From Concept to Shelf: The Process of Designing a Whisky Packaging Box

Labelling or packaging of goods are special techniques that plays a major role in the marketing mix of any product. In the case of such products as whisky, the packaging’s role is paramount with regard to affecting consumers’ perception of quality and associating the product with prestige. To showcase an innovative whisky packaging box from the drawing board, to manufacturing stage and store the final product is an elaborate procedure that requires the input of several players.

Concept and Brainstorming

In the case of packaging design, there is need to understand the positioning and identity of the whisky brand to begin the design process. These aspects include; target market, price range, style [classic or modern], and personality of the items to be advertised by the particular campaign that the marketing departments propose to the designers. There can be certain narrative of the product or of the new product that might be unique or special which the packaging must depict.

Designers metabolize this brief and begin to conceive a first set of proposals and hypotheses. They study the market trends of alcoholic beverages packaging and the kind of appearances that make containers look superior. For a Scotch whisky, it may be necessary to look at possibilities of incorporating traditional Scottish elements such as tartan check patterns or wooden surfaces. They may recommend more vibrant graphics and fonts compared to the usual and more conservative look. Multiple iterations at one’s own company are common, as ideas are discussed and refined before a number of preliminary choices are reached.

Refinement and approvals

These few initial options are then subjected to some other modifications and then for the stakeholder review. The concept approval is done by the marketing team for compliance with the positioning strategy, and commercial goals. They are scrutinized for conformity to these laws and regulations by legal and regulatory compliance specialists. While the business aspect evaluates practicality – what can be achieved for the required amount of money, the operations or production team considers the technicalities – materials and methods. Starting from paperboard, the type of glass or bottles used, up to the designs such as foil stamping or embossing, requires the use of extra material and therefore money.

By the time it is done going through this review process and several more complete iterations of adjustments, the available choices are eventually boiled down to the one concept that can satisfy all needs. This is usually signed off by all internal working teams and then escalated to the production development phase. Graphic designers continue working with industrial designers and engineers even after so they finalize technical elements of the structural packaging and product illustration.

Prototyping and Production

When all the final design concepts are ready, the process of physical prototyping is initiated. Model makers simulate the product graphics on a sample of the material to be used while production engineers do things like using glue and checking the ability of the box to be folded on sample boxes. This may go through a few more minor modifications – a fold line to the cardboard may shift slightly or font may be changed for the purposes of more feasible print size.

After the technical specification has been agreed and integrated, production is the next step. Printing plates or dies are made beforehand through lithographic, flexographic, or other forms of printing processes for mass production of fabric or other materials. It also prints in colour with the quality of the graphics as close as possible to the original design of the designer. Structural packaging is then created which can be produced locally through the use of custom box manufacturers. Industry output goods such as bottles or any type of glassware would be made with a different moulds.

All the components all get transported to the product assembly point which could be the whisky bottling facility or a contract packing company. Here, trained staff combine all the components – bottles, caps, decorative papers, cartons, foil stamping, etc. While some subprocesses can be automated, such as placing the bottles into finished boxes, most of the decorate elements are done by hand. This is done during the process as well as final inspections on products before they are packed in pallets for delivery.

Launch and Beyond

This actual packaged product is now ready for distribution to the distributors, and the retail outlets. The company’s marketing team ensures new products are introduced during important periods in the year such as festive periods or during major whisky exhibitions. For certain limited editions, they create anticipation with the fans by teasing the packaging design before the release. They can also coordinate magazine features or influencer endorsements to increase recall just as more products are stocked.

After launching the packaging, the packaging designers continue to observe the sales and the feedback given by the customers as they new projects. If a product is really understood by the consumers, it can be adapted that some graphic components or structural ones can be adjusted to create a new range. Some of the best selling items will have their packaging imagery remain in stores for 5 to 10 years before being replaced with a whole new image when a company undergoes a major packaging redesign. Thus, what began as months or years ago as on a blank page idea becomes a part of reality and guides whisky buying decisions. This is not an easy journey, as a package design is bringing vision and cooperation of multi-disciplinary professionals to create tangible objects that embody and complement the whisky inside.