The snack market is changing. And so is the way we eat. While the traditional eating patterns of 3 structured meals remain, we’re snacking more frequently. Millennials are the most likely to succumb to snack attacks –  they’re snacking 4 times a day! So, what does this mean for packaging design for snack foods? Let’s take a look at that shortly. First, let’s consider current trends a little more.

Once upon a time you had to really search out and go to ‘specialty health food’ stores to find unrefined ‘natural’ products. Now our supermarkets have dedicated aisles catering to our growing allergies and intolerances. What was once ‘hippie food’ is now mainstream staple – chia seeds anyone?

What’s more, we like to be seen to be eating healthily. We want to post images of our afternoon Japanese turmeric-matcha-latte while we enjoy snacking on our gluten free, vegan plant protein.

As consumers turn their backs on sugar-loaded, empty snacking, there will be a flurry of products that will fill the healthy space, from plant protein to bug protein.

Packaging design for snack foods needs to reflect consumers’ concerns around health and make it super easy for people to evaluate what products do and don’t contain. They’re craving simple, recognisable ingredients. They’re looking for purity and authenticity. They want natural and nature.

Cut to the chase. Simplify the message through clear, structured packaging hierarchy. Thankfully we’ve moved on from the 80’s washing powder trend of loading the front of packs with as many features and benefits as possible, all shoe-horned in to one small space. However, don’t confuse simplicity with minimalism. Simplicity captures essentialism. And that is key, particularly in this category which is crowded and often confusing.

Natasha’s Kale Crunchies by Dynamo is a delightful example of healthy, raw natural food captured beautifully, simply and personally. For me, this snack’s packaging passes the ‘at a glance test’—I can see what it is, what’s in it and what’s not. It oozes appetite appeal and I get the feeling that Natasha is fun and passionate about her product. This packaging has been cleverly carved-up in to 4 essential pieces of content: Brand, Product, Benefits and Flavour.

• BRAND: Announcing the brand in a gentle, handwritten font, supported by a playful orange-haired mascot, tells us a lot about the company. The brand is evident on the pack, but doesn’t over power.
• PRODUCT: The product name is large and confident. The letterpress style gives it a sense of ‘handmade with care’. And the product’s wholesome, untainted ingredients are captured through crisp product photography. They look vital, fresh and good for me.
• BENEFITS: The benefits are identified well through clear iconography.
• FLAVOUR: The flavour is identified through bold and energetic colour. Not only does it help differentiate the range, it has great shelf-shout.

In summary, the packaging architecture is well considered and the content hierarchy spot on. There is a very linear structure to the layout which makes it easy to visually digest.

By contrast, I find this healthy option by The Funky Monkey, well, just a bit too funky. It’s a smorgasboard of fonts and I found it hard to decipher what the product actually is. This snack food packaging design also delivers 4 pieces of content, but in such a fragmented way. There is no obvious architecture or hierarchy. The elements are competing with each other, rather than complementing and informing. Alone, if we look at where the ‘benefit’ content is placed, you can see it has a less structured, more random approach. This type of hierarchy makes the pack less appealing because it’s difficult to visually digest.

Coupled with a well considered hierarchy, it’s important to use clear, unambiguous language. We crave short sentences that get to the point. Our busy lives don’t allow for rambling poetic prose or confusing content. The Hippeas brand is a wonderful example of this with short, informative text: “Sweet and Smokin’” – oh yeah! Or the Gaea fig bar with 6 ingredients—that’s all I need to know unless I do have a moment to suck up the contents of the Nutritional Information Panel.

Just because it’s healthy doesn’t mean it needs to have all hessian hues. The snack category lures us with flavour sensations. And millennials have a large appetite for flavour adventures. They enjoy bold and spicy flavours and culturally diverse options. These qualities translate well through hearty typography and luminous colour palettes. You can be bold!

We recently completed a branding and packaging design project for an ancient superfood—lupini beans. This monstrously, moreish, unbelievably good-for-you snack not only delivers on health benefits, it has some cracking flavours like aromatic oregano and tangy turmeric. We decided to use colour to flaunt the flavours and give the packaging some real shelf- shout. But before we were even thinking about stand-out or good blocking, Mother Nature had already paved the way. The flowering lupini plant has an extraordinarily vibrant colour palette, so it became our source of inspiration.

