When beauty and function meet
Consumers are increasingly turning a critical eye on product packaging. And regardless of brand positioning — store brand or national brand — they’re demanding packaging that offers both functionality and beautiful design. Store Brands’ annual Store Brands Packaging Awards competition celebrates retailers that are not only addressing these demands, but also effectively communicating the brand message via packaging.
This year, we received approximately 150 entries representing approximately 60 different retailers and packaging design firms. To avoid any potential for bias, we asked four experts from outside the packaging design industry to serve on our judging panel. Our judges include Lisa Pierce, executive editor of Packaging Digest, Rick Lingle, technical editor of Packaging Digest, Linda Casey, editor in chief of Package Design, and Pan Demetrakakes, senior editor of Retail Leader (and former editor of Food & Beverage Packaging).
We divided the entries into five categories: Non-Foods, Beverages, Refrigerated and Frozen Foods, Shelf-Stable Foods and New Line or Line Extension Across Multiple Categories. We then instructed the judges to evaluate each entry on three criteria: overall appearance, functionality and communication of the brand/product message.
In the end, the judges selected a Gold and Silver Award winner within each category except the Beverage category, where they awarded one Gold and two Silver Awards. They also honored one outstanding product with the “Best of the Bunch” Award (and gave out one honorable mention in the Non-Foods category).
BEST OF THE BUNCH AWARD
Full Circle Fresh Frozen Chopped herbs
Retail company: Topco Associates LLC (cooperative), Elk Grove Village, Ill.
Design company: Topco Associates LLC’s internal design team
THE JUDGES WEIGH IN:
Pan Demetrakakes: “This is a unique product in a unique package. It gives consumers a way to keep fresh frozen spices on hand and to use them only when they need to. I like how it’s a square paperboard carton with a plastic top. It’s very functional and attractive and easy to use. It has the potential to be a real category changer.”
Rick Lingle: “The color scheme works really well from the closure and the snap-fit lid. The opening is a nifty deal. … This is a category-buster … very convenient for multiple servings and a nice graphics job on the carton. This has the appearance of a package that was built from scratch. It’s really an impressive effort … from the start to the finish.”
Lisa Pierce: “I like how unique this packaging is for this category. This is a category game-changer in my opinion. … The size is ergonomic and easy to open and dispense with one hand as you’re stirring the pot with your other hand. It’s got beautiful photography, and on one side of the four sides of the carton are some very easy directions. And the graphics on the front label are very eye-catching.”
Linda Casey: “This package will change the way people cook forever. I think the idea of being able to have fully variable dispersion of fresh herbs in a frozen state | is absolutely amazing. It’s an excellent example of good holistic design. … It’s unusual [that they used a box when] they could have used a jar or a plastic container. [The] paperboard box is helpful to people who care about the ecologic impact of the products they consume. The top can be pulled off and the paperboard box flattened and recycled.”
Shelf-Stable Foods
GOLD AWARD
Irresistibles Olive Oil Spray
Retail company: Metro Inc., Montreal
Design company: St. Joseph Communications
THE JUDGES WEIGH IN:
Lingle: “Well, No. 1 is the look of the whole package. It’s an atypical color scheme for an olive oil, I would imagine. They’ve selected black. It’s very classy, upscale and premium. The use of the green of the olives certainly points out very distinctly what this product is about. They’ve also selected an aluminum spray container with a body shrink label. It’s got what looks like a high-end spray dispenser. We actually tested it. It sprays very evenly and just perfectly. Also the design elements they have on here work so perfectly and tastefully together. There’s really nothing that we can find as a flaw with this package. It just delivers from the top to the bottom and with a holistic approach.”
Pierce: “This as a spray gives you a control over portioning that you don’t get with something that you pour. And the sprayer that they put on [the package] is very unique. It’s a continuous spray, so you have utmost control over dispensing the product, which I loved. The way the bottle is designed, you’ve got a little bit of pinch right where you would hold it, and it’s very comfortable for the index finger to hit on the top of the sprayer. It’s a very easy, comfortable sprayer to use.”
SILVER AWARD
CVS/pharmacy Nutritional Shakes
Retail company: CVS Health, Woonsocket, R.I.
Design company: Sterling Brands
THE JUDGES WEIGH IN:
Demetrakakes: They took these nutritional shakes away from the grim medical institutional look and actually emphasized their appetite appeal [with] both the primary and secondary packaging. For the primary packaging, they did an excellent job with the full body shrink sleeve label, very appetizing graphics. The die-cut secondary packaging is also very appealing. I especially like the mix-and-match or the variation package that they have as an open carrier. It looks like a soda pop or milk carrier, but because it’s open, it makes it very clear that these are six different flavors in the same package. It’s a very good job of product communication all the way around.”
