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 snacks. New entries are hitting shelf every week.
It begs the question: how can you stand out on shelf while ensuring consumers still actually know what (and who) you are?
Shiny design trends and exotic new structures are exciting, but after 30 years of helping brands win at shelf, we’ve learned they can’t beat a few tried-and-true principles. And you’ll have to pry these opinions from our cold, dead hands.
The Principles That Actually Hold Up
Systems, not SKUs.
You may only have one facing at shelf today, but if you have any hopes of growth, you need to think about future innovation and how your design system will translate to new formats, formulas, categories, and consumers. Standing out isn’t just about catching eyes today, it’s about building a branded packaging system consumers will remember and recognize EVERYWHERE they see it.
Clarity, not cleverness.
Is this a hill we will die on? Maybe! Many brands have been overlooked because their products’ packaging is just not clear. Is there a distinct and deliberate relationship between brand and product name? Is the variety or flavor findable? Are the benefits that matter most front and center? Or has all that been lost in the name of clever type and funky color? For the record, you can have it all, but it takes real packaging design expertise to pull it off.
Know the codes if you want to break the codes.
We recently had a conversation with a brand that was introducing a new beverage in the established structure of an existing one (did you follow that?). It can work, but in this case, it didn’t. We knew consumers were going to be confused immediately, because the new product read as something it wasn’t. Category codes exist for a reason; consumer expectations have been shaped over years and years, and it takes real innovation and crystal-clear communication to challenge them successfully.
These principles don’t just deliver standout design in cluttered categories. They create results, no matter the business objective. Whether we’re consulting with a new-to-world brand, helping an established brand undertake a portfolio refresh, or assessing differentiation opportunities for line extensions, these principles help grow and maintain brand equity while supporting consumer decision making.
Attention Is Only the Beginning
At the shelf, you have three seconds at best. Trendy but unclear design doesn’t sell—it confuses. And yes, chaos design can work, if you know which rules can actually be broken in your category. Winning in a crowded category might seem like a matter of luck and timing. In reality, there is a proven strategy for packaging design that doesn’t just get attention. It gets sales.
