“Important for brands to repackage their unboxing experience”: NH1 Design’s Neha Tulsian

Private dairy player Creamline Dairy Products (CDPL), which sells products under the brand name Jersey, recently redesigned its packaging.

Keeping the evolution of the brand in mind as well its recent association with Godrej, Delhi-based brand and design consultancy NH1 Design helped it forge a new brand identity and packaging system.

CDPL is a leading private dairy player in south India, with its operations spanning Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Nagpur in Maharashtra.

We got in touch with NH1 Design’s founder and creative director Neha Tulsian to understand the idea behind the new package design and what role does design play in unprecedented times like today.

Tulsian tells us that the brief by the brand was to define a packaging design architecture and visual system for Godrej Jersey, which could be leveraged for every product in the brand portfolio.

About the idea, she says that the packaging design system was inspired by the ‘brand’s decades-strong legacy’. “Jersey Milk packs had some very strong elements of familiarity in the consumer’s mind. We had to be mindful of this and yet infuse a new personality to make it more relevant to the times and consumers.”

“The new design language flows from the strong legacy of the brand, incorporating the promise of trust and quality personified for a very long time by Godrej. The cow pattern in packaging has been retained, albeit modified, to showcase the products in a more contemporary manner. It is also extended across the portfolio to maintain a consistent visual identity.”

Tulsian added, “The flexibility of the visual language allows for easy extension of the patches into their continually-increasing portfolio of flavours and product ranges. The design system can be used with ingredients to tickle the appetite. Additional ornaments and textures can be incorporated to further differentiate the product range. This new visual system allowed itself to adapt to various product formats.”

When we asked her about what role packaging plays in the current (COVID) pandemic situation, Tulsian says that it is significant to help brands stand out and communicate to the consumers on why they should choose their brand over another.

“In the physical world, the consumer can interact with the brand through its structure, colour, feel, smell, graphics, etc.”

“With COVID, buying has gone online, even for segments otherwise being bought largely in stores. In some cases, the consumer is even trying the new products online (where otherwise they would have physically interacted with before buying). This is where brands have to think about how they need to engage their consumers and motivate them to buy.”

The three main dimensions to consider, Tulsian says, are:

1) At the point of online purchase,

2) Unboxing experience post purchase, and

3) Engaging the customer pre and post purchase.

Talking about 'online purchase', she mentions that when shopping online, the product search ends in a very small thumbnail of the packaging. Showing multiple views and utility of the product packaging plays a crucial role to communicate the brand story and the product benefits. Retail experiences can be taken online through virtual shopping tours and consultations.

Talking about the 'unboxing experience', Tulsian tells us, “The tangible product experience happens post purchase in case of online shopping. Hence, it’s important for brands to repackage and rethink their entire unboxing experience. How can you delight the consumers at this point? Can the experience be personalised?”

Commenting on 'engaging the customer pre and post purchase', she says that getting customer feedback and promotional campaigns are some basic things a brand can do to engage with its customers. “Creating engaging content around the brand story, gamification of the product, education, trivia… the list can go on. Augmented reality can give a new dimension to the packaging design experience. It can open a world of new opportunities for creating an exciting and engaging customer journey,” Tulsian signs off.