Coconuts & Shrimps: Latest Packaging 10 Entries

Delicious together and apart, coconut and shrimp are the featured products this week for the latest entries in our Packaging 10 competition, and these designs are good enough to make our stomachs growl!

First up is the “Dang Packaging Redesign,” (above) made for Dang Foods by California-based Chase Design Group. Chase Design has studios in Los Angeles, Seattle, New York, and the UK, and has decades’ worth of hands-on experience through their vast and diverse team. Thus, they were the perfect choice when Dang Foods wanted to redesign its packaging. Dang’s snacks are inspired by their founder’s Thai-Chinese/American heritage and recipes from Mama Dang herself. Chase Design wanted to celebrate these cultural roots and the uniqueness of their products while also wanting to keep Dang from falling into either of the two categories that other Asian-inspired products often fall into — “overly stereotypical” and “modern but void of any cultural tie-back.” By identifying what they refer to as the “sweet spot,” they were able to create a visual brand identity that was culturally authentic without being stereotypical.

Dang’s new packaging is unified, featuring an updated watermark, bold colors, and photography that will make anyone’s mouth water. A subtle Thai type-pattern is screen-printed on the vibrant backgrounds and gives a subtle nod to Thai street food. Across the coconut and rice chips line, Dang’s logo is found in a bold circular badge, creating an eye-catching bullseye to attract attention on shelves. Through dynamic photography, the team was able to highlight the lightness and unique textures of the chips, with strong flavor cues increasing appetite appeal. All in all, any customer is likely to shout “Dang!” when they see these well-designed snacks.

Something smells fishy about our next entry — luckily, it’s the best shrimp in the world! “Frescamar,” (above) designed by Davide Barrica and Antonio Lajara from design agency Virgen extra in Madrid, Spain, promises a product as fresh as the packaging. Virgen extra touts experience in branding, communication, and corporate planning, and the agency has earned awards from D&AD (Design and Art Direction), European Design, and John Caples International, among others. For this project, they were asked by Shells & Fish to create a brand for their variety of frozen shrimp products to be sold in large supermarket chains as well as on online platforms. So, Barrica and Lajara took inspiration from the source: Ecuador, specifically the farms where the most exquisite and delicate species of shrimp are raised. The size and quality make them some of the best in the world.

The designers knew they definitely wanted to focus on the shrimp, so they made their packaging simple, using the text as the main element of the design and making it “say” something that no other brand says in their packaging. The message is clear: “If you are looking for the best shrimp in the world, it is right here in this package.” As for the packaging aesthetics, the designers chose metalized paper to convey the freshness of the perfectly frozen, all-natural seafood, as well as create an additional element of distinction in the crowded freezer section. The result was a pack of shrimp that was drastically different from the competition: it is directly speaking to the customer, and in doing so communicates a message that is bold, clear, and valuable to the potential buyer.   

Hungry for more? Check out our main website for more Packaging 10 entries, and don’t forget to submit your own designs!