Casey: “The carrier really helps this product stand out. What I really loved about this carrier [were] the milk cues. Milk is considered a staple in most houses; most households don’t wait until shopping day to replace it if it runs out. Something like a nutritional shake might be considered a once-in-a-while purchase. This is a reminder and a cue to say: Take this product and make it a part of your everyday routine.’”
Beverages
GOLD AWARD
Irresistibles Country Blend ground Coffee
Retail company: Metro Inc., Montreal
Design company: St. Joseph Communications
THE JUDGES WEIGH IN:
Pierce: “What I liked about this package was that the design of it is almost totally opposite of what you’re seeing in the category as a whole. So it’s a premium blend of coffee, and yet it’s not in black. You’ve got beautiful photography of a very relaxing scene, which says to the consumer: ‘This is one way you can enjoy this premium coffee.’”
Demetrakakes: “I also liked the graphics on the coffee. I especially like it that they stayed away from the cliché of coffee beans or a steaming cup. I also like that they included an acidity scale on the front that’s accessible to consumers and gives them important information.”
SILVER AWARD (TIE)
Compliments Zaz Liquid Water Enhancer
Retail company: Sobeys Inc., Stellarton, Nova Scotia
Design company: Fish out of Water Design
THE JUDGES WEIGH IN:
Casey: “I love the shape of the Zaz [packaging]. I think it’s a product that is not only easy to use, but also will encourage product use and help the brand sell more product because [the packaging] encourages consumers to put more of the liquid concentrate in each drink.”
Pierce: “I like the way it has a nice family design with the different flavors and the different colors.”
SILVER AWARD (TIE)
Culinaria Sparkling Water
Retail company: Schnuck Markets Inc.
Design company: Galileo Global Branding Group
THE JUDGES WEIGH IN:
Casey: “I love this water. I love the way that [it] targets a new market for sparkling water. As we know, the younger consumers — millennials, Generation X — are not drinking as many carbonated beverages as generations before them. The [design] encourages them to try the sparkling water because it says it’s a product for them. I love the logo. The fact that the spoon is part of the logo is a wonderful way to market the other products in the Culinaria line. If you were drinking this water and enjoyed it, you would say: ‘Oh my goodness, this is obviously a cooking spoon so there must be other products in this line that are food-related.’ The use of the water drop is amazing. One of the content moderators pointed out that the bottle begs to be tipped because the water droplet [on the label] is upside down when the bottle is standing up.”
Lingle: “[I like] the scrollwork and the tasteful color scheme that they have. It’s beautiful.”
New Line or Line Extension Across Multiple Categories
GOLD AWARD
Compliments Presents Jamie Oliver Discovers Canada
Retail company: Sobeys Inc., Stellarton, Nova Scotia
Design company: Fish out of Water Design
THE JUDGES WEIGH IN:
Pierce: “I think they’ve done a great job of branding Jamie Oliver. I don’t know who Jamie Oliver is, but [by] just having a picture of him on the packaging, I trust his name. He’s very appealing.”
Casey: “I think [the packaging] does a wonderful job in bringing Jamie Oliver front and center in an authentic way and extends the Jamie Oliver brand to all of its products. What was especially telling is that the products feel natural, healthy and good for you. One of the samples was an apple berry crisp, which is not exactly a healthy food to eat, but it feels like something good for you and gives you that feeling of eating something wholesome. I think they were really able to extend Jamie Oliver’s brand and positive attributes in a great way. One of [my] fellow judges mentioned that it cuts across categories really well, from prepared foods to food ingredients to frozen foods and condiments.”
SILVER AWARD
Wild Harvest
Retail company: Supervalu Inc., Eden Prairie, Minn.
Design company: DDW (Deutsch Design Works)
THE JUDGES WEIGH IN:
Pierce: “What I liked a lot about Wild Harvest is that there is excellent color matching across the different substrates: flexible packaging on different types of film, paper labels and paperboard cartons. There is a good match with the orange and green color scheme across the different substrates. I also think it has a nice hierarchy where the different design elements are positioned — very balanced and yet interesting. Your eye moves around a lot on the labels. I think that the grass graphics that they have here — which is a little unusual; usually the grass is green — is a unique way of doing this graphic element as well [and] to me immediately says organic’ or natural.’ I think the photography is pretty spectacular in showing the ingredients. It says “fresh.” But what really sold me on this [packaging] is the logo. The name of the brand is Wild Harvest and the logo is kind of drawn. It’s not symmetrical. It’s wild itself. I have just recently learned that ‘wild’ is the latest [descriptor] that appeals to consumers who are looking for natural, local or organic foods. So it’s a win on all those levels.”
Lingle: “The only thing I can add to what Lisa said is that, overall, it is a very pleasing design, and they have a lot of discreet elements in here as part of their design, but it seems like they all work well together. Overall, I would say the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. It works really perfectly in this design.”
Refrigerated and Frozen Foods
GOLD AWARD
LoveSome Frozen Desserts
Retail company: SpartanNash Co., Grand Rapids, Mich.
