In Canada, packaged bread is one of grocery’s most established categories, dominated by several large brands with near universal awareness. As an artisanal bakery that values quality over quantity, we needed to drive brand value for ACE Bakery on a deeper level than the sea of beige and brown, to get more baguettes in more baskets and drive purpose beyond simple sustenance.

This meant talking about more than ingredients or merely speaking to brand values. It meant connecting with consumers’ needs and wants in a way that lived up to the brand’s purpose to “give rise to rituals”. And we had to prove it by living beyond the confines of traditional one-way media to show that we share something more important than bread with our target – we share a core value.

Knowing consumers are busy and time-starved yet value quality time spent together around the table, we conceived, designed and manufactured the ACE breadblox: a modern take on a breadbox that holds phones not slices, silencing those nagging beeps and boops so consumers can break bread, uninterrupted.

Although the breadblox was addressing a modern tech problem, it was conceived as a low tech, bespoke accessory that would blend seamlessly into the modern kitchen and could be used without cumbersome wires or cords. Fundamentally, for the idea to make sense and lean into a cultural tension, the design needed to be as lo-fi as breaking bread itself.

Given the breadblox wasn’t a one-off brand stunt, but rather a real bespoke product, it needed to work. A deep dive into the study of sound transmission and customer behaviour identified the right materials and product structure. Not only did the materials have to block cellular signals—it needed to aesthetically integrate into the modern kitchen.

Inspired by classic breadboxes before it, the breadblox was made from white polymer and bamboo, but the inside featured a signal-blocking faraday cage to create the low-fi solution to today’s high-tech problem. Seven universally sized vertical slots were created to mimic the pattern of a loaf of sliced bread. On top, a cutting board gave consumers all the more reason to break ACE baguettes. The idea was even carried into the packaging: a loose thread in the form of a soundwave was pulled taut as the breadblox was removed, creating the visual shorthand of silence.

With a modest media spend on a single piece of launch content, combined with a micro-influencer strategy that had our message disseminated to interior designers, food & lifestyle bloggers and tech advocates, the word of mouth hit record heights and the breadblox sold out in mere minutes.

Though selling out quickly, the intent behind the breadblox fuelled a conversation around the world. With features on Buzzfeed, AdAge and national gift guides, requests came from as far as Sweden and Turkey, resulting in over 66 million impressions, half of which were earned. In the end, the simple breadblox proved to not only be the solution to a universal problem, but helped families everywhere break bread, uninterrupted.