Posts Tagged ‘Package Design’

It’s What’s Inside

Saturday, May 22nd, 2010

Congratulations to our client Noble Juices for placing third in a recent taste test beating out several of the biggest brands.  The quality of their juice was the reason, but we’d like to think that our package design didn’t hurt!

Another Opportunity to Benefit From Updating Packaging

Friday, April 9th, 2010



The Center of Science in the Public Interest is taking on food manufacturer’s for deceptive packaging.  This time, it’s for the size of packages that have little relation to the amount of content inside and not for the usual target of questionable claims.  The story was in the Baltimore Sun but look for it to show up on broadcast media as this group has been quite successful in getting media attention for their point of view in the past.  The target is air, the extra air that is in packages they deem as unnecessary and dishonest in that it deceives the consumer about the amount of product inside.

I’m surprised that companies like WalMart have not made a bigger issue of this as part of their environmental initiatives to reduce waste in packaging, in shipping and in shelf space.  This is an opportunity for a brand to differentiate themselves by right sizing their packages ahead of the competition.

IMPRESSIVE Package Design

Monday, February 15th, 2010

Let’s say you’re inviting people over for dinner, you’re making Chicken Mole.

Your guests are mingling in the kitchen, watching you bring their meal to life from scratch.  You’re the type that when you entertain, you pull out all the stops.  As you pull out each ingredient, you want the packaging to make your guests feel special, that they can anticipate a great meal because you’ve carefully chosen each component.  You want it to say something special about you.  

This is a great question to ask yourself if you market a CPG, especially if it doesn’t possess the fame of a Coke or Lay’s.  How would you feel pulling your package out of the pantry or a shopping bag?  Step one is leaving an impression, most packaging is unremarkable, unimpressionable.  It should make people feel indulgent, even if its a value brand, no one has to know.  It should make them feel smart, as if they’re onto something others are not.  It should exude or reflect who your customers want to be when they use your product – sophisticated, logical, whimsical, daring, bold…

Brands using the same old approach to packaging will struggle to create this connection.  Most packaging today is literal and status quo,”another brand of X, only with X% less sodium.”  They’ll wind up in a cycle of winning and losing customers shopping for discounts.  It’s time to shift thinking away from what the brand thinks a package should look like to what the package can say about the customers who buy it.  If you’ve ever bought an Apple product, you’ll know what i’m talking about.

Here’s a project we worked on that works.

Another Big Brand Shifts to Sustainable

Monday, January 25th, 2010

New bottle from Coca-Cola is more sustainable.  This will put more pressure on other brands to make a serious investment in sustainability as consumers start to demand it.

From this morning’s WSJ, Coke Bottle is Part Plant

Don’t Use A Down Economy As A Crutch

Tuesday, January 19th, 2010

It’s no secret that we’re clawing our way out of a brutal recession. But what does it mean for your business? How are your customers impacted and more importantly, how are they responding? The media is saturated with tales of hardship. It’s easy for us to become desensitized to the details of our current financial woes.

We’re all people. We all still eat. Those fortunate enough to be among the employed still commute to work. We take care of our children’s needs, clothing them, feeding them, and tending to their health. To say that spending has declined across the board and write it off as a loss is one of the biggest mistakes many customer-facing organizations are making right now. (more…)

Specialty Food For Thought

Friday, January 15th, 2010

The world is changing quickly, are you?

Does Your Package Appeal To Gen Y’ers and Younger Gen X’ers?
Because surprisingly, people ages 18 -24 are most likely to buy specialty foods!

Are You Too Focused on Getting Your Products into Specialty Food Stores?
Believe it or not, more than 80% of people buy their specialty foods in supermarkets – coffeehouses and online markets are emerging channels.  What would need to change to get your products sold in here?

Are You Living Where Foodies Live?
They’re watching cooking shows on the Food Network, Travel Channel and HGTV.  Can you rally PR to get your products featured?  They’re hanging out on food blogs like thedeliciouslife.com, sharing photos on Flickr, and following recipes on YouTube.  Get out there! (more…)

The New Language of Packaging

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

Two marketing gurus I respect suggest that in 2010, brands will start acting more like people. I agree. It’s time to drop the “I’m the manufacturer, you’re the consumer” divide.

The surge of brands on Facebook interacting with fanatical consumers supports this theory. These brands are adopting a new language, sparing followers “corporate-speak” in status updates and replacing it with “Free Swag to the Worst Taglines in Advertising,” or “OMG, did you hear Michael Jackson passed away!?” Flexing some personality and connecting with them on their level paves a path for permission to talk with them about your brand or products.

(more…)