The packaging format is key to its success. When it comes to snacking, we are more likely to be on the move than settled. So it is vital to offer an experience. We must understand how consumers engage with the food and the shareable aspect of snacking. Clearly a favourite amongst consumers for its convenience is the pouch format. Below are some great examples of shareable snacks using this approach.

There are multiple opportunities for companies to connect with consumers around new, flexible eating styles and equally some innovative ways of packaging them.

If you’re planning packaging design for snack foods and want to munch through your packaging potential, give me a call on 02 9519 991 or send me an email.

Innovative use of marine packaging waste by Sydney designers

While it’s almost impossible to predict, it’s believed there are 5.25 TRILLION pieces of plastic debris in the ocean. Of that, 269,000 tons’ float on the surface, while some four billion plastic microfibers per square kilometer litter the deep sea. (1) Eeek!

This pollution has devastating effects for marine animals as they ingest it, get caught in it or suffocate from it.

However, it’s heartening to see that Sydney-based Industrial designer Andrew Simpson of Vert Design has teamed up with several other visionary designers to create beautiful products made from salvaged marine waste. Together with Emma Swann, a jewellery designer and founder of Recreational Studio, Ocean Collection was created.

The collection is a series of magically coloured cuffs, a fusion of brass and collected plastic involving a process of low pressure injection moulding. To match the innovative and environmental pitch of this project they created paper-pulp moulded packaging to house the cuffs. Each pack is processed and pressed by hand then sewn shut with a recycled card backing. No detail has been left unconsidered. The organic cotton thread is colour-matched with the cuff inside. And even the ink used is vegetable based.

Another inspiring project saw Andrew team up with Sarah K to develop ‘marine debris bakelite’. The Supercyclers have developed this new material from 100% recycled plastic collected from Australian beaches. The waste is sorted by colour then processed using small scale industrial and hand manufacturing. The product is characterised by a marbled quality that references early bakelite in look, weight and density. The results are stunning.

Thankfully it’s not just small independents that are trying to clean up our oceans. There are a number of corporations taking on this challenge too,  such as German sportswear brand Adidas. They’re teaming up with Parley to develop materials made from marine plastic waste that can be used in its products.

So, through creativity and collaboration we can bring an end to marine plastic pollution.

If you’d like to discuss ways to reduce or improve your packaging, give us a call on 02 9519 9991 or email us at info@wearedepot.com.au

Ocean plastic facts that will shock you:

Worldwide, 13,000-15,000 pieces of plastic are dumped into the ocean every day.

There are believed to be 46,000 pieces of plastic in every square mile of ocean.

The number 1 man made thing that sailors see in our ocean are plastic bags.

100,000 marine creatures a year die from plastic entanglement and these are the ones found.

Each year approximately 1 million sea birds also die from eating plastic.

(1) http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/01/150109-oceans-plastic-sea-trash-science-marine-debris

The artful use of packaging waste to create high-impact campaign for Greenpeace Africa

As consumerism extends across Africa so too does the problem of waste. To tackle this issue by means of education and awareness Namibia-based ad agency Advantage Y&R and Greenpeace Africa commissioned local artists Petrus Shiimi and Saima Iita to create these hauntingly beautiful artworks. They created African masks made from bits of rubbish, which included empty plastic containers, wires, packaging and plastic bags. The masks were held by Nambian children and photographed against a rich black background giving them indelible potency. Each image houses the caption ‘Trash shouldn’t define our culture.’

The creative director, Toufic Beyhum explains the campaign was created to link the growing crisis with the continent’s most precious people and the detrimental effect on its future generations.

Launched with an exhibition of the photographs at a Namibian gallery, the campaign has been displayed in posters, publications and presentations. Greenpeace Africa will continue to share it throughout the continent to promote the message and hopefully bring some significant change in behaviour regarding waste and recycling.

I think this is a hugely powerful campaign that stands to remind us of the extent of this crisis which not only affects Africa but the rest of the world too.

As packaging designers, we can be more proactive in changing attitudes towards waste and recycling. In our next blog, we take a look at some of the companies and designers who are creating innovative solutions for this ongoing problem.

If you would like to discuss ways to reduce or improve your packaging visit us at https://www.wearedepot.com.au/ or give us a call on 02 9519 9991.