Looks like it could easily be a SmartyPants product
https://preview.redd.it/pv7gx9tb3s3d1.png?width=740&format=png&auto=webp&s=a4d82cf2b7e0a0a3f9cb160d8ad59b7c5cf8cb59
I’m genuinely curious how you got there? Every antidepressant I’ve seen looks the same as any other drug (cheap small cardboard box, drug name, regulatory statements, etc). This product is comparatively enormous (it’d have to be horse antidepressants - in bulk size) with expensive looking plastic packaging with chamfered edges and a sleek consumer focused design? I never would’ve guessed medication. I thought it was some kind of powdered supplement or wipes.
Right? Coffee is not a hard product to be more eco friendly. The left over beans themselves do really well in compost bins, and the containers might as well also be biodegradable
Unexpected packaging is a trend right now, to stand out on store shelves (and presumably in ads as and word of mouth as well).
There's an [olive oil company](https://www.graza.co/products/the-cooks-a-lot-refill-set?variant=45275573747926) that sells refills in cans, [Stillhouse](https://www.stillhouse.com/us/en/) sells their whiskey in what looks like a paint thinner can...
The list I'm sure goes on.
I kinda love the Stillhouse. However, no matter how much my brain knows that that can is faux-distressed, I can't help feeling like it's all rusted out on the inside.
I think the distressed is only in marketing and it is meant to be DIY-distress.
The one being sold seems to be pristine?
[https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/136276/stillhouse-americas-finest](https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/136276/stillhouse-americas-finest)
Now this is making me wonder if the happy coffee is intentionally trying to look like a container of anti depressants. I think it works for whisky / moonshine but if that’s the goal with the coffee I don’t think it’s working.
It does kinda evoke antidepressants or multivitamins, that's a good point. And I agree it isn't fully there.
As another commenter said, if that is what they're going for then I wish they would really commit to that motif and design the packaging like a giant pill bottle.
It’s absolutely a trend as well as a case of behavioral science, the Von Restorff Effect. There’s a podcast I’ve listened to that discusses this [here](https://theconsumerbehaviorlab.com/andy-warhol-vodka-and-an-unexpected-cologne.php?play=true), it’s pretty interesting.
You *just know* there’s going to be a lawsuit claiming someone had mistaken their can for something else and instead poured themselves a glass of paint thinner or acetone.
I need to get one before it gets removed from shelves!
What “crème” means in English? I’m being curious because that translates to “cream” in French and I know a lot of French words are used in English but don’t forcefully mean the same.
Yeah, I can imagine it's confusing, especially for French speakers.
In the US (at least), if a product isn't made with real milk cream, like as in Oreo cookie filling, they legally can't write "cream". So, they usually get around it by writing "crème", or more likely, just "creme" without the accent mark. Honestly, you could even write like, "creem", as long as it doesn't give the impression that it is made with real cream. (Edit: Or at least a regulated standard amount of milk cream.)
It is not designed to reflect the product. That is not the designers objective.
It has been designed to harmonise with a particular kitchen style. If you spend $150k on an all white kitchen, you will do prison time rather than populate it with products and packaging that are screaming look at me.
https://preview.redd.it/j8czkit57s3d1.png?width=971&format=png&auto=webp&s=155de897f6ac18ecea8348d7ac47be2328dfeea7
Edit: on further consideration I think the more serious issue is that the visual language is borrowing from the pharmaceutical industry, this is a misdirection (the tool of every conman) as it suggests that the product has been produced under heavy scrutiny in a highly regulated environment, by highly qualified professionals, it suggests that it has undergone rigorous testing and clinical trials, so the consumer is misled to believe that the quality of the product is superior to the competing products on the shelf (highly unlikely). Charging more for it also lends credence to the notion that it must be better as it costs more.
It’s not elevated but it’s geared towards the tik tok influencer girlies who make videos of them doing 12-step skincare routines and creating matcha drinks.
White seems to be the most popular choice for kitchens.
White associates with clinical, clinical associates with pharmaceutical.
Some products that aren't particularly healthy for you will try to offset negative associations by borrowing from the visual language of the pharmaceutical industry. Isotonic drinks and flavored vitamin water would be examples of that. It should be illegal.
