Health Food Brands Take On Bodacious Packaging
In the overgrown thick of the occasionally overwhelming information age, Americans are gradually becoming more and more aware of the benefits of healthy, clean living. With the massive boom in processed foods filling our grocery shelves during the 20th century, and seeing the negative physical and health effects that have come to follow as a result, people are turning towards health and wellness.
Health foods in particular have experienced significant growth in the wellness industry (predicted at $1.6 trillion by 2030), with many conscious Americans filling their cabinets with cleaner snacks, with less ingredients and preservatives.
Due to this normalization and integration of healthier options into our daily lives, in the advertising and marketing agency, we’ve seen health food packaging take on a look that is unique to itself, reflecting the clean, simple makeup of these foods while still inspiring the consumer.
The first great example of this is RXBar. The packaging for these nutritious bars tells you everything you need to know, with it’s sleek, minimal design, and it’s notorious “No B.S.” approach. It isn’t a busy and cluttered design, filled with wordy slogans and imagery of outdoor sports and nature. This granola bar’s packaging tells it like it is. At max, you’ll see RXBar use three colors with a specific usage ratio that emits a rare level of uniformity that is appealing to a consumer, which reflects what is special and desirable about the product in the first place: it’s simple and healthy ingredients.
Another great example of this packaging movement is within an industry historically known for being unhealthy: soda. The Modern Soda Movement has taken the soft drink industry by storm over the last five years, with a large emergence of “healthy, new kinds of soda”. Take for example, Poppi, which prides itself in low sugar content (5g a can) and prebiotic content to improve gut health. Originally, Poppi was known as “Mother Beverage”, and catered to an older, wellness focused generation as a niche, “once-in-a-while” drink. In 2020, they rebranded as Poppi, which including a total packaging overhaul (matte-finish cans with bright yet inviting colors and fun-fruit style designs that reflect flavor and excitement, while embracing that minimalist-health-food approach) that inspired triple-digit growth as they focused on younger generations, emerging as an everyday drink.
Take a look at Hippeas packaging. Using a pun in a name can be a dicey move for any brand, yet Hippeas has done it with class and has kicked down walls that typically a chickpea-based snack would have been confined in. Minimal yet bold, their matte finish on the bags, warm yellows, and rounded fonts reflect the product’s physical appearance and attitude. You’ll also see at the top of the bag, “organic chickpea puffs” in a lowercase font, as if not to brag, but just to let you know. The low calorie count is also displayed on the front of the bag, bold and proud but not in-your-face. The design also includes an almost-heart-shaped chickpea, with a smile and tongue that isn’t graphic but fun (and yes, the color of the tongue coincides with the flavor of the snack, promoting sleek uniformity while simultaneously helping the brand stand out).
There are countless great examples of the sleek and fun designs occurring in the health food world, positive in change that contrasts these brands from their biggest, baddest competitors. As a consumer, next time you go to the grocery store, see what catches your eye and maybe you’ll walk out with a few bags full of healthier choices than last time. It’s worth a shot.
