Branding

As I mentioned on my post last week about the Mr Beast jerky, there’s a delicate balance that needs to be struck if celebrities are endorsing packs.

I wasn’t familiar with this duo although I’m sure many are but I wonder if the amount of real estate awarded to them, is helping sell the product or is it using up valuable space that could be put to better use showcasing the benefit of what it is the product offers

Whilst this may be completely apparent for the people who follow the channel, it’s always tricky to use celebrity photos as a selling tool to get new consumers in if they don’t know who they are

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It’s not just competitors you have to deal with on shelf. Sometimes it’s the shelves themselves.

Fussy is a great product. But it isn’t the loudest. That combined with small canvases means it’s often overlooked by consumers or hidden by the fixtures and fittings.

It’s always worth looking at your product in its competitive environment and designing with that in mind.

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Should the brand colour signal problem or solution?

You’ll be amazed at what consumers take in subconsciously.

Whilst red can provide a great beacon on-shelf, it’s not possibly the best colour to use for a product that aims to soothe and cure an itchy scalp.

Always cue the benefit. We decode the emotion before reading the words.

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Standing out on shelf is never the problem. Standing out in the right way is where it gets interesting.

This cooking oil pack is a great example of that balance in action.

It takes a very modern approach. Clean, minimal, and deliberately stripped of traditional category cues.

The vertical logo works hard. It catches the eye and creates a strong, contemporary presence.

But in doing so, it also starts to borrow heavily from visual language we typically see in personal care.

The format, the finish, even the overall feel. It leans closer to something you might find in a haircare aisle than in cooking oils.

That creates an interesting tension. On one hand, it drives standout. It looks different, which is valuable in a crowded category.

On the other, it moves away from some of the cues that signal taste, quality, and authenticity. The things people instinctively look for when choosing a cooking oil.

There is an opportunity here.

How do you keep that modernity and distinctiveness, while reintroducing just enough category cues to reassure and guide?

Because borrowing from other categories can be powerful, it can refresh and reframe. But without the right balance, it can also create a small moment of doubt.

And in food, that moment matters.

The most effective designs tend to stretch the rules, not ignore them entirely.

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The success of the chicken wine has been a spring board for a menagerie of different animal inspired wines.

You can see why, focusing the label around an animal can be a perfect way to lift the pack out from a sea of sameness. That said, in order to maintain credibility in the zoo, it is important that this animal is linked to the product in some way.

This pack caught my eye yesterday. Now, whilst the label was enough to act as a beacon on shelf, it needed to work hard to balance this beacon with credibility.

The brand hinges around the tweaking of the famous ‘pig based’ nursery rhyme. It’s an opportunity to do something clever memorable and establish credibility.

Get this wrong, however, as here and it can undermine its whole proposition. Clumsy copywriting leads to confusion and a world of potential cheesiness.

The brand has attempted to talk about what the Wein can be paired with and it’s overall taste profile but the net result feels a little shoehorned in rather than cleverly woven

Standing at a distance is one thing, convincing the consumer close-up is another

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I often get into fairly interesting conversations on here with people about packaging formats.

I’m all for doing something different but it has to be functional and practical. Form should always follow function as I mentioned before.

Now before people jump in and say yes, but it’s very different so It will stand out. You have to remember some of the functions and fundamentals of Packaging design.

The Packaging needs to help with the overall delivery of the format and if this format challenges the norm then other aspects such as the graphic needs to help easily explain what the product is, and the chosen format needs to be up to the challenge of delivery of the product

That neatly brings me onto this example of a foaming body wash.

The product uses a structure more akin to squirty cream. Imagine how tricky, and slippy the pack is to use in the shower! Most shower creams and shower gels are designed specifically for one-handed operation. This requires not just the addition of another hand, but the addition of a soux chef to operate. 

So where the format fails the Graphics need to do a lot of of the heavy lifting. However, because they have taken a stripped back and on trend approach, they lack all of the personality and all of the traditional cues to help support what the product is.