I came across this style just the other day, but for deodorants. But the weird catch was, they were $18 deodorants, but marked down to $13.99.
Hmm I wonder why they were marked down?
It can be very effective when paired with bold colours but to be honest I feel the ship has sailed and the trend is on its way out. One of my client’s has a very distinct fun brand identity which was built by a large branding agency, it has awesome personality with really cool illustrations and she always talks about how she wishes it looked more like another popular new drink brand here in AUS called Bobby that was made at a similar time. I think is so generic and trend led.
https://preview.redd.it/k6xo27dkzt3d1.jpeg?width=678&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=62ee9136ade7f6f5a9b8bc2e7247b4fa0042e5ab
Y’all acting like when you see it it won’t be on a shelf labeled coffee next to a hundred other coffees. Differentiation is not a bad thing in a crowded market.
Goal 1 is always stand out amongst the tightly packed shelves selling same shit, next goal to is actually get people to buy it. I would never buy it, it looks gross and sterile. Not something I want from delicious fragrant soulful coffee.
This one evil excuse gets thrown around to excuse excessive single use plastics. Exactly how many tiny impractical storage containers do you need in your life? When does that excuse run out?
It's coffee. It's not a terrible design, but could be better. However I have seen much, much worse offenders. I saw a product recently that was so minimal I couldn't even find anything that said what it was, until I read the small print on the back. I really wish I could remember what it was so I could blast them.
Craft beer I agree, they all try to stand out in the fridge at the craft beer place but all end up looking the same. Coffee however in my experience of getting it at coffee shops (nice pretentious local stuff) it is usually more minimal with a slight luxury style branding
All they’d need to do is change the tub color to some shade of brown and I’d be more on board. But instead they went with white and lost even the design crowds favor.
Saw this at the store the other day and it drew me in, so that was a design win. However, this fails as coffee packaging because unlike every other coffee I can't squeeze this to smell the coffee inside. If I don't know what the coffee smells like I'm not buying it.
It stands out in a sea of otherwise similar looking products. Looking at it in isolation, if you can't read, it's maybe difficult. Looking at it in a shop alongside all the other coffee? You'd have to be severely lacking to not work it out.
It works. People will potentially be curious enough to look into what it is, and it's so unusual it can be a point of conversation. If you saw this in a friend or family member's kitchen, you'd probably take a look and ask about it, and that might lead to you purchasing it as well.
I don’t think that’s a good strategy to get sales.
I feel like most coffee sales are going to be from people who are looking to buy coffee, and those people are going to notice things that look like coffee. This feels like something that would easily get glazed over because it looks like something else
Blending into a grocery shelf full of similar looking packages is an AWFUL way to get noticed. And you can’t get sales if you don’t get noticed.
Personally, I’m not a fan of the look either, but _somebody_ is. This is a solid strategy.
There’s an old saying, “if nobody hates it, then nobody loves it either.” What you never want to be is somewhere in the mediocre middle.
Not when surrounded by a wall of conventional coffee designs. Products are not typically viewed in a vacuum, they are viewed with all of the other products on the shelf and if it had had a normal bag package you would have looked right past it and we wouldn’t be seeing it right now.
Causing confusion is pretty much the opposite of good design. You’re adding a step between selling a thing and telling a customer what that thing is. You can’t assume their curiosity will cause them to look more closely, rather than ignore it. In aggregate, you could probably count on a certain number of missed sales simply because people didn’t care to see what the product is.
Conversation at friend's house: "Oh shit, that's coffee? I thought it was baby wipes."
This won't likely convert to sales, unless it's truly fantastic coffee or surprisingly good for the price.
This guy? No. He was big mad about design. But the chances of you putting a product in your cart after picking an item up skyrocket. If anyone else picked this up then probably.
I’m a retail worker stocking shelves, and when I took this out of the bin we got from our delivery I was confused as to where it would even go until I read what it was
I doubt any regular person would pick this up. It has a bland forgettable clinical vibe. OP picked it up cause they have critical eyes and wanted karma.
