Disruptive Packaging Concepts – Unconventional Designs That Stand Out

It is almost surprising that the shelves in the supermarkets have not yet burst, given the number of items that are now offered in almost every product segment. Consumers can look forward to an enormous selection of exciting products. But how can they find their way around if they have not yet committed to a regular brand?
Most consumers are guided by first impressions. Accordingly, packaging plays an extremely important role. Brands that can come up with an eye-catching and convincing packaging design have a clear advantage. That is why disruptive concepts are becoming more and more important.
In this article, we present a whole range of unusual packaging designs that stand out from the crowd. Before that, we will briefly discuss the potential and dangers of disruptive packaging concepts. Because one thing is certain: it takes a thoroughly sophisticated idea to ultimately be successful.
Potential and risks of disruptive packaging designs
In principle, there is no alternative to disruptive packaging concepts these days. Even brands that have been established for years or even decades can no longer avoid regularly refreshing their packaging in order to at least maintain or even improve their position. The market is now too dynamic and the competition too fierce for brands to stand still.
But being disruptive doesn’t just mean designing your packaging differently from your competitors. As we repeatedly emphasize for good reason, there is a fine line between “alternative” and “no longer recognizable”.
The consumer must be able to quickly and easily identify what kind of product it is. Otherwise, the packaging will be “disturbing” in a negative sense and deter the consumer. Disruptive packaging must succeed in attracting attention and directly creating a wow effect. Then there are no limits to its success.
Unusual packaging solutions presented
In the following, we present some disruptive packaging solutions that have particularly caught our eye. We show packaging from a wide range of product categories – from water and alcoholic beverages to all kinds of food, cosmetics and sporting goods.
We deliberately refrain from providing detailed assessments and leave it to each individual to form their own opinion on the extent to which the disruptive character of the individual packaging is merely striking or also promotes positive associations with the respective brand.
Water
Mineral water with added vitamins and minerals is trendy. The Karma brand follows this trend in an individual way: the special cap of the modern bottle releases micronutrients when opened.
More and more often, we also come across water in supermarkets that is not filled in PET bottles as usual. The brand Not Beer, for example, offers its sparkling water in beer cans.
And the packaging of the flavored water of the Hapi Water brand is modeled on the well-known Capri Sun. However, it uses a less striking front design and relies more on simplicity and modern illustrations.
Smoothies
Sustainability is a big issue – and that goes for the packaging of trendy smoothies, too. Jova sells its smoothie powder in compostable packaging made from plant-based materials.
The small sachets from Kencko are also fully compostable. The brand also offers a practical bottle. This makes it particularly easy to prepare the smoothies, is easy to clean and can be reused over and over again.
Froosh smoothie powders come in a strikingly colorful paper can, thus combining sustainability with fun.
Alcoholic beverages
We know alcoholic beverages primarily from glass bottles that come in a wide variety of shapes and colors. However, the many manufacturers of spirits are evidently no longer satisfied with the variety of shapes and colors.
The Engine brand bottles its gins in packaging whose overall design concept is reminiscent of an engine oil canister.
The Departed Spirits brand takes a similar approach with its liqueurs, except that the design of the stainless steel can is less rustic and more minimalist and elegant.
Somewhere between the packagings of Engine and Departed Spirits is the Stillhouse brand, which also sells its moonshine whiskey in an unbreakable canister that evokes associations with motor oil, but at the same time creates a noble impression through the choice of typography.
Wine in sachets for on the go? High Key and A Glass of have opted for appropriate packaging. High Key also relies on a distinctly wild design, while A Glass of combines the inherently disruptive sachet as a packaging solution with a rather restrained design.
The Fitzroy brand proves that, despite countless variants having been exhausted, you can still be disruptive with a glass bottle, as with its Premium Navy Rum. Its closure is made from recycled Coca-Cola labels and is characterized by a marbled effect that always looks different, making each rum bottle somewhat unique.
Coffee & milkshakes
When we think of coffee packaging, the first things that come to mind are the classic packaging for ground and unground coffee beans, the modern capsules and possibly also the cups for coffee to go. But there are also special solutions.
For example, the Happy brand packages its coffee in a light-colored plastic tub whose design is most likely to be associated with protein powder.
And the manufacturer Blue Bottle Coffee uses Tetra Paks with a simple, modern design for its ready-to-drink coffees.
The brand No Normal Coffee takes it to the extreme, offering its coffee not only in completely disruptive packaging, but also in an unusual consistency: The paste from the tube is stirred into hot water – and the dark elixir of life is ready. It also offers alternative uses, for example as a spread on bread for a slightly different caffeine kick.
Ready-made milkshakes, which we usually drink from plastic or glass bottles, are available from Slate in a can.
Other drinks
Eager’s juices may be packaged in standard beverage cartons, but their design is so minimalist that it makes the product stand out immediately.
Califia Farms, a brand of non-dairy milk, dispenses with the classic beverage cartons and instead relies on curvy plastic bottles.
Hot broths are said to be beneficial to health and could become a new trend. The manufacturer, The Art of Broth, sells its broths in tea bags that consumers only need to add to hot water.
The Sayso brand also uses tea bags – but in this case for cocktails that consumers can prepare with or without alcohol.
The Brand Craftmix is based on a concept comparable to Sayso’s. Both brands want to offer consumers the opportunity to prepare cocktails quickly and easily on the go. However, Craftmix wraps the mixtures for pouring in small sachets, as are otherwise often used for cosmetic samples.
Basic food
Canister packaging is all the rage right now – and apparently not just for spirits, as the Single & Fat brand cooking oil shows. The color choice is also interesting for this product. Pink is not usually associated with olive oil. So the packaging has a double disruptive effect.
