Packaging for Appetizing Immunity
The Focus
- Creating a suitable packaging system for Pediacare Gummies, Strides Pharma’s foray in the Indian pediatric care market
- Packaging needed to establish an extendable design system for additional variants since the product would be seeing further development
- Needed to possess elements that would appeal to both children in addition to parents who would make the buying decision
The Design
- Elephant created a brand ecosystem that showcased immunity by depicting healthy, active, smart children in aspirational scenarios
- The team managed to strike a fine balance between ‘kid-friendly’ and scientific overtones, while also infusing the product with premium, elevated cues
- The new packaging structure was utilized fully, where different elements like the lid and the bottom became opportunities to showcase intelligent design choices and subsequent communication.
The Story
Strides Pharma Science Ltd., previously Strides Shasun Limited, is a globally renowned enterprise with a strong presence in international climes with its headquarters in Bangalore, India. While their front-end presence has been prominently felt in regulated markets across the West – The US, Canada, Europe and so on, Indian climes still remain relatively unexplored.
A string of developments led to Strides approaching Elephant in order to help them create a comprehensive packaging system for this new, innovative category of product – a nutritional supplement in a gummy format.
However, that is slated to change rapidly. In 2016, Strides acquired Pediacare, a renowned brand specializing in pediatric cold, cough and allergy remedies from Sweden-based Moberg Pharma. By April 2020, they were poised to enter the Indian market with dietary supplements for children, in the ‘gummy’ format under Pediacare’s aegis.
This string of developments led to Strides approaching Elephant in order to help them create a comprehensive packaging system for this new, innovative category of product. While the system had to communicate all sorts of unique propositions, it also had to be adaptive to accommodate additional variants. The niche nature of the product and the context within which it was entering Indian markets – demanded that our approach be equally unique and category-defying.
Inner Worlds on Outer Layers
Since our team was developing brand new packaging for this product, the visual language and subsequent system would serve to guide other communication collateral. The elements had to cater to both: the consumers, which were the children and then the buyers, which would be the parents.
Children don’t eat most things that are packaged in a bland, serious and foreboding manner; over and above that, things that are healthy for children are often not tasty, or presented in any stimulating formats. In this case, the product in itself was extremely appealing – gummies were a universal hit – but the packaging had to follow its lead. This product also faced competition on two fronts – local companies that made gummy candies and the like, as well as reputed international players which entered the Indian market with premium offerings.
External immunity for a child indicates that they should be able to do whatever they want, whenever they want it – no summit is too far! This flares to life in their vivid ambitions and dreams which, in turn, dominate the packaging: a boy in a space-suit, traversing the purple cosmos or a girl, frolicking inside a park replete with rainbows and kites.
To ensure that the product did not simply blend in amidst this maelstrom of other brands, we decided to move away from kiddish overtones to kid-friendly ones. This meant that there needed to be a story on the packaging that drew them in and made the product approachable.
The team determined that the most potent way of doing this was to bring the child’s inner imagination to the forefront. External immunity for a child indicates that they should be able to do whatever they want, whenever they want it – no summit is too far! This flares to life in their vivid ambitions and dreams which, in turn, dominate the packaging: a boy in a space-suit, traversing the purple cosmos or a girl, frolicking inside a park replete with rainbows and kites.
Kid-friendly activity, robust immunity and the scientific temperament all blend into one harmonious whole for the gummies’ packaging system that ultimately succeeds in convincing both: the parent.
This imagery of a healthy, active and smart child appeals to both parents and children. Since the packaging structure was also unique, our team gave the lid an ingenuous twist – the lid rotates with the visuals on the sides, completing the story regardless of the manner in which it is placed. The proposition for the parents is loud and clear: Kids will Love Them!
Scientifically Premium
To integrate the scientific temperament in this child-friendly product was yet another balancing act. A significant portion of the pack is devoted towards clearly illustrating product benefits, where the hierarchy of information is preserved: viral infections, allergies and flu can be combated and immunity boosted – given the current pandemic, this information clearly catches the eye of the concerned consumer. Naturally, this section is geared towards parents, helping them understand exactly what kind of nutritional edge their child will possess.
“Design adds value faster than it adds costs.”
— Joel Spolsky, Creator, Trello
The product comes with a certain elevation in its category, given that Strides position as an international player that is introducing this range in the subcontinent. The judicious use of silver indicates this premium feel while also enhancing the ‘expertise’ based overtones of the product.
Kid-friendly activity, robust immunity and the scientific temperament all blend into one harmonious whole for the gummies’ packaging system that ultimately succeeds in convincing both: the parent, who will have no qualms about giving their child the very best in immunity-based supplements as well as children, who are drawn to the playful, friendly and activity-based stories that the packaging showcases.