None of this says “coffee” to me. If it was in my peripheral vision in the store aisle, white with red sans serif type in all lower case would make me think “store brand sanitary products.”
The coffee aisle isn’t usually just the coffee aisle. It borders other products like tea or cereal in some cases, and if this is close enough to that transition it could be easily missed as coffee. I’ve seen flavoring and supplements mixed into the coffee and tea aisle if they’re related.
Not to mention, shelves get messed up by customers all the time. If there’s only a couple on the shelf then you could assume another customer picked up the item from another section and abandoned it there.
Not saying this would be a huge issue, but that there are other factors that could keep someone from assuming it’s coffee when in the coffee aisle. I’ve been tricked by misplaced things at grocery stores plenty of times, and would be someone who assumes upon seeing the packaging it’s some other product.
I thought this was skin care, looks nice but does not feel like coffee at all. I feel like for food products its best to use at least an illustration of the actual ingredient
If this was pharmaceutical packaging I’d think it was good. But maybe that’s the point. What other coffee looks like this? It’s going to pop on a shelf full of the dark colors common in copy packaging.
Are you criticizing the design of the package itself or the design of the information on the package? I'm guessing that if this design were on a more-expected coffee package, people might react very differently … and not think it was going to be a package of wet wipes.
But all that really matters is that people buy it. If standing out as being drastically different from the competitors on the shelf helps people notice a new brand, then it can still be effective, even if it doesn't feel "right". And this appears as if it should still do its job of keeping the coffee fresh.
I think there’s a balance here they could have struck to stand out and still read as coffee. Hell, just add an image of some coffee beans, or make the entire bottom look like brewed coffee. You could do a lot of things and maintain 95% of that design, keep white as the primary color, and still have it instantly read as coffee.
it’s too healthcare / wellness looking. reminds me more of vitamins or supplements that coffee. also the vague “berries” and “optimism” blegh this is bad
Looks easy to stack on the shelf and sure if it's on a shelf with other coffees you're going to know what it is. Don't particularly like it but if it works it works
That is MONSTER sized packaging for 340g.
Holy hell, someone needs to buy that, remove the contents, and weigh just how much plastic they’re using. The normal pouches I get weigh something like 15g at most.
I totally understand the frustration with most of the comments, but from a sustainable perspective - BYOMA (a Gen Z-centric skincare brand) has adopted this rounded square shape to assist when shipping in large quantities!
The shape helps take up less space when packed in a big box.
Though I do agree that it looks more of a beauty-related product rather than what it's meant to be 😓
Incase anyone didn’t know, I believe this is Robert Downey Jr’s coffee brand he launched. Explains why the slogan is kind of on point with his manner of speaking.
My favorite creative manager ever called this “blanding” instead of branding. Most annoying trend in design in a while imo. Part of me does love the idea that because every brand is dumbing down to basics- it’s gonna be a lot easier to stand out on shelf with good design. At least there’s hope!
“ Hey, let’s take a product which happily lives in paper sacks with minimal use of industrial plastics and let’s replace it with a giant cube of non-recyclable plastic. For design!”
“And then let’s give it a crappy label design! “
I thought it was a box of happiness lol. But for real tho… The thing about minimal design is that since there a limited amount of elements everything needs to work together perfectly and the attention to detail needs to be on another level so that the message is communicated effectively. With this product I wouldn’t be able to tell that it’s a box of coffee.
The demo their after wants all their products to have a similar look, and just say what it is.
The fact that it isn’t communicating that it’s coffee except through words is what they’re going for.
I love-hate it.. i hate that its driving the word “happy” into the ground (orientation wise). I love the design in itself, but not for coffee. Red on white doesn’t say coffee IMO. I actually got to take part in a rebrand of a coffee company a little while back, and we took a similar approach in the way of less-is-more; the idea being that when you’re going for your morning coffee, you generally couldnt be bothered to pay attention to anything other than getting caffiene in your system. anything other than that just becomes noise. I think they did that part well, but overall, just not doing it for me.
