Do Trends Matter in CPG Design?

Graza. Fishwife. Brightland.

When you’ve by no means heard of them, simply stroll into an area specialty retailer — you’re assured to identify a few of these manufacturers, with packaging so aesthetically pleasing they make you are feeling like strolling inside an Instagram feed.

Gander helped construct the Graza model from scratch, an olive oil that is available in a squeeze bottle. Supply: GoPuff

Marked by vibrant colours, daring fonts, and artistic illustrations, this fashion of packaging is now transferring past specialty shops and into massive retail aisles.

“When you stroll into virtually each main retail chain grocery retailer within the US, there can be no less than one product that we designed, if not two.”

That was Mike McVicar, co-founder of Gander, a Brooklyn-based design studio behind Graza, Magic Spoon, and a dozen of different “viral” manufacturers.

I tracked him down after obsessing over Gander’s visible fashion, and requested him concerning the newest developments in packaging design.

Besides he’s not a fan of following developments or virality — not stunning for a die-hard inventive.

“We get on a regular basis that our work is stylish and that we have set a sure visible tone with our work, however we don’t deliberately do this,” Mike confessed. “It may really feel limiting and annoying generally.”

However he nonetheless shared his tackle why we’re seeing this phenomenon.

The Design Pendulum

Again within the late 90s and early 2000s, good design wasn’t a precedence for shopper packaged items (CPG).

Packages with call-outs and stickers that scream “33% much less fats” had been the mainstream, a mode that Mike endearingly described as “excessive, ugly, and type of further.”

When the 2010s rolled round, branding design went to the opposite excessive — the blanding pattern.

Packages turned minimalistic and generic, usually that includes sans serif fonts and pastel colours.

And now with the rise of social shopping, many manufacturers are catering to the dopamine-charged, color-forward Instagram aesthetic.

It’s additionally a renaissance of the Y2K style, with daring colours and playful textures.

“The pendulum has swung towards ‘it may be enjoyable once more!’” Mike mentioned.

Large manufacturers love this pattern, too.

From Jell-O to 7UP, they’re redesigning to dial up the dopamine, and creating a visible identification that spreads enjoyable and pleasure.

The Draw back to A Trending Fashion

The issue with this pattern? 

It has led some firms to prioritize “doing it for the ‘gram” after they come to Gander. 

“You discover manufacturers that simply have very ornamental design, or solely really feel fascinating aesthetically. It will not repay for them in the long term, and even within the quick run,” Mike mentioned.

It’s problematic for manufacturers to emulate what everybody else is doing, or recreating a pattern, as a result of:

• You’re assuming that another person’s resolution is your resolution
• You’ll be simply replaceable
• You’re not specializing in speaking your individual model values and differentiation to prospects

He additionally doesn’t imagine the present dopamine packaging pattern will keep for that for much longer.

It’s a pendulum, in any case. 

Differentiate Manufacturers Via Design

Again in 2015, Gander labored on the rebranding for Banza, a pasta constructed from chickpeas.

Opposite to the favored fashion on the pasta aisle again then (assume Barilla’s simplistic blue packaging), Gander went for a vibrant and expressive fashion. 

Supply: Gander

Banza was one of many early manufacturers to make a daring assertion with packaging, which impacted the meals business as a complete. 

“Our ethos was to take another meals, and switch it right into a model that has subverted what was anticipated for gluten-free pasta,” Mike mentioned.

And it labored.

Banza went from anonymity to one of the top pasta manufacturers within the US. It’s now in 25k retail locations nationally, together with Goal, Walmart and Costco.

Since then, Gander’s helped many different CPG manufacturers get on massive retail cabinets. Graza, whose design they helped construct from scratch, hit $48m+ in income and might be present in 13k+ areas.

Wanting again at their massive wins, Mike gave three easy suggestions for any model who wish to stand out by way of design:

• Begin along with your story and historical past as a model, as an alternative of following developments blindly;
• Perceive who your buyer is, what sort of world they reside in aesthetically, and what’s pleasing to them;
• Take a look at your competitors, and see what alternatives align along with your product and firm that others aren’t doing but.

What Else Is Trending in CPG Design?

As anti-trend as he’s, Mike did get enthusiastic about one specific pattern — the inclusion of “next-level scrumptious meals pictures” on packages.

The “bleh” to “yum” transformation. Supply: AdWeek

You’d assume it’s a no brainer, however a decade in the past, it wasn’t mainstream to place high-quality meals pictures on the packages.

“It by no means prints proper, it would not look that nice, and the funding of making one thing actually good might be tough for small manufacturers,” Mike mentioned.

However the tide has shifted.

Influenced by social media, youthful customers favor packaging that really fire up their urge for food, and main meals manufacturers try to make their merchandise look further tasty.

Now that is a pattern we are able to all get behind.