Doamne Ferește – The First Romanian Hot Sauce

Posted on

Derrick Lin

Global

Creative Agency: Argo Legacy
Project Type: Produced, Commercial Work
Client: Doamne Ferește
Location: Iași, Romania
Packaging Contents: Hot sauce
Packaging Substrate / Materials: Glass bottle & Velvet box
Printing Process: Serigraphy

The first of its kind in Romania, the Doamne Ferește hot sauce targeted all audiences with an appetite for gourmet products, a niche that is still emerging in Romania right now. Doamne Ferește is a premium product, one that can speak for anyone old enough to taste the extreme spiciness, and anyone wise enough to understand its story.

The Doamne Ferește sauce stood its ground telling the original DFR story only, and not relating itself so much about other worlds, but speaking only about the culture of good taste and premium products.

In Romania, there hasn’t been a brand that focused on spiciness until now, neither in its product, nor in its advertising techniques. The subject addressed by this product has a lot to do with courage and freedom of expression for even the brand name, Doamne Fereşte, translated in common Romanian language as “God Forbid”, speaks about God’s name in a way that doesn’t praise it. Doamne Ferește is an idiom, very descriptive for the product’s taste, which is extremely spicy.

It can also refer to a saying people use when they are amazed beyond their expectations or, on the other hand, when someone wants to send away bad luck. For those who like searching a little further, they will discover that “fereste” is also a fusion name, meaning “guardian angel”, “supernatural messenger of divinity” or “supreme protector” in both Persian culture and Aramaic – Babylonian one.

You will see that this description matches the one of the Doamne Ferește mustard application which we have also submitted to your curators, and that is because all three products are part of a gourmet-fusion collection meant to take people out of their culinary comfort zone.

What’s Unique?
Being the first Romanian hot sauce is definitely one of the things we are proud of. However, we also value the fact that this is a home-made product, made of local hot peppers combined with Habanero, Naga Jolokia ( the infamous “ghost pepper”), with an infusion of honey, vinegar, ginger and other aromatic spices.

The bottle itself is concave, making it look like an unique and expensive perfume rather than a bottle of sauce. Every time this product is released, it is limited edition, with a maximum of 45 bottles per season. The bottle is also placed in a velvet box, contributing to its precious looking design.