More than skin deep: The beauty of packaging innovation

Many traditional marketers still believe that getting seen is the first step in the journey to becoming successful. This is where comes in packaging and the impact of first impressions. Unconventional, innovative packaging does not just make a product easily discover-able, but also helps to create brand recall in the long run. For those engaged in the creative side of product and packaging design, the good part is that modern consumers now appear to have a stronger appetite for innovation and thus a smart mix of design sensibility and product differentiation can make for smoother sailing in the rough waters of FMCG marketing.
Here are a few FMCG brands which have succeeded in recent times — at least in drawing eyeballs with innovative packaging:
1.Company: Hector Beverages
What?
Ethnic drinks brand Paper Boat
Who?
Pune-based Elephant Design Pvt. Ltd, one of India’s largest independent integrated design consultancy firm.
Design approach:
“For differentiation and authenticity, standee pouches in a substrate that look and feel like paper have been chosen. The product form plays with the quality of grip, hold, opening ease and pouring action,” explains Ashwini Deshpande, Co-founder, Director, Elephant Design.
“The packaging graphics reflect simplicity and purity of the drink inside. Its curvilinear profile appearance is friendly, memorable and the pilfer-proof winged cap is comfortable to hold, turn and replace as well as aligned to the brand visual language. Flat colours, simple shapes and a pack language reminiscent of the childhood landscape, all contribute to the delightful nostalgia that the brand is all about,” she adds.
Materials used:
The pouches are made of a four-part laminate that makes the pack withstand extremes in pressure and heat. The pouches have a 10 per cent lower carbon footprint and generally lower overall environmental impact than glass bottles, Tetra Pack cartons and PET bottles.

 
2. Company: Synthite Industries Limited
What?
SPRIG (gourmet food ingredients)
Who?
The conceptualisation, design and development of the packaging structure were done by the company’s in-house product design team. They subsequently worked with an external agency to integrate the graphic design and label development to complete the product packaging.
Design approach: “Light and moisture are mortal enemies of spices, so storing spices in transparent containers or plastic bags or jars is not advisable. We, therefore, had to find an alternative material. And that is how the idea of canisters came into being,” says Vishal Menon, Chief Development Officer of Synthite Industries.
“An interesting feature of our aluminum canisters is that the product cannot be put away without capping. The product will stand vertically only on its capped end. Our consumer trials validated that our unique design subtly served as a memory aid. Moreover, the footprint of this canister is small, thereby taking up less space in a user’s pantry,” he adds.
Materials used:
The company used high grade aluminum for packaging. The aluminum is crafted into a ‘seamless canister’ through a special impact extrusion process.

3. Company: Desai Brothers Ltd
What?
Mother’s Recipe pickle in doypack
Who?
Packaging was conceptualised jointly by the marketing and in-house packaging team along with creative agency Triton Communication, Mumbai.
Design approach:
“The idea was to maintain and thereby increase the product’s shelf-life, reduce carbon footprint and develop a pack design that is economical as well as easy to transport,” says P. Rajan Mathews, Vice President – Marketing & Sales, Desai Brothers Ltd – Food Division (Mother’s Recipe). “Hence, the flexi standee pouch was best suited as well as the economical option for pickle packaging; it offers maximum graphical display and longer shelf life as compared to other rigid packs (glass bottles or PET jars),” he adds.
Materials used:
Three-layer laminated film — Polyester, Metalized polyester and Polyethylene — was used for this standee pouch.