Overview

Salamat Dough was a home-based bakery business built and operated by my wife and me. What began as baking cookies for friends with one or two flavors evolved into a fully realized brand with seasonal drops, collaborations, pop-ups, wholesale partnerships, and nationwide shipping.

We handled everything end-to-end: branding, packaging, photography, content, marketing, merch, events, and operations, balancing creativity with real business constraints.

Brand System

The brand was designed to feel warm, playful, and community-driven while remaining visually consistent across many touchpoints.

• A flexible logo and visual identity system
• Color and layout choices that scaled across packaging, merch, and digital
• A tone that balanced fun, inclusivity, and approachability

Consistency was critical, as assets needed to work across social media, e-commerce, in-person events, and collaborations.

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Process Highlights

As a small business, design decisions were deeply tied to production realities.

• Designed a cost-efficient label system using white backgrounds and selective color to reduce ink usage
• Printed and cut labels in-house using a Cricut
• Used white shipping boxes to maintain consistency and reuse assets across orders

Creative problem-solving allowed the brand to stay polished while remaining financially sustainable.

Seasonal Drops & Campaigns

Seasonal releases were treated as mini brand moments rather than one-off products.

Notable campaigns included:

• Noche Buena Box (Christmas) with a holiday logo and hand-drawn seasonal patterns
• Valentine’s Day box
• Pride Month, Black History Month, and other cultural moments

Each drop included custom visuals, packaging, photography, and coordinated social content.

Cultural Storytelling & Product Innovation

Many flavors were inspired by Filipino culture and personal experiences.

• Champorado cookie inspired by the traditional Filipino chocolate rice porridge
• Educational content introduced unfamiliar ingredients and cultural context
• “Top Secret” blind taste test option invited customers to sample unreleased flavors

These experiences built trust, curiosity, and deeper engagement with the brand.

Merch & Community

Merch was designed as an extension of the brand’s values, not just a revenue stream.

• Equality sweatshirt hand screen-printed in-house
• Black Lives Still Matter shirt, hand printed
• Community-centered photoshoots during Pride Month and Black History Month

The brand also raised money for charities and collaborated with local creatives.

Collaborations & Partnerships

Salamat Dough partnered with local businesses and artists to expand the brand.

• Ice cream collaborations with local shops
• Artist collaboration for Pride merchandise
• Wholesale partnerships with restaurants and cafés

Each collaboration required aligned branding, packaging, and marketing assets.

Craft & Operations

All product photography was done in-house using DIY setups with poster board and photo lights.

Operational challenges included:

• Shipping cookies during summer months using insulated packaging and ice packs
• Adapting branding and packaging for pop-ups, catering, and wholesale

This intersection of design, production, and logistics shaped every decision.

Outcome

Salamat Dough demonstrates how thoughtful design can support a small business from early experimentation to scaled execution. The project highlights end-to-end ownership, creative problem-solving under constraints, and the ability to build a cohesive brand across products, platforms, and communities.