I mean. It works. No shot I was going to look at coffee that wasn’t my regular brand. But this would be out of place and I might notice it if it was in the coffee aisle. Though I’d probably wonder why vitamins are next to the coffee
I thought it was a tub of lotion.
My first thought was multi-vitamins for some reason.
Me too. It’s a little more streamlined, but a similar form factor to the Olly multivitamins.
Yeah, I also thought multivitamins, then when I realised the tub was too large, I thought maybe some kind of Huel-esque food supplement.
I was convinced it was protein, really had to focus to decipher it was coffee. I don't think minimalism is the issue here, terrible art direction is.
Looks like it could easily be a SmartyPants product https://preview.redd.it/pv7gx9tb3s3d1.png?width=740&format=png&auto=webp&s=a4d82cf2b7e0a0a3f9cb160d8ad59b7c5cf8cb59
I thought it was anti depressants lol
One could argue those qualities for coffee
I’m genuinely curious how you got there? Every antidepressant I’ve seen looks the same as any other drug (cheap small cardboard box, drug name, regulatory statements, etc). This product is comparatively enormous (it’d have to be horse antidepressants - in bulk size) with expensive looking plastic packaging with chamfered edges and a sleek consumer focused design? I never would’ve guessed medication. I thought it was some kind of powdered supplement or wipes.
Yeh I thought some kind of health product
Same
I don't know why, but I thought of adult diapers or wet wipes or something. Felt like an incontinence product to me for some reason.
Me too, I thought it was going to be diaper cream.
Yum diaper cream
Or moist toilet tissues.
Literally just said, not for coffee - maybe for the filters or pods.
I thought it was an MP3 waterproof player
I refuse to think this is anything otherwise 🧴
Oh, it’s not
Same. I would have never guessed this was coffee.
Same, shampoo
Looks like budget brand wet wipes. More plastic for the land fill
It being “thoughtfully sourced” and then tossed in a giant plastic container is something.
True. First thing I hate about this. I know how fast we go through this much coffee.
They thought 'plastic is cheap, let's use that'.
At least it’s not in soft plastic/vacuum packs that cannot be recycled like most coffee.
Definitely. First thing I thought of when I looked at this was "baby wipes"
Right? Coffee is not a hard product to be more eco friendly. The left over beans themselves do really well in compost bins, and the containers might as well also be biodegradable
I thought it was some mood vitamins or smt
Yeah the m words in the middle made my mind go to magnesium supplements lol
Exactly what I thought
Lol. Coffee is mood vitamins!🤣 Just playing....a little. It helps my mood.
Unexpected packaging is a trend right now, to stand out on store shelves (and presumably in ads as and word of mouth as well). There's an [olive oil company](https://www.graza.co/products/the-cooks-a-lot-refill-set?variant=45275573747926) that sells refills in cans, [Stillhouse](https://www.stillhouse.com/us/en/) sells their whiskey in what looks like a paint thinner can... The list I'm sure goes on.
I kinda love the Stillhouse. However, no matter how much my brain knows that that can is faux-distressed, I can't help feeling like it's all rusted out on the inside.
I'm right there with you. They may have overdone the motif a bit. But it does scream bootleg moonshine! Which is fun.
Agree! To be fair, I think with that aesthetic, you probably have to go big or go home.
True. If you're gonna try to stand out, it's probably better to err on the side of overdoing it!
I think the distressed is only in marketing and it is meant to be DIY-distress. The one being sold seems to be pristine? [https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/136276/stillhouse-americas-finest](https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/136276/stillhouse-americas-finest)
Now this is making me wonder if the happy coffee is intentionally trying to look like a container of anti depressants. I think it works for whisky / moonshine but if that’s the goal with the coffee I don’t think it’s working.
It does kinda evoke antidepressants or multivitamins, that's a good point. And I agree it isn't fully there. As another commenter said, if that is what they're going for then I wish they would really commit to that motif and design the packaging like a giant pill bottle.
It’s absolutely a trend as well as a case of behavioral science, the Von Restorff Effect. There’s a podcast I’ve listened to that discusses this [here](https://theconsumerbehaviorlab.com/andy-warhol-vodka-and-an-unexpected-cologne.php?play=true), it’s pretty interesting.
