by Melissa Simmerman | May 7, 2026 | Brand Strategy, Industrial Design, Innovation, Material and Finish, Melissa Simmerman, Packaging Design, Structural Design, Thought Leadership
May 12, 2026 It genuinely seems like every category is crowded these days. Even baking staples and household paper products are being reinvented and disrupted, but a few categories in particular have been exploding: condiments, water, supplements, better-for-you...
by Melissa Simmerman | Apr 17, 2026 | Color, Implementation, Material and Finish, Melissa Simmerman, Packaging Design, Prototyping, Realization
April 17, 2026 Packaging design on a screen can look beautiful. But too many times, it just doesn’t translate in real-world environments. The color that looked so rich in the digital environment becomes recessive next to the competition. The light, airy fonts turn...
by Melissa Simmerman | Apr 3, 2026 | Brand Strategy, CPG Trends, Innovation, Inspiration, Material and Finish, Packaging Design, Prototyping, Structural Design, Thought Leadership
Your Packaging Is Saying More Than You Think Consumers create and assign meaning to many things. As a brand, some of that is out of your control. Much of it isn’t. Consider the name “Corona” during the pandemic. Not controllable. But how the brand...
by Melissa Simmerman | Mar 18, 2026 | Brand Strategy, Inspiration, Packaging Design, Prototyping, Sales and Influencer Kits, Structural Design, Thought Leadership
Launch it to Last: Brands That Win Aren’t Just Seen — They’re Experienced Belief is the hardest thing to earn in CPG. Thousands of CPG products launch every year, and after walking the ExpoWest show floor and speaking with many of the founders...
by Anna Kniesly | Mar 9, 2026 | Brand Strategy, Conference Recap, CPG Trends, Inspiration, Packaging Design, Thought Leadership
What Expo West 2026 Told Us About the Future of CPG Packaging Our team spent the week walking the floor at Expo West, and several signals stood out about where food & beverage, and the brands behind it, are heading. Beyond individual products, the Expo West...
by Melissa Simmerman | Feb 25, 2026 | Innovation, Packaging Design, Prototyping, Structural Design, Sustainability, Thought Leadership
Why the Best CPG Innovation Teams Invest in Early Stage Product Prototyping The world is full of great product ideas. But even the best ones, the ones that have the potential to solve real consumer problems, stay stuck in “The Land of What Might’ve...