Kaizen rice comes in a handy resealable bag, which is still unusual for this type of product.
Sweets & Snacks
In the sweets and snacks section, some brands try to stand out with sustainable and/or particularly creative packaging. For example, Hey Champ uses paper packaging for its chocolate. Such a minimalist front design and the color combination of white and green are also rarely seen in chocolate products.
The Superlupes brand, which is entirely in women’s hands, wraps its snack beans in environmentally friendly and elegantly designed packaging. The different colors make it easy for consumers to tell the varieties apart.
Toto honors each cookie with its own plastic packaging. This is special because cookies are usually offered in larger packages containing several cookies. The single-variation gives the product more of a snack-on-the-go character.
Thelma’s brand cookies stick to the typical multi-packaging, selling several items in a set; however, the packaging itself stands out: the box is designed like an oven.
With the colorful, almost three-dimensional swirl, Wonka has given the ice cream flavor Chipperberry Swirl a design that is based on the name, stands out from the competition and attracts attention.
Other food products
The packaging of the other food products we have selected as examples shows how differently the disruptive focus can be set.
We are basically only familiar with tomato sauces in glass packaging and ready-made noodles like Chinese ramen primarily in plastic bags. But the manufacturers Born Simple and Omsom sell these products in paper cartons instead. They thus focus on conveying environmental friendliness.
The Happy Grub brand is more focused on convenience and offers its pancake mix in a plastic bottle that is designed to make it easier for consumers to measure out the right amount.
The same applies to marmalade tubes: the jam can be squeezed out quickly and easily onto pancakes or bread without the need for any other aids. And it goes without saying that marmalade in tubes is an absolute eye-catcher on the supermarket shelf among all the classic marmalade jars.
For Coop’s dessert sauces, the focus is on a creative design that visually captivates consumers. We have never seen a lid that represents the sauce running down before.
Spices are usually either filled in more or less large glass jars or as refill variants in plastic or paper bags. However, Just Spices has opted for small, stackable, colorful tins.
Edible packaging
Imagine being able to enjoy your aromatic coffee and then simply consume the cup you drank it from. What sounds incredible has been made a reality by a German start-up company: AllCup offers coffee cups made from ice cream cones that are water and heat resistant thanks to a patented coating.
Edible packaging is also available from other brands. The brand Loliware gained fame a few years ago with its cups made from algae. When mixed with other natural ingredients and (lots of) sugar, the seaweed can be transformed into moldable agar-agar. Although the company no longer produces edible cups, it continues to work on making plastic-free products from seaweed that are “designed to disappear” in order to minimize the impact on the environment.
Like Loliware, Evoware also makes products out of algae, including cups and straws, as well as packaging. All of the brand’s products are fully biodegradable and can either be composted or eaten after use.
OTC medicines
An increasing number of manufacturers of over-the-counter medicines are keen to present their medical products not only as effective but also as tasty. The articles from NuStrips, Olly and Sourse make this very clear: melatonin strips that melt on the tongue, in small boxes with a modern design; melatonin gummies in colorful plastic tins ; and vitamins in a chocolate coating, packed in a colorful paper bag: Both the actual products and their packaging suggest not only a sense of well-being, but primarily enjoyment, along the lines of “Why not snack on medicine?”.
Cosmetics
And another canister: even cosmetics manufacturers like Josie Maran are jumping on the trend. There is no doubt that the brand immediately stands out with its uniquely packaged argan oil.
Shampoos, shower gels and the like in solid form have also been popular for some time. The brand Flora Flora offers an individually designed conditioner of this kind in a simple, elegant paper packaging that emphasizes the sustainable aspect of the product.
Sustainability is also the watchword for the Seven : Thirty brand, which offers facial cleansers in purist refill packaging.
Good Grease, the special facial cleansing balm from d’you, is designed to cleanse and care for the skin at the same time. It is also particularly easy to dispense from the twist-up pot, making the otherwise often tedious facial cleansing routine more comfortable.
We know roll-ons from deodorants, but not from soaps and shampoos. The Soapen and Wyos brands seem to be striving to change that.
Sun protection as a foam from a spray can? Vacation has implemented this unusual idea.
The Mixik serum in the pump bottle and the nail varnish from Pleasing are also extremely disruptive. Both cosmetics stand out, mainly because of their distinctive packaging.
Billie sells dry shampoo in packaging that resembles a perfume bottle.
Household goods
The Reel brand clearly stands out from its competitors, who usually offer white toilet paper, with its brown toilet paper.
Blueland advertises its toilet cleaning tablets in a paper bag instead of the usual plastic packaging with the slogan ‘Powerful & Plastic-Free’.
Detergents in an aluminum bottle and with a look that is very different from the design code for these products are available from Dirty Labs.
Nori has developed an innovative, very compact iron for people on the go that can be used to get clothes that have been creased in a suitcase back into shape when traveling.
Sports equipment
The Bala Bangles act as practical weight cuffs. They can be tied around the wrists or ankles during fitness training to intensify the workout in a comfortable way.
Nike packs its Air series shoes in air bubbles to match the name and unique selling points.
Conclusion
The many types of packaging presented here show that brands can use a variety of unusual packaging options to differentiate their products depending on the segment. Whether it’s drinks, cooking oils, and cosmetics in canisters, medicines disguised as sweets, or edible packaging, these kinds of disruptive designs catch the eye and spark consumer interest. The importance of this aspect in the face of the increasing flooding of the market is well known. It is important to be creative without completely disregarding the respective category code. If you would like help with this challenge, we will be happy to assist you.