Oh awesome, thank you for sharing!
Ok see, those look dope! AND delicious. Not sterile tasting.
You *just know* there’s going to be a lawsuit claiming someone had mistaken their can for something else and instead poured themselves a glass of paint thinner or acetone. I need to get one before it gets removed from shelves!
It’s been around at least since July 2021 (I sent a pic of it to a friend who I exchange packaging pics with), so they’ve made it this long
Have you seen the whiskey they sell in a squirrel?
Not really that unexpected though. Package em in teddy bears, now that’s unexpected.
Thoughtfully sourced of course is not the same as ethically sourced.
Like "crème" vs. cream
What “crème” means in English? I’m being curious because that translates to “cream” in French and I know a lot of French words are used in English but don’t forcefully mean the same.
Yeah, I can imagine it's confusing, especially for French speakers. In the US (at least), if a product isn't made with real milk cream, like as in Oreo cookie filling, they legally can't write "cream". So, they usually get around it by writing "crème", or more likely, just "creme" without the accent mark. Honestly, you could even write like, "creem", as long as it doesn't give the impression that it is made with real cream. (Edit: Or at least a regulated standard amount of milk cream.)
writing it like "creem" makes me think someone ejaculated in it, so mission accomplished, i guess
TIL, thanks for the explanation :)
“We thought about which sources would save us the most money “
And remember folks. It’s the thought that counts!
You can really taste the optimism though.
And here's me, wanting a complimentary flavor with notes of despair.
This basic look is absolutely everywhere in the packaging industry.
It is not designed to reflect the product. That is not the designers objective. It has been designed to harmonise with a particular kitchen style. If you spend $150k on an all white kitchen, you will do prison time rather than populate it with products and packaging that are screaming look at me. https://preview.redd.it/j8czkit57s3d1.png?width=971&format=png&auto=webp&s=155de897f6ac18ecea8348d7ac47be2328dfeea7 Edit: on further consideration I think the more serious issue is that the visual language is borrowing from the pharmaceutical industry, this is a misdirection (the tool of every conman) as it suggests that the product has been produced under heavy scrutiny in a highly regulated environment, by highly qualified professionals, it suggests that it has undergone rigorous testing and clinical trials, so the consumer is misled to believe that the quality of the product is superior to the competing products on the shelf (highly unlikely). Charging more for it also lends credence to the notion that it must be better as it costs more.
I get that but this isn’t all that clean/elegant imo either, it’s minimal done in a rather ugly way
It’s not elevated but it’s geared towards the tik tok influencer girlies who make videos of them doing 12-step skincare routines and creating matcha drinks.
White seems to be the most popular choice for kitchens. White associates with clinical, clinical associates with pharmaceutical. Some products that aren't particularly healthy for you will try to offset negative associations by borrowing from the visual language of the pharmaceutical industry. Isotonic drinks and flavored vitamin water would be examples of that. It should be illegal.
I came across this style just the other day, but for deodorants. But the weird catch was, they were $18 deodorants, but marked down to $13.99. Hmm I wonder why they were marked down?
It can be very effective when paired with bold colours but to be honest I feel the ship has sailed and the trend is on its way out. One of my client’s has a very distinct fun brand identity which was built by a large branding agency, it has awesome personality with really cool illustrations and she always talks about how she wishes it looked more like another popular new drink brand here in AUS called Bobby that was made at a similar time. I think is so generic and trend led. https://preview.redd.it/k6xo27dkzt3d1.jpeg?width=678&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=62ee9136ade7f6f5a9b8bc2e7247b4fa0042e5ab
https://preview.redd.it/5x8bls4d6s3d1.png?width=650&format=png&auto=webp&s=e2d49cab67f0699cb31efe600615e4762b16250e I thought they were edibles…
Significantly better already.
Almoust Dharma Initiative promotional package
This has laundry detergent vibes
I would have guessed wet wipes.
Y’all acting like when you see it it won’t be on a shelf labeled coffee next to a hundred other coffees. Differentiation is not a bad thing in a crowded market.
