The Pack Isn't the Problem

An unsuccessful pack design is often the sign of a confused brand, not a poor pack. The most effective packaging is based on three key things.

This article unpacks what works and why, and what to consider before briefing your next packaging redesign.

Harnessing the power of packaging 

Designing successful packaging is no easy feat: shoppers spend just 6 seconds at shelf (i), merging category conventions have created a confused shelf set, and private label continues to be a very real, very popular threat to brands (ii). 

And yet, packaging has so much potential to grow your brand. Millward Brown has shown that in-store is the second biggest driver of brand awareness, second only to all other brand communications combined (iii).

This proves that packaging has the potential to not just convert purchase intention but drive demand. And better yet, it doesn’t require media spend and will outlive most campaigns. In a climate where unlocking marketing budget continues to be contentious, the opportunity pack provides is only increasing.

Three principles that intelligent packaging always gets right

The most successful packaging always follows these principles:

Know what you stand for

The average pack carries around five to seven elements, while shoppers can only process around three (iv). The challenge for most FMCG brands isn’t a lack of things to say. It’s finding the clarity within the complexity.

Intelligent packaging makes one clear promise, then makes every design decision work in support of it, ensuring every element works together rather than introducing competing messages that dilute the overarching promise.

For Huggies, we needed to help tired, time-poor parents find what's right for their child. This meant addressing a human problem with a clear answer, and every design decision was informed by this brand role. This enabled us to create an empathetic design that simplified the pack architecture, introduced clear colour coding and included just one simple and clear benefit claim instead of multiple fighting for attention.

Elevate what is already recognisable

The most valuable real estate on any pack is often the asset a shopper recognises before they read a word. A colour, shape, character, symbol or structure. When consumers are asked to draw ketchup, for example, most actually draw Heinz: recalling the bottle and iconic ‘keystone’ shapes. Redesigns, range extensions and limited editions that strip these out in the name of modernity or disruption can erase the very things that made the brand findable. 

When Carlsberg faced declining relevance amid the craft beer boom, the answer wasn't to start again. It was to go back to what made the brand iconic.

When asked to draw a Carlsberg bottle, consumers sketched the logo in great detail, down to the swoosh of the G. So, we created a bespoke typeface inspired by the logo, that people already know and love, while doubling down on the green colour palette, the hop leaf icon and Danish heritage.

Define what people already recognise about your brand, and then decide what to protect, what to evolve and what to leave behind. The same logic applies to local activations and limited editions, where the temptation to introduce something new is arguably strongest, and where the cost of doing so is highest. Coca-Cola is instantly recognisable: the red and white, the glass bottle silhouette, the white script logo. When we were asked to create a pack marking the launch of Coke Studio, a platform championing emerging music talent, the brief could easily have called for new visual territory to signal something fresh.

Instead, we built the pack from Coca-Cola's own design assets. We honoured the red, protected the script logomark and used the bottle silhouette to create the Coke Studio message. The result was unmistakably Coca-Cola, with a single-minded limited-edition idea baked in, not bolted on.

Limited editions don't need a new rulebook, but they do need to include a new message, while honouring the brand’s existing assets.

Make your range easy to shop

Shoppers need to be able to find what they're looking for. This requires clarity within each product proposition and clear signposting across the range.

This was particularly true for Warburtons. As Britain's biggest bakery brand, Warburtons have over 70 products across multiple categories within their portfolio. Their range had previously been designed around category codes (seeded vs farmhouse, crumpets vs fruit loaf), rather than brand first. So, while each pack felt relevant within its product category, there was no visual thread connecting the range in its entirety.

To combat this, we created a system anchored in the brand's distinctive assets. This involved seeding the Baked Orange colour across every pack, introducing the Warburtons smile as a unifying device, and a creating a bespoke typeface designed to flex across the entire range. These assets unified the range while leaving space for individual category propositions to shine through, allowing each product to work in isolation while simultaneously encouraging cross-selling between categories.

In summary 

In FMCG, packaging is often the most visible and commercially important expression of the brand. It’s this symbiotic relationship between packaging and brand that means most packaging problems are actually brand problems in disguise.

If you don’t know the one thing your brand stands for, you risk trying to say everything on pack. If you haven’t defined the role of each product within your portfolio, you risk confusion and cannibalisation. If you haven’t defined and deployed your distinctive brand assets, you risk misattribution.

The best packaging projects don’t start with the pack itself. They start with the decisions that make the pack easier to design: what the brand stands for, how the range should work, and what needs to stay recognisable.

Get that right and packaging becomes more than a surface to refresh: it reinforces your brand proposition, puts your brand in people's minds, and gets your product into shopping baskets week after week.

References

(i) https://nielseniq.com/global/en/insights/analysis/2024/conquering-the-retail-shelf-new-omnichannel-strategies-that-win/

(ii) https://nielseniq.com/global/en/insights/analysis/2024/conquering-the-retail-shelf-new-omnichannel-strategies-that-win/ 
(iii) https://www.marketingweek.com/marketers-4ps-chance/ 

(iv) https://explorerresearch.com/optimize-your-package/