Design company: Periscope
THE JUDGES WEIGH IN:
Demetrakakes: “The LoveSome Frozen Desserts from SpartanNash use a paperboard carton with a large window that shows both the top and the front [of the dessert], which is a great idea for cake ice cream because cake ice cream is one of the very few products that looks good in its frozen state. The graphics are terrific. “The LoveSome logo is informal, inviting and reminiscent of icing writing on top of a cake. There are cute sayings on the end flaps, and it gives off an informal and indulgent vibe that I think really strikes the ‘right now’ for this kind of product.”
Lingle: “[The packaging] uses atypical color schemes to grab your attention, and I think it’s done tastefully. Also, [I like] the format of the package. When I think ice cream cake, I think of a round cake, and it’s very awkward to find room in a freezer case for a round cake. But this packaging is rectangular, so it’s optimizing its use of space, and I appreciate that.”
SILVER AWARD
Irresistibles La collezione sorbets
Retail company: Metro Inc., Montreal
Design company: St. Joseph Communications
THE JUDGES WEIGH IN:
Casey: “I love the primary packaging. The primary packaging and the use of photography of the product in its primary packaging on the secondary packaging is just wonderful. [The primary packaging] reinforces the European branding of the products as Italian by using the [rectangular] containers. The product is dispensed in a way to show the luxurious add-ins with the syrup and different types of flavoring. The carton reflects that, in European style, with the bright color blocks and product photography of the primary package. Overall, it’s premium and fun. It even reminded me of petits fours — that taste of sweetness that is indulgent in almost the reserved way it’s served.”
Demetrakakes: “It does a very good job of incorporating the good looks of the product into the primary package. You basically have a clear cup that shows off the swirling textures of the sorbet. It’s an elegantly simple presentation of what seems to be an elegantly indulgent product.”
Non-Foods
GOLD AWARD
Beauty 360 Bamboo Brushes
Retail company: CVS Health, Woonsocket, R.I.
Design company: CVS Health’s internal design team
THE JUDGES WEIGH IN:
Pierce: “What I liked about this was that [the carton] is off-white or a cream color, which is elegant for upscale beauty products. The clear windows showcase the brushes and yet keep them contained —ensuring they’re hygienic before a customer or consumer buys them and uses them on their own skin or face. I like the very clean front graphics. They’re very plain. It’s just the brand name and a short description of what is contained within the package. And it’s a real nice design element here with the bamboo leaves — we’re not seeing the bamboo stalk — which is a visual cue for natural.”
Casey: “I love the fact that it’s a category-changer for a store brand. Even premium makeup brushes are often in transparent sleeves with no branding. The fact that so much thought and effort was put into branding and marketing these brushes in such an attractive way is wonderful. Seeing store brands like Beauty 360 shake up the category in this way is so encouraging.”
SILVER AWARD
CVS/pharmacy Nicotine Gum
Retail company: CVS Health, Woonsocket, R.I.
Design company: Wallace Church & Co.
THE JUDGES WEIGH IN:
Demetrakakes: “What I like about the CVS Nicotine Gum is that it doesn’t look medicinal. It looks like something you might actually like to chew for the sheer enjoyment of it. That’s a departure for the category. It also makes it less of a forbidding-looking product.”
Pierce: “I also like the way that the design — the matte carton, number one — caught my eye. The colorful design is using the flavor cues of the taste of the gum, as Pan mentioned. You’ve got to buy nicotine gum for a reason you don’t want. At least these are something you feel you might actually enjoy instead of hating having to chew. I also liked the gloss on the carton. The flavor cues are in gloss to make them pop out and more appealing.”
HONORABLE MENTION
Brookshire’s Flap-Tie small Trash Bags
Retail company: Brookshire Grocery Co., Tyler, Texas
Design company: Galileo Global Branding Group
THE JUDGES WEIGH IN:
Demetrakakes: “[The packaging is] in a composite round canister, which is the first time I’ve ever seen plastic trash bags in a package like this. It’s not only unique, but it will save space and appears to be highly functional.”
Lingle: “For my money, this is one of the three ‘wows’ we saw here today. … It’s got a nice pre-perforated side, just like many nice paperboard boxes that we see, but this is going to stand out on shelf. There’s going to be nothing else like it — I imagine — at the stores, and it gets your attention. It’s something completely new and different, and that’s what we like to see in packaging.”
Casey: “I’m really glad we were given the opportunity to make it an honorable mention. The structural design is such a standout, we felt that the package needed to get some accolades. …The structural design is stellar and is definitely a category-changer. Now they just need to work on making [the visual design] brand-better.”
Pierce: “From an environmental point of view, being able to have a tight, round package around a roll just seems to make sense. It’s more compact not only for the shipping, but also for display on the shelf and then for storage in the consumer’s home.”