New Package Design: Good or Bleh?

I buy new products solely based on good package design. The way see it, if companies are going to invest time and money on good design for the outside of the package, then the product on the inside should be just as good. Good design wins me over every time! Unfortunately, some designs do not communicate the great product on the inside and the item gets pulled off the shelf due to low sales. In this blog, I'll critique new package designs and offer recommendations on how to improve the design or commend the designer on a job well done. Why? Because every great product deserves a great package design. Long Live Good Design!

[its-new2me]

You’ll Go Bananas for this Milk!

I was hanging out in the dairy section of the grocery store because that’s where the cool people hang out. (It’s cool because it’s refrigerated.) As I was about to reach for my weekly 1/2 gallon of almond milk, something caught my attention. It was a delightful, chocolatey brown milk container with funky yellow writing. “Could it be?” I thought. Yes! It’s chocolate banana milk! It’s something I have always wanted and it’s finally here, within arm’s reach.

I had no idea a product like this existed.

How have I not seen this item before? I LOVE the combination of these two flavors. Had it not been for the eye-catching milk carton, I probably wouldn’t have noticed it.

So many sides to this story.

Every inch of this carton is well designed. That’s why I had to show all four sides in this animated image. Let’s briefly look at all of them:

Front: The cartoon monkey shows the fun side of the product and appeals to kids. The photo of the ingredients appeals to the adults. If you're like me, I was intrigued by both equally (well, more like 70/30 in favor of the monkey).

Side 1: This bright yellow side is dedicated to the banana and the benefits of this drink. Each icon illustrates the benefit of the product and the colors scream chocolate banana.

Back: This side demonstrates the different uses of the beverage. Not only can you drink it, but it can be used in pancakes. The secondary light blue color on this side really play off the jungle theme and is a great complement to the main colors.

Side 2: Nutrition panels are typically boring due to tight government regulations. However, this side contains an interesting use of color and great use of space. This goes to show that with the right design, any side can be appealing. Pun intended.

How does it taste?

For those who love bananas, chocolate, and milk - get ready for the tastiest beverage in the jungle!

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PACKAGING REVIEW

Package Design: ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ As mentioned above, this package design has it all. The colors represent the product perfectly, the design attracts both children and adults, and the information about the product is cleverly displayed on all four sides.

Product Name: ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ Sir Bananas is a wonderfully creative name. It is a fun name to say and easy to remember.

Product Description: ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ The product is described in great detail on the package. The language used is both informative and entertaining. It puts the fun in function.

Images: ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ The images are a great blend of silly illustrations and real product shots.

PRODUCT REVIEW

Taste: ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ The product itself is wonderful. It is a smooth blend of chocolate and bananas. Very refreshing!

Quality: ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ High-quality ingredients! It is a gluten-free product using milk from cows that are NOT treated with growth hormones.

Value: ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ This product is absolutely worth the price! (retail: $4.39)

Recommendations:

The only recommendation that I have is to make more flavors! How about Strawberries & Bananas…Blueberries & Bananas…Plantain Bananas?!? I would drink it all.

Check out the Sir Bananas website. Great design!

Note: The store where I purchased this product is no longer carrying this item. I need my chocolate banana fix... Please help!

[its-new2me]

The Souper Bowl of Simple Ingredients

When customers look for a new item to buy at the grocery store, their eyes are drawn to products that stand out on the shelf. How do you get a product to stand out on the shelf? Tons of research.

First step: Get to know the competitor’s labels by visiting several stores to see how their product looks on the shelf. Take inventory of what is out there and make a plan on how your product could look different and unique. Standing out visually from the competition is a vital step.

Once your product has grabbed the customer’s attention, it is important to make a connection with them by communicating the product’s unique benefits. If the message is strong enough the customer will be intrigued, feel a connection, and purchase the product.

Nice cans.

The other day I was looking for a new flavor of soup. While walking down the overly crowded can soup aisle, I came across Campbell’s Well Yes! soup. The packaging caught my eye because it was so different from other labels on the shelf. The bold colors really stood out. (It’s not very often that you see purple on a soup can label.)

