One of the world’s best-loved foods, pasta, comes in countless varieties around the globe.
From household favourites like spaghetti, penne and lasagne, to more unusual shapes like campanelle and radiatore, it seems like there’s a different, perfect pasta shape for every style of plate, sauce and mood. It makes sense then that pasta packaging is almost as diverse as the types of pasta themselves.
If you’re planning to launch your own pasta brand – or any food in fact – the design of your box or bag will have a huge impact on how your customer perceives your brand. This is why running a logo design test is essential before mass production.
Whether you’re looking to sell modern macaroni, rustic ravioli or fabulous farfalle, here are six exceptional packaging designs to inspire your own artwork.
Rummo: Traditional
Image source: BP&O
Sticking to rustic colours, the Rummo pasta packaging looks like it’s come straight from the farm. The combination of print and script typefaces (in serif and sans serif) works beautifully to portray a rich heritage and the window into the product serves as the only picture that’s needed, aside from a few hand-drawn illustrations.
When it comes to premium pasta packaging, boxes are often chosen in place of bags, despite them being inexpensive and having plenty of benefits. Rummo demonstrates that choosing a bag doesn’t have to make your brand look cheap. Instead of squeezing your margins with boxed pasta, see if you can make a bag look just as sophisticated.
Good Hair Day: Playful
Image source: Scene360
“Good hair day pasta” design by Nikita Konkin
Getting consumers to do a double-take when they spot your product is hard enough. Making sure they feel connected to your brand in some way is a whole other challenge.
With that in mind, it’s easy to see how this award-winning series of pasta boxes has worked wonders for Good Hair Day’s brand. We’re not entirely sure we see the link between luscious locks and fresh fusilli, but there’s no arguing this brand has certainly succeeded in putting a face to their name in a fun, playful way.
Is there a way you can incorporate your brand name, logo or the shape of the pasta into the design of your bags? Windows, seals and cut-outs are ideal for creating an innovative design.
Sapore di Nonna: Trend-led
Image source: Packaging of the World
Although this design by Breno Cardoso was only ever a concept, it plays wonderfully on the current consumer trend of easy cooking.
With recipe boxes like Hello Fresh and Gousto on the rise, it makes sense that selling your pasta in a set with the necessary herbs and spices to transform it into a complete meal would appeal to a certain customer segment.
Not only does this Sapore di Nonna package taps into the “convenience” market, its rolling-pin shape keeps it feeling traditional and not too millennial-focused. What could you do to make your packaging more convenient for your consumer?
Clearspring: Tactile
Image source: Pinterest
Understated, premium and Japanese-inspired design by Mayday.
Specialists in importing authentic foods from around the world, Clearspring is already established in the premium foods market. This beautiful packaging continues the company’s minimal, Japanese-inspired aesthetic with the shape of the pasta leading the box design in its print and cut-outs.
Three simple windows allow the customer to peek through the luxurious navy-blue exterior, but it’s the ridged elements that really make the surface stand out, echoing the feel of the pasta within.
When picking your packaging, don’t just appeal to the eyes. How does it feel when you pick it up, or sound when you run your fingers along it? What message will that convey to your customers?
Claire McCulloch: Whimsical
Image source: Retail Design Blog
Another design that is sadly just a concept is this design by Claire McCulloch. In this simple but effective idea, the width of the pasta has been used to create a brushstroke across the front of the packet, in a way that evokes the nostalgia of handwriting practice.
The whimsical “doodle” effect injects the brand with some fun, while the fact that it’s printed on actual paper adds an environmentally-conscious edge.
Illustrations and hand-drawn typefaces are an excellent way of making your brand quirky and unique, while biodegradable packaging will give you extra credit.
Neal Fletcher: Practical
Image source: Lovely Package
One final concept to consider: portioned packaging. Knowing the correct measurements of spaghetti for one or two people (versus using half the packet by mistake) is tricky, but this packaging design by Neal Fletcher seeks to address the issue.
The benefit to this is twofold – firstly, reducing the accidental waste that occurs by too much pasta being put into the pan, but also to help consumers understand how much they are eating (and limiting overeating).
Is there a way in which you can design your packaging to help your customers use it?
