Packaging Reviews
Rolus by Re
Back in the early 00s – the era when arguably Hollyoaks was at its zenith, and bellybutton piercings their most bejeweled – Botox was gradually emerging from the hushed clinics of Harley Street and LA to become part of common parlance. As such, brands cottoned on to the word’s ‘eternal youth’ connotations: I distinctly remember a shampoo ad promising that...
Wholy Greens by Control Studio
Wholy Greens is a B-Corp certified Dutch food brand dedicated to transforming the way people perceive and enjoy vegetables. Its mission is to create a mindset shift from ‘having to eat veggies’ to ‘genuinely loving veggies’ – and it uses pasta as its primary vehicle. It’s a smart set up, not least because, frankly, what experiences aren’t more enjoyable when...
Isle of Wight Tomatoes by B&B Studio
Having grown up near Portsmouth, the Isle of Wight carries a certain resonance, though perhaps unfairly. Aged around 14, when getting served in off licences/particularly lax pubs wasn’t always a given, we’d sometimes pass the time watching the IoW ferry. It felt rather bleak, and somehow a bit futile, just bobbing back and forth between two destinations (Southampton and Cowes)...
Oatier by AllGood
Demand for dairy alternatives continues to surge. In the United States, plant-based milks and proteins are reportedly popular among a third of adults thanks to their perceived health benefits, as well as consumers’ increasing environmental awareness and plant-based lifestyles. Soy, of course, was the OG substitute, until almond milk came to dominate the market. But now, it’s all about oats....
Drumroll by Gander
Donuts are one of life’s simplest pleasures, but they haven’t historically been the healthiest choice. Vegan – sorry ‘plant based’ – donuts are nothing new (Krispy Kreme’s been selling some non-dairy alternatives for a while now, and very nice they are too), but until now, we weren’t aware of donuts that also boast high-protein, low-sugar, gluten-free credentials. That is, until...
Bimmi by Bedow
When it comes to pre-packaged, semi-liquid meals and snacks, it’s easy to cite the infamous examples that are now stand-ins for whole demographics – I’m talking about SlimFast, the epitome of 90s diet culture; biohacker fuel Soylent; and, more recently, the US-based celeb-backed Daily Harvest, which made headlines due to product recall over food poisoning incidents. But there’s perhaps no...
Trulli Ulivi by Here Design
Most people have likely never played the game ‘Italian Food or Italian Celebrity’; but trust me, it’s a pretty fun game – great for car/tube/bus journeys, or whiling away a bit of time after Christmas between gorging on something and watching Eastenders Omnibus. The premise is simple: someone says a name, the others guess if it’s an Italian food, or...
Ginori 1735 by AUGE
Florentine design studio AUGE has created a sumptuous range of packaging for Italian luxury homeware brand Ginori, which was founded in 1735 as the Manifattura di Doccia by Marquis Carlo Ginori on the grounds of his villa at Doccia. Nearly three hundred years later, the venerable brand finds itself owned by Gucci, following a merger with Società Richard (and subsequent...
Toundra by LG2
There’s always something intriguing about niche, singular companies, stores and brands. When I was growing up, I distinctly remember a shop that sold only various things made out of wicker, for instance. It both intrigued and baffled me then, before I understood the concept of a ‘front’, a la (or so rumour has it) the numerous shops that once lined...
Thick Pickle by Studyhall
Where to begin with Thick Pickle? This conceptual brand began in 2023 as a self-initiated ‘studio side project’ for California-based studio Studyhall. As it blew up though, Studyhall began to wonder if the brand had legs – literally, as demonstrated by the disconcertingly buff, aviator-shade-sporting animated pickle (gherkin or pickled cucumber for the Brits) mascot who strides across pop-up windows...
PAIST by Two Times Elliott
Toothpaste hasn’t historically needed to do a lot, design-wise: it’s a category based on functionality and efficacy, over trends and aesthetics – sensitive teeth, whitening processes, goth-adjacent charcoal formulas, weird little crystals, and so on and so forth. That function over form thing has meant that over the years, toothpaste packaging has become incredibly monotonous – usually a predominantly white,...
PURLOM’s ¡A LA MESA! by Onmi Design
I’m reluctant to bring up the pandemic again, four years later. But I can’t help think back to that period when seeing images related to gatherings, which are employed to great effect in Onmi Design’s work for PURLOM, a family business with more than 40 years of experience producing and distributing a wide variety of meats. This kind of imagery...