Tell a Story with Photos.

In addition to the color, the images of the ingredients caught my eye as well. It is very common for soup labels to show a picture of the final product in a bowl. However, this label shows all of the ingredients that are in the soup. What a refreshing change.

The message they are communicating is that this soup contains fresh, simple, and wholesome ingredients. My skepticism led me to read the back of the label. “Does it really only have these ingredients?”.

Keep it simple.

Sure enough, the ingredient list was simple and reflected the pictures shown on the front.

The Sweet Potato Corn Chowder contains the following ingredients:

Water, corn, sweet potatoes, cream, red peppers, celery, leeks, carrots, butter (cream), wild rice, onions, cornstarch, sweet potato juice concentrate, jicama juice concentrate, salt, wheat flour, milk protein concentrate, white pepper. Contains: wheat, milk

Simple, right? Everything on this label communicates simplicity, the design of the label to the ingredients. Once I made the connection that the photo on the front communicated the simple ingredients on the back, I believed that this product was going to be good. So I purchased it.

How did it Taste?

It was very flavorful. Obviously, it’s canned soup, so you can’t expect it to taste like it came from a high-end restaurant. However, I would absolutely purchase this product again. 

Side-story: I also purchased a can of Roasted Chicken with Wild Rice. After heating it up on the stove, I carried the hot bowl (which was filled to the brim) over to my chair to sit down. As I was getting in the seated position I proceeded to spill half of it on my lap. The good news is that the half that didn’t end up on my lap was delicious.

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PACKAGING REVIEW

Package Design: ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ Great use of bold colors! The simple layout makes it very easy to understand what the product is and what the consumer gets out of it. Plus, the images really tell a story.

The font for the product name is bouncy and cheerful. It almost looks like the ‘e’ in well is winking with big eyelashes.

Product Name: ✭ ✭ ✭ ✫ ✫ The name is confusing. “Yes!” soup is easier to say without the word “well”. Perhaps they were going for a play on the word wellness, but it’s a far stretch for the consumer to make a connection.

Product Description: ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✫ The description of the flavor is rather boring. I understand that they have to describe the common flavor, but a few adjectives could have sold it a little more. On a positive note, it does pay off the simple ingredients.

Images: ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ Usually I’m not a fan of photos on a label, but in this case, it really works! As mentioned earlier, the photos of the ingredients tell a story about simplicity.

PRODUCT REVIEW

Taste: ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ It’s good. I mean, it’s canned soup. So I can’t rave about how fresh it is. But, it has a really good flavor.

Quality: ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ The quality of this soup is very good.

Value: ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ This soup is definitely worth the price.

Recommendations: Overall the design is great. Bravo to Campbells for stepping out and creating a new line. I wouldn’t change a thing on this package design.

[its-new2me]

Where have you BEAN all these years?

I prefer iced coffee over a hot cup o’ joe any day. For several months, I purchased Starbuck spelling Iced Coffee by the jug at the grocery store. Until one day, I went to the store to pick up more and there was a new bean in town… Stōk Coffee.

The bold color on the package jumped off the shelf.

I was immediately attracted to Stōk’s bright and bold packaging. The design was so great that I had to try the new product.

Based on the bold color, I expected a bold flavor…and I was right! This cold brew is rich and fantastic. I purchased the “un-sweet” flavor for myself and also picked up the “not too sweet” version for my husband (the label is red). He says that I don’t need the sweetened version because I’m already too sweet. It’s amazing how adorable and dorky he can be at the same time. It’s adorkable.

Keep it simple.

The simple label was easy to read and communicated exactly what I needed to know to make a purchasing decision. I don’t have a lot of time when shopping and having less clutter on the label makes it easier to understand the product. So many brands load up their label with too much text and the message gets lost. If you can’t get your message across in three seconds, you’ve lost a potential customer. Take a lesson from this design. This is what we mean by “less is more”.

Well done Stōk Coffee. Well done.

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PACKAGING REVIEW

Package Design: ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ Bold, eye-catching color causes the product to jump off the shelf. A simple layout wins every time. The product name is prominent in the center, but is not overwhelming. The tall letters in the logo make you feel like this caffeine drink will lift you up.

