Packaging Design

Starbucks Packaging Line Redesign

RIT-Chase Design-Starbucks

Background Information

The competition in premmium package coffee has intensified as brands more aggressively seek volume in a flat category. In 2011, more formats, skus, promotions, and discounts were vying for apiece of a fixed pie. The result- premium brands across the board showed declines in worth perception indicating that consumers don’t perceive brands as differentiated. Starbucks historical point of different ( ethical sourcing, 100% arabica, roasting expertise) has become the category point of entry. One upon a time, premium coffee was dark roast, 100% arabica, and sold in a bag. Today, design and messaging in the category are so muddled that the definition of what makes a coffee premium is in flux. The category is ripe for disruption. Our objective is to leverage package design to create actual and perceptual distance in the category- to redefine what it means to be a premium coffee.

Starbucks Line

1. Starbucks Instore packaging, 16 ounces

2. Starbucks grocery store packaging, 12 ounces

3. Veranda Blend ( Blonde), Breakfast Blend (Medium) , and Cafe Verona ( Dark)

4. ground coffee

Four Considerations

1. Iconic 2. Portfolio Driven 3. Loyality Ready 4.Enhanced Consumer Experience

Our Group’s Design Solution

1. Bold 2. Simple 3. Functional

We wanted our new packaging designs to stand out on the shelves in grocery stores and in Starbucks. With our new design we decided to do two approaches. We made the packaging design firmer, crisper, and more elegant. We also made the graphics simple and easily recognizable. The iconic white cup you recieve at Starbucks is portraied in the 12 ounce package for grocery stores so that it stands apart from it’s competitors on the shelfs and is easy to find. We kept the consistency for the 16 ounce package that goes in Starbucks stores but included a darker pallet to go with the mood of store.

Original Starbucks Packaging Line for grocery stores