Our Thinking
The World Through our Lens
Kaleidoscope is a CPG packaging design and prototyping agency headquartered in Chicago. We’re makers, thinkers, and opinionated observers of everything packaging. Here’s what’s on our minds — from design trends and sustainability to the forces reshaping consumer goods. For a deeper look at our capabilities, visit: strategy, packaging design, and prototyping.
Latest Perspectives
June 11, 2026
We’ve spent the summer watching how brands would handle America 250. Here’s who brought the fireworks and what it says about seasonal packaging strategy.
Bands and Brands: How Technology Impacts Consumer Navigation
Similar to how finding music has changed, shopping for consumer packaged goods has also been impacted by the digital age.
It’s Simply Impossible
Vegetarianism or plant-based diets are commonplace these days: being a herbivore is no longer as challenging or stigmatizing as it used to be in Western society.
Outdoor Retailer Show: Leaders in Sustainability
Every year there are many more manufacturers developing new initiatives and products to reduce the amount of plastic that ends up in our landfills, oceans, and streams.
It’s the Thought That Counts!
The next time you are planning on launching a product as a gifting item, it is important to create a strategy, think about the giftee and the gifter, the opening experience, and ask yourself if your brand’s offering can be relevant, personalized, and able to produce a lasting impression.
‘Tis Always the Season
Growing up, our Christmas stockings were a treasure trove of candy, but what I anticipated most was the early LifeSavers Sweet Storybook.
Better For You, Better For Us
What is unique about better-for-you products and the perceptions around them is that they have collapsed the distinctions between healthy diets and eco-friendly responsibility.
What’s Next for Grooming?
When it comes to the future, the brand that will truly disrupt the male grooming category is the one that will own these conversations and bolster the breadth and availability of information men are seeking-or don’t know they’re seeking- beyond the clichés of sex and sports.
Turning a New Leaf
As more and more states legalize cannabis, similar opportunities exist for the brands that want to sell the increasingly diverse range of cannabis products.
Dispatches from the Future of Food
If there was a period of “Enlightenment” for food, it could be marked by the year 2020. Specialty food manufacturers are driving change so quickly that national CPGs are scrambling to keep up.
3 Ways Brands Fail Men… and How to Solve Them
The male grooming category is awash in a sea of sameness. Men recognize these products are intended for them, but what is less clear is the distinct benefit of one product over another.
Men’s Grooming Packaging Design Has a Cliché Problem
How can a brand move beyond the gleaming cans of black and silver and present products that engage directly with contemporary male consumers?
Healthy, Healthier, Healthiest
When it comes to healthy-looking packaging expressions in food and beverage categories, there are strategic design codes that signal consumers you’re “in-the-health-game.”