Product Name: ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ Stōk is a great name for this product. It’s a verb that acts as a noun. The macron above the “o” helps with the pronunciation and also creates a distinct and memorable design element. We could take this a step further and say that a “long o” sound could represent the effects of this caffeine - that it is long lasting.

Product Description: ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ Calling out “10-hr brew” on the front tells me so much as a customer about the product and “Low & Slow” obviously speaks of the brewing technique. However, it reminds me of the Beastie Boys song Slow & Low (that is the tempo). Intentional or not, bonus points for bringing up that great memory.

Images: ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ There are three simple illustrations on the label that communicate valuable information. 1) Simple snowflake in a drop to communicate cold brew. 2) Lightning bolts to represent the feeling you’ll get after drinking a cup. 3) Set of arrows that draw the text “low & slow” and “10-hr brew” together to illustrate the brewing process. This goes to show that simple symbols can carry a powerful message.

PRODUCT REVIEW

Taste: ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ The taste of the product is just what I expected based on the packaging.

Quality: ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ This is a very good cold brew. I certainly will not go back to the Starbucks Iced Coffee.

Value: ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ This product is worth every penny.

Recommendations:

I wouldn’t change a thing.

[its-new2me]

What’s Lurking in the Dark?

Let me start off by saying...I LOVE cereal. I could eat it for every meal. So when a new cereal hits the shelf I must try it.

With that said, Kellogg’s® partnered with Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory® (RMCF) and created a Chocolatey Almond cereal. At first sight, I was intimidated by the very dark package design. It was unlike any other cereal box I had seen, but not in a good way. Despite its dark appearance, I was intrigued because I enjoy RMCF’s chocolate (they started as a small, local Colorado company and create amazing confectionery treats). So I had to give it a shot.

Wow! A cereal that makes me want to wake up early! 

Great balance of cereal flakes (both corn and cocoa), almonds, and chocolate. My favorite part? It stayed crunchy throughout the entire bowl! I’ve had similar tasting cereals but the chocolate was hard to chew and the texture was too chalky. (Sorry Special K® Chocolatey Delight, you fail.) 

Breakfast has never been the same without it. 

Unfortunately, Kellogg’s stopped producing this cereal. Why did they stop making something that was this delicious? Then it hit me... what if other customers were turned off by the dark packaging?  

If the package design was more inviting, I think more customers would have tried it. I’m sure that this is not the only reason it was pulled off the shelf, but it nearly stopped me from purchasing it. Some products don’t even have a fighting chance due to poor package design!

I dedicate this blog to my last box of Chocolatey Almond.

It is because of the RMCF Chocolatey Almond cereal disappearing off the shelf that I started this blog. If a better package design could have helped this product survive, then it is my duty to save other new products out there by reviewing their package design and offering feedback. Whether it’s good or bad design, all good products deserve to be enjoyed!

RIP tasty cereal. Maybe one day we will spoon again in the future.

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PACKAGING REVIEW

Package Design: ✭ ✭ ✫ ✫ ✫ The design is too dark and not inviting. I almost didn’t purchase this item because it looked scary on the shelf next to all of the other bright cereal boxes. Standing out from the crowd, in this case, was not positive. Recommendation: Change the black background to a chocolatey brown to communicate rich chocolate.

Product Name: ✭ ✭ ✭ ✫ ✫ A standard name for a not so standard flavor. Recommendation: Delicious chocolate is soothing and decadent. Use a descriptive name to communicate this feeling.

Product Description: ✭ ✭ ✭ ✫ ✫ The description of the product was a bit “vanilla”. Recommendation: Communicate the richness of each ingredient.

Images: ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ The closeup of the cereal filled spoon looks gr-r-eat!

PRODUCT REVIEW

Taste: ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ All of the flavors blend well together. The chocolate in this cereal was delicious. (It doesn’t surprise me, RMCF makes great chocolate.)

Quality: ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ All ingredients used in this cereal was top notch. 

Value: ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ Worth every penny!