Though Sedona, Arizona is a worldwide destination known for its scenery, spas and resorts, it’s not well known for its coffee. That may change thanks to a unique blend created by a local Starbucks manager and a branding campaign produced by photographer/designer Bill Louf.

Louf owns Image Master in Sedona and was approached to help the local Starbucks, a licensed franchise located in the Hyatt, to submit one of his photographs of the iconic red rock scenery surrounding Sedona to label the new coffee blend called Sedona Red.

One thing led to another and Louf ended up not only providing his photography (a shot of Sedona’s Snoopy Rock), but his design, Photoshop and printing expertise as well. After about nine revisions, a final design was approved that included the original Snoopy Rock photo morphed with another shot Louf had taken in Utah for the sky, and the addition of coffee beans Photoshopped in the foreground.

The next step was to bag and label the coffee, so Louf put out bids for printed labels. “I called label companies to find out how much it would cost to print them and came back with some prices for quantities of 5,000 at about five to ten cents each. They didn’t want to do such a large volume and asked if I could do a hundred or so at a time. I figured out a price that was reasonable and at which I could still make some money. I printed them on LexJet Sunset Photo eSatin ganged up 33 at a time on 36-inch paper,” says Louf.

The printed labels were then backed with LexJet GraphicMount Clear Adhesive, trimmed down to their 2×3 in. final size, packaged and delivered to the Starbucks to be affixed to the bags. To promote the new blend at the point of sale, Louf also printed window signs on Photo Tex, a sign for the display rack printed on eSatin, laminated with LexJet 3.2 Mil GraphicsGuard UV Luster w/ PreLume and mounted to Sintra, plus inserts for clear mugs printed on LexJet Premium Archival Matte Paper.

“The Photo Tex material amazes me. The signs have been on the outside of a north facing window for more than a year and they look just as good as the day I put them up,” says Louf. He adds that spraying the window signs with LexJet Sunset Gloss Coating certainly helped keep any fading to a minimum.

Since its introduction Sedona Red has been the most popular brand in the store, thanks in no small part to Louf’s powerful branding and advertising. Given the sales of Sedona Red at the local Starbucks, and Sedona’s worldwide reputation, Louf is hopeful that Starbucks will pick it up as a national label.

“It’s kind of an ego boost when you walk into a coffee shop every morning and you’re pelted with your own images all over the store,” says Louf. “I’d like to create some more promotional products for the brand, like reverse printing LexJet Clear for mouse pads. Either way, this is a great project for local exposure because it’s something else people can point at and say, ‘Bill did that…’”