today, LesserEvil's snacks can be found in stores like Whole Foods and Natural Grocers, as well as online marketplaces like Amazon, Thrive Market, and Vitacost.   


“The importance of packaging is something I’ve experienced firsthand as someone who designed a lot of my own packaging at the beginning. It’s not that I did a terrible job, but we quickly saw the power of a slickly packaged, quality product after we got some help making our products look more cohesive.”    
Charles Coristine, CEO, LesserEvil, as quoted in FOODBORO

The Challenge    

Communication in Artwork Projects 

The LesserEvil team was previously using Asana as their artwork management system. However, they quickly saw that coupled with long email threads, it didn’t help them manage packaging design projects. 


Rather, it was difficult to manage multiple projects, track feedback, accurately proof key line dimensions (KLD), or even find the latest design file.      

LesserEvil’s Expanding Product Line 

According to Mondelez International’s State of Snacking™ report, 9 out of 10 global respondents said they are snacking more during the pandemic than before.


As snacking habits increase, so has the focus on healthy products and ingredients. Recently, LesserEvil launched Lil’ Puffs for children from 12 months and up. The new product line comes in a colorful packaging design that sets it apart from other products.


After customer feedback, LesserEvil also recently introduced 3-pack SKUs so snackers can experience a unique snacking routine.   

 

With so many product launches and ongoing plans, the LesserEvil team needed better artwork management software more than ever. 

The Solution - Why Artwork Flow?

After a detailed demo, the LesserEvil team used Artwork Flow for two weeks on a trial period. This helped the team experience the full suite of features and tools and understand how they could efficiently manage artworks.

1. Streamlining The Artwork Approval Process

LesserEvil’s artwork management process includes a sequential workflow.


Once the designer uploads the artwork in PDF format onto the platform, the artwork is reviewed by 5 collaborators in sequence starting with the brand manager.  


The collaborators in different stages are assigned with checklists that help them know what to review in the artwork. The checklist can include tasks such as check design element placements, ingredients, marketing claims, and more. 


After multiple rounds of feedback, the designer revises the packaging design and uploads the final printer proof which is shared with the printer after final approvals.    

2. Improved Communication  For All

As LesserEvil’s products fall under the food & beverage category, they need to comply with FDA regulations. This means that any error in the packaging design can cost them extensive product recalls and fines. 


Artwork Flow comes with a suite of online proofing tools which the LesserEvil team uses to accurately proof artworks.  

lesserevil case study artwork flow
Online artwork proofing for LesserEvil's product packaging designs

3. Centralized Storage & Access

The LesserEvil team modifies and approves up to 40-50 artworks per month. Often the same team is involved in reviewing multiple projects leading to miscommunication and confusion.


So, if a project manager needs to share the latest version of the artwork, then they needed to comb through never-ending email threads.


A task that now is easy on Artwork Flow’s cloud library which features version control. Every time the designer uploads an artwork, it automatically gets assigned as the latest version. Collaborators can also easily filter and access any file, at any time.      


Artwork Flow has streamlined our packaging artwork management team’s processes. Before we started using this software, it was far too easy for the details of our various projects to fall through the cracks in the back-and-forth of email. Now, everything is consolidated in one place. Our team has found the digital proofing tools intuitive and easy to use. When we’ve needed technical support, the customer service team has always been responsive and helpful.”
- Manny Arthur, Design Manager, LesserEvil 

artwork flow demo


Other Stories

Industry:
FMCG

How LesserEvil Cut Time to Market By 60% with Artwork Flow

50

+

Products launched

60

%

Faster speed to market

50

%

Fewer revisions

LesserEvil offers a variety of organic, vegan, paleo, keto, gluten, dairy, and grain-free snacks such as Buddha Bowl Popcorn, Space Balls, Grain-Free Paleo Puffs, and Salt and Apple Cider Vinegar Potato Chips.  

Today, LesserEvil's snacks can be found in stores like Whole Foods and Natural Grocers, as well as online marketplaces like Amazon, Thrive Market, and Vitacost.

“The importance of packaging is something I’ve experienced firsthand as someone who designed a lot of my own packaging at the beginning. It’s not that I did a terrible job, but we quickly saw the power of a slickly packaged, quality product after we got some help making our products look more cohesive.”

"
Charles Coristine, CEO, LesserEvil
-

The challenge:

Streamlining communication for growth

The LesserEvil team was previously using Asana as their creative project management system.

However, they quickly saw that the platform, coupled with long email threads, didn’t help them easily manage their packaging design projects. 

It was difficult for the team to manage multiple projects, track feedback, accurately proof key line dimensions (KLD), or even find the latest design files.  

With so many product launches and ongoing plans, the LesserEvil team needed a better artwork management solution now more than ever before.

The solution:

Why Artwork Flow?

After a detailed demo, the LesserEvil team used Artwork Flow for two weeks on a trial period. This helped the team experience the full suite of features and tools and understand how they could efficiently manage their artwork.

Streamlining the artwork approval process

LesserEvil’s artwork management process includes a sequential workflow.

Once the designer uploads the artwork in PDF format onto the platform, the artwork is reviewed by 4 collaborators in sequence starting with the brand manager.  

The collaborators are assigned checklists that help them know what to review in the artwork. After multiple rounds of feedback, the designer revises the packaging design and uploads the final printer proof which is shared with the printer after final approvals.

Improved communication for all

As LesserEvil’s products fall under the food & beverage category, they need to comply with FDA regulations. This means that any error in the packaging design can cost them extensive product recalls and fines.

Artwork Flow comes with a suite of online proofing tools that the LesserEvil team uses to accurately proof artworks.

Centralized storage and access

The LesserEvil team modifies and approves up to 40-50 artworks per month. Often the same team is involved in reviewing multiple projects leading to miscommunication and confusion.

So, if a project manager needs to share the latest version of the artwork, then they needed to comb through never-ending email threads.

A task that is now easy on Artwork Flow’s cloud library, which features version control. Every time the designer uploads an artwork, it automatically gets assigned as the latest version. Collaborators can also easily filter and access any file, at any time.

The result:

A seamless, error-free lifecycle

LesserEvil’s creative operations have improved significantly since implementing Artwork Flow. The team needed fewer reviews to process each artwork and has since launched over 50 products through the platform with a 60% reduction in their time to market.

“Artwork Flow has streamlined our packaging artwork management team’s processes. Before we started using this software, it was far too easy for the details of our various projects to fall through the cracks in the back-and-forth of email. Now, everything is consolidated in one place. Our team has found the digital proofing tools intuitive and easy to use. When we’ve needed technical support, the customer service team has always been responsive and helpful.”

Manny Arthur
Design Manager, LesserEvil

About Artwork Flow

Artwork Flow has been the go-to solution for all things creative management for brands like LesserEvil, Jones Dairy, and Trinchero. Artwork Flow’s user-friendly interface and AI-led features including digital asset management, creative collaboration, online proofing, and project management can streamline the creative lifecycle for any organization. Let Artwork Flow take the complexity out of your creative projects and help your team deliver top-notch results with ease.

Transform your own creative operations with Artwork Flow today