Design Ideas for Hygiene and Personal Care Boxes
The best subscription boxes are products that you consume on a regular basis. By the time you finish off the first delivery, you have a new one to try out. The most popular ones are snacks, coffee beans, and books. Another category that’s gaining traction for subscriptions is hygiene and personal care products. This model works especially well with homemade, artisanal items. You can introduce new kinds of soaps or new bath bombs for customers to try on a monthly basis.
Have a secret skincare recipe you want to share with the world? Creating an amazing product is just one ingredient. You must package it correctly, too. In this article, we focus on existing hygiene and personal care subscription boxes, and home in on their packaging design. Study what makes them tick, get inspired by their recipe for success, and employ the same design cues on your own subscription boxes.
Soap Products
Tell a story – For Hero Soap, the packaging design is all about paying homage. The founder, Jon Hendle, weaves a story through the box artwork. “The design is based on the map of the Battle of Saratoga. The Battle of Saratoga was important in the battle for American independence, and we wanted to pay tribute. The topographical map pattern is wrapped around the box and features the battle positions of each general. We used the black and white color theme on the box that we use predominantly in all our packing.”
Simplicity is key – Soap box design can have plenty of exposition about the ingredients used and how the product came to be, or it can be as minimal as possible. Simply Soap opts for the latter with their minimalist, straightforward design. Dr. Anita says, "The idea of the box was to be able to send a lovely already packed gift, with an enclosed gift card directly to the recipient if desired. This makes the process seamless and efficient for the purchaser."
Add elegant accents – If you’re positioning your subscription box as a premium product, your packaging has to reflect this as well. Don’t skimp on the details, the pomp, and the pageantry. Two Grooms Farm, for example, offers small batches of hand-crafted homemade soap with milk collected from their very own small herd of friendly goats. Their packaging features hand-wrapped individual soap bars, custom tissue paper, and a print of a cute baby goat. Offer an unboxing experience to remember.
Promote sustainability – If you’re championing sustainability, your subscription boxes themselves have to be eco-friendly as well. For example, Beluga Bath Co. is a Connecticut-based family business with a mission to encourage self-care, raise awareness for whale conservation, and promote a sustainable lifestyle. Naturally, they’ve partnered with Packola to provide sustainably- sourced, eco-friendly, and recyclable boxes for their products.
Skincare Products
Be consistent – Branding becomes more powerful through consistency and repetition. Use the same design with your subscription boxes and the product boxes and labels inside. Simple Elegance Skin Care's custom boxes are simple in design, but exude elegance and are consistent all throughout.
Know your audience – One of the most important elements of design is knowing your audience and marketing to them correctly. This means being informed of their wants, needs, tastes, and budget. Earth Kissed Beauty, a holistic brand championed by Kristin Pridgen, focuses on providing clean and fresh skincare that's reasonably priced. They’ve aligned their packaging design with what their audience wants and looks for.
Use contrast – Play around with color theory and the color wheel to create visually arresting designs. Use complementary and contrasting colors to make your packaging stand out. N.finite Beauty Skincare combines dark tones with pink pastels to create a striking, memorable box design.
Design for repurposing – Reusing boxes is a given, but it is an afterthought. Viva La Bri’s Beauty takes this to another level. Their custom boxes are not just designed to create a memorable unboxing experience, but are pretty and sturdy enough to be repurposed. Ensure your online printer uses high-quality corrugated cardboard so that the mailer boxes get a second lease on life.
Add a throwback – Nostalgia sells. Incorporate nostalgic elements into your packaging design to attract subscribers. Study pop culture references that work the most for your demographic’s age bracket before you create your design. For example, Oasis Face Bar combines a little ‘90s throwback, pops of color, and hints of whimsy all wrapped in one delightful custom box design.
At its core, subscription boxes are gifts we give ourselves every month. These products are designed to bring happiness in a neat little box. It’s important to design each subscription box to offer a positive experience every time. Reliable online printers such as Packola give you the ability to create made to measure packaging that pairs with your products perfectly.