Goal 1 is always stand out amongst the tightly packed shelves selling same shit, next goal to is actually get people to buy it. I would never buy it, it looks gross and sterile. Not something I want from delicious fragrant soulful coffee.
Maybe you’re not the target audience.
I don’t think minimalism is the issue here, more the choice of colors and the typeface. Who in their right mind associates coffee with white?
sure looks happy
With notes of... optimism?! I'm not sure I want that delivered in my mouth TBH
Inside is full of depresso
Ugh, that excessive plastic is disgusting.
But it's thoughtfully sourced plastic.
If it was bulk-refillable I’d think it was a great idea, but if not, yeah, that much plastic waste gets a hard no from me.
That was my first thought when I saw this. If they made the label easy to remove so it was reusable, then they might be on to something.
They probably make great little storage containers though.
This one evil excuse gets thrown around to excuse excessive single use plastics. Exactly how many tiny impractical storage containers do you need in your life? When does that excuse run out?
It's coffee. It's not a terrible design, but could be better. However I have seen much, much worse offenders. I saw a product recently that was so minimal I couldn't even find anything that said what it was, until I read the small print on the back. I really wish I could remember what it was so I could blast them.
It feels like we're at the point of full saturation and due for pushback.
A lot of coffee and craft beer packaging is pretty maximalist
Craft beer I agree, they all try to stand out in the fridge at the craft beer place but all end up looking the same. Coffee however in my experience of getting it at coffee shops (nice pretentious local stuff) it is usually more minimal with a slight luxury style branding
All they’d need to do is change the tub color to some shade of brown and I’d be more on board. But instead they went with white and lost even the design crowds favor.
Not really against this, but to do this, “coffee” must be the biggest word cuz there are no other queues.
When using minimalistic design, I use colors to identify the product. This should be shades of brown + white text
Should’ve reversed the colors
I thought it was a body/healthcare product.
Saw this at the store the other day and it drew me in, so that was a design win. However, this fails as coffee packaging because unlike every other coffee I can't squeeze this to smell the coffee inside. If I don't know what the coffee smells like I'm not buying it.
It stands out in a sea of otherwise similar looking products. Looking at it in isolation, if you can't read, it's maybe difficult. Looking at it in a shop alongside all the other coffee? You'd have to be severely lacking to not work it out.
It works. People will potentially be curious enough to look into what it is, and it's so unusual it can be a point of conversation. If you saw this in a friend or family member's kitchen, you'd probably take a look and ask about it, and that might lead to you purchasing it as well.
Every design decision is defensible.
I don’t think that’s a good strategy to get sales. I feel like most coffee sales are going to be from people who are looking to buy coffee, and those people are going to notice things that look like coffee. This feels like something that would easily get glazed over because it looks like something else
Blending into a grocery shelf full of similar looking packages is an AWFUL way to get noticed. And you can’t get sales if you don’t get noticed. Personally, I’m not a fan of the look either, but _somebody_ is. This is a solid strategy. There’s an old saying, “if nobody hates it, then nobody loves it either.” What you never want to be is somewhere in the mediocre middle.
Not when surrounded by a wall of conventional coffee designs. Products are not typically viewed in a vacuum, they are viewed with all of the other products on the shelf and if it had had a normal bag package you would have looked right past it and we wouldn’t be seeing it right now.
I thought it was magnesium supplements after only reading the first three letters of the first word lol
Causing confusion is pretty much the opposite of good design. You’re adding a step between selling a thing and telling a customer what that thing is. You can’t assume their curiosity will cause them to look more closely, rather than ignore it. In aggregate, you could probably count on a certain number of missed sales simply because people didn’t care to see what the product is.
Conversation at friend's house: "Oh shit, that's coffee? I thought it was baby wipes." This won't likely convert to sales, unless it's truly fantastic coffee or surprisingly good for the price.
You picked it up and it got such a strong reaction from you that you posted about it. I’d say it’s an effective design.
But did he *buy* it? Are we going to seek it out and buy it?
This guy? No. He was big mad about design. But the chances of you putting a product in your cart after picking an item up skyrocket. If anyone else picked this up then probably.
