For many packaging professionals Christmas 2014 was done and dusted weeks, if not months, ago and some of us are working on Christmas 2015 already.  With less than a week to go, here are my favourite (and not so favourite!) picks of the season:

1. Glass Bauble – Molton Brown Scented Washes

A beautiful glass bauble designed to be hung from the tree from a classy looking closure.  What initially looks like an unnecessary box protects the product from breakage during transit and makes it easier to wrap.

2. The Old-Fashioned Sweet Tin

Slowly but surely, the traditional tin of sweets is being replaced by colourful plastic tubs.  Tins are now more upmarket novelty affairs – such as M&S musical Christmas tree or alarm-clock shaped tins available in Debenhams (pretty but not much cop for keeping things in).  That’s why it’s so refreshing to see the good old fashioned Quality Street tin is still with us.  It comes with a decent 1kg weight of product as well – at £7, much better value than buying two tubs of 400g for £4 each.

3. Jagermeister Gift Pack

It’s a bobble hat in a box, with the bobble sticking out of the top! That’s all there is to say. Oh, there’s a miniature of the liqueur in there too.

4. Body Shop Lollypop

An unusual, fun looking pack.  With a recent Which? Report warning consumers about poor-value gift sets*,  it is good to see that the cost of the gift set of 5 lip balms is the same as buying them individually, giving the perception of value, if nothing else.

*although they only managed to name two packs.

5. Worst pack of the season – HP Gift Pack

The physical packaging itself which looks fine and seems to protect the product well, but the description of what’s inside is the issue here.   The contents include a ‘Man’s Mug’ and the gift on display in the ‘Gifts for Him’ Section in Asda (similar gifts are also in Tesco etc).  A more suitable description would be ‘Tea Lover’s’ mug or something similar, surely?

6.  Ferrero Rocher – Various

This year Ferrero have produced a gift pack for almost every price point including Christmas tree stars, a kit for a DIY Ambassador’s Reception-style pyramid, and my favourite, a giant Ferrero Rocher.  The merchandising units for larger stores are made from foil-backed corrugate and look absolutely stunning.

If you need help with the development of your packaging for 2015, please contact us.

Happy (Packaging) Christmas!

Sarah Greenwood

Greenwood Packaging Consultancy