Be different by all means, but don’t forget what the product is and how it’s used

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Sometimes, all the information is there, it’s not presented in an engaging way.

Branding is all about storytelling. It’s capturing the imagination of the consumer and communicating how you meet a specific need.

Remember, the consumer decides emotionally and justifies logically. They have to be attracted and invested in what you have to offer.

Take this example from the cooking oil aisle. Arguably all the information is there to sell the product to a consumer, however the story is missing.

It immediately feels very worthy, almost like popping into Holland and Barrat’s to buy some multivitamins rather than a staple for the food cupboard. That tends to communicate hard work and compromise rather than benefit.

A great way to think about this is how would somebody described this pack and brand to me if I wasn’t there?
How is this going to make me feel?
How does it benefit me?
Why should I use this instead of my normal brand?
What visual sign post and triggers would they describe?
What tone of voice is it using?

Apologies for all the questions but it’s important to understand this. If the pack leaves you asking more questions than it answers, the chances of you picking it up and putting it in your basket are very slim.

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Packaging has a job to do. First and foremost, it needs to communicate.

This toothbrush is a good reminder of how easy it is to underplay that role.

From the front of pack, there is very little information. Aside from a small brand logo, there are few cues to help a shopper quickly understand what the product is or why they should choose it.

In contrast, much of the competition leans into clarity. They highlight key benefits, explain functionality, and remove uncertainty at a glance.

Here, some of those fundamentals are missing.

For example, it is not immediately clear whether the toothbrush is rechargeable or mains powered. That is a simple but important detail that helps a consumer make a decision quickly and confidently.

There is also an opportunity to strengthen visibility on shelf. A toothbrush in a similar colour to its backing, paired with minimal branding, can make it harder to distinguish at a distance. Small adjustments in contrast, hierarchy, or messaging could significantly improve standout.

The design itself feels considered and minimal, which can be a strength and aid differentiation. But in categories where efficacy and trust are key, that minimalism needs to be balanced with clear, confident communication.

A few well-chosen cues could do a lot of heavy lifting. Highlighting core benefits, clarifying functionality, and improving visual contrast would help the product work harder at shelf.

Great packaging is not just about looking good. It is about helping people understand, choose, and trust what they are buying.

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Consumers need to believe in the brand they are buying.

They look for signals of trust and efficacy, especially when it is something new to them. In those moments, they rely on visual shortcuts to fill in the gaps.

We all do this. It is how we interpret the world and make quick decisions.

Assumptions about effectiveness are often shaped by familiar visual cues. These cues are drawn from everything a consumer has seen before, from products they have used to brands they have encountered through advertising and retail.

Take skincare as an example. A consumer will instinctively look for signals that align with what they already associate with credible, effective products.

If those expected cues are missing or misjudged, the product can easily be misunderstood.

I recently came across a product in Boots that looked more like something you would drizzle over strawberries than something designed to treat a skin condition.

That disconnect matters.

If you do not get the key visual cues right, trust is lost in seconds and the consumer simply moves on to a product that does.

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It’s very easy to lose track of the bamboozling amount of YouTuber consumer products out there.

Most fall into the same trap of if you don’t know who the celebrity is the brand is pretty meaningless. I think many are missing a trick here by only pitching the product to their small yet dedicated fan base rather than opening it out to new consumers.

Take this product from recent London Mayoral candidate and kiddy sunglasses wearing Niko Omilana apart from being a bag of sweets, what’s is it doing differently and why should I buy it?.

For anyone wondering who in the world Niko was, and I was one of these until one of my kids guided me in the right direction, declaring that something is by Niko is pretty irrelevant. Fine if you Cadbury or Bassett, but if your name is not immediately attributable to confectionary is not actually supporting your proposition or encouraging consumers outside of your fan based to try the product.

These YouTuber personalities should instead focus on creating strong brand stories and values that extend AND develop their personal brands to make them relevant in the product category they want to move into.

Miss out on this and you could be cutting out a sizable chunk of consumers.

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