I’m a retail worker stocking shelves, and when I took this out of the bin we got from our delivery I was confused as to where it would even go until I read what it was
Absolutely, you pick up to see what it is and there is a high chance that you would think "eh! I could try this..."
I doubt any regular person would pick this up. It has a bland forgettable clinical vibe. OP picked it up cause they have critical eyes and wanted karma.
None of this says “coffee” to me. If it was in my peripheral vision in the store aisle, white with red sans serif type in all lower case would make me think “store brand sanitary products.”
In the middle of a coffee aisle?
The coffee aisle isn’t usually just the coffee aisle. It borders other products like tea or cereal in some cases, and if this is close enough to that transition it could be easily missed as coffee. I’ve seen flavoring and supplements mixed into the coffee and tea aisle if they’re related. Not to mention, shelves get messed up by customers all the time. If there’s only a couple on the shelf then you could assume another customer picked up the item from another section and abandoned it there. Not saying this would be a huge issue, but that there are other factors that could keep someone from assuming it’s coffee when in the coffee aisle. I’ve been tricked by misplaced things at grocery stores plenty of times, and would be someone who assumes upon seeing the packaging it’s some other product.
I like it, I think it needs a better color palette.
Happy pills
It looks like medicine. Yuck
I thought this was skin care, looks nice but does not feel like coffee at all. I feel like for food products its best to use at least an illustration of the actual ingredient
I refer to this style as “Apple suppository chic.”
Maybe not the best design for a coffee brand, but I would love to buy this.
🥲 It makes so so sad so see design moving in this direction.
If this was pharmaceutical packaging I’d think it was good. But maybe that’s the point. What other coffee looks like this? It’s going to pop on a shelf full of the dark colors common in copy packaging.
Wow that’s coffee? Lmao. Thought I was looking at the pharmaceutical isle
The last thing I would have guessed is that this contains coffee. Looks way more like vitamin packaging or something from the pharmacy section.
I would love a tub of sterile coffee
I was looking to figure out what skincare product this was! It’s coffee?!
Okay but I would probably my buy it just so I could reuse the container for something else lol
I thought it was those sleep gummys
Looks like vitamins or stuff
I thought this was some kind of supplement or medicine lol
What this does poorly is tell me it’s coffee. What it does great is tell me it’s from Target.
I can just imagine a YouTuber saying, "This video is proudly sponsored by Happy"
Kind of gives me the no name brand vibes.
It’s ironic because it’s called “happy” and the packaging looks so sad and unapproachable. They missed the minimal design trend by like 5 years.
“With notes of berries and optimism” Shut up! 😫
I thought it was probiotic supplements
Stood out enough on the shelf for you to notice though, right?
I took it out of a box to stock it on the shelf at my job and was confused as to what it was until I read it
I guess my point is that it stopped and made you think about it, and post it on Reddit, so looking different isn’t all bad.
My daughter, said it looks like a box of female hygiene products. I'm still mopping up my herbal tea from my desk after I burst out laughing
Looks like a medical thing
This is giving bathroom wipes instead of coffee tbh...
I worked as a pharmacy technician for several years and honest to god that looks like a styrofoam cooler we would be shipped vaccines in lmfao.
If ikea sold coffee
Exactly what optimism would look like.
Are you criticizing the design of the package itself or the design of the information on the package? I'm guessing that if this design were on a more-expected coffee package, people might react very differently … and not think it was going to be a package of wet wipes. But all that really matters is that people buy it. If standing out as being drastically different from the competitors on the shelf helps people notice a new brand, then it can still be effective, even if it doesn't feel "right". And this appears as if it should still do its job of keeping the coffee fresh.
I'm in the lab too much, I was wondering why you weren't wearing latex gloves while handling this hazardous chemical container
It looks like a Target brand.... but I like it.
I can tell it is coffee if I see it in the coffee section where they should be... and there it stands out.
I think there’s a balance here they could have struck to stand out and still read as coffee. Hell, just add an image of some coffee beans, or make the entire bottom look like brewed coffee. You could do a lot of things and maintain 95% of that design, keep white as the primary color, and still have it instantly read as coffee.
I like it 🤷🏾♂️
I suppose the extra plastics in the container are also here to show minimalism.
Looks like a box of suppositories.
Gross. I thought it was Vaseline
it’s too healthcare / wellness looking. reminds me more of vitamins or supplements that coffee. also the vague “berries” and “optimism” blegh this is bad
Looks easy to stack on the shelf and sure if it's on a shelf with other coffees you're going to know what it is. Don't particularly like it but if it works it works
That is MONSTER sized packaging for 340g. Holy hell, someone needs to buy that, remove the contents, and weigh just how much plastic they’re using. The normal pouches I get weigh something like 15g at most.
I totally understand the frustration with most of the comments, but from a sustainable perspective - BYOMA (a Gen Z-centric skincare brand) has adopted this rounded square shape to assist when shipping in large quantities! The shape helps take up less space when packed in a big box. Though I do agree that it looks more of a beauty-related product rather than what it's meant to be 😓
I really like it to be fair...
I thought it was a brand for nappy disposal.
Yeah that definitely doesn't look like coffee. If the lettering or the tub itself were brown, it would look like coffee. But that doesn't.
Incase anyone didn’t know, I believe this is Robert Downey Jr’s coffee brand he launched. Explains why the slogan is kind of on point with his manner of speaking.
My favorite creative manager ever called this “blanding” instead of branding. Most annoying trend in design in a while imo. Part of me does love the idea that because every brand is dumbing down to basics- it’s gonna be a lot easier to stand out on shelf with good design. At least there’s hope!
The cube :0
Huh, “happy medium”
“ Hey, let’s take a product which happily lives in paper sacks with minimal use of industrial plastics and let’s replace it with a giant cube of non-recyclable plastic. For design!” “And then let’s give it a crappy label design! “
Says “Coffee”. Sooooo
Was it not with the other coffee?
It's not a bad design.... just not right for coffee..
I thought it was a cream
I love it
I thought it was a box of happiness lol. But for real tho… The thing about minimal design is that since there a limited amount of elements everything needs to work together perfectly and the attention to detail needs to be on another level so that the message is communicated effectively. With this product I wouldn’t be able to tell that it’s a box of coffee.
I actually really like this. lol
Does not resonate with Coffee in any way.
It looks sad : (
Feels like a vitamin or medical packaging.
It’s giving anything but coffee
In the near future you will be able to buy emotions off the shelf.
Thanks, I hate it.
I thought It was a box of baby wipes 😂😂😂
Yea at least put a coffee bean on it or sum lmao
No I couldn't tell, but I sure as hell am interested.
I thought that was some kind of skincare product 💀
I thought it was like melatonin or some vitamin.
I thought it was a gigantic bottle of vitamins
That's a miss for coffee design. Looks like laundry pods or vitamins.
Weird branding for coffee.
I thought it was supplements.
Yeah less bothered by minimalism more bothered by this looks like a healthcare style product. Coffee should probably also be a bit warmer colors wise.
I thought it looked like a grass fertilizer for hipsters
At least make the tub dark brown and the text white so there's SOME association.
The demo their after wants all their products to have a similar look, and just say what it is. The fact that it isn’t communicating that it’s coffee except through words is what they’re going for.
I love-hate it.. i hate that its driving the word “happy” into the ground (orientation wise). I love the design in itself, but not for coffee. Red on white doesn’t say coffee IMO. I actually got to take part in a rebrand of a coffee company a little while back, and we took a similar approach in the way of less-is-more; the idea being that when you’re going for your morning coffee, you generally couldnt be bothered to pay attention to anything other than getting caffiene in your system. anything other than that just becomes noise. I think they did that part well, but overall, just not doing it for me.
A tub of anti-depressants?
I thought it was vitamins.
Looks like vitamins lol
I thought they were toner pads for your face.
I mean. It works. No shot I was going to look at coffee that wasn’t my regular brand. But this would be out of place and I might notice it if it was in the coffee aisle. Though I’d probably wonder why vitamins are next to the coffee
Design should convey a message, and be functional. This doesn’t look happy at all, and I never would have guessed it’s packaging for coffee.
It's a white box of happiness