Rethink Packaging Design: What Private Labels Teach Us
- Roderik Sorbi
- 15 hours ago
- 3 min read
In today’s fiercely competitive grocery retail landscape, packaging is more than just a wrapper — it’s a shopper communication tool at the crucial moment of truth.
For brand and shopper marketeers, one of the most fascinating dynamics lies in the evolving design philosophy of private labels. Compared to A-brands, private labels have charted their own distinct design paths — and in doing so, they're quietly reshaping shopper expectations and retail experiences.
The Private Label Advantage
Where A-brands are tightly bound to brand guidelines, heritage, and a need to maintain consistency in their visual identities, private labels apply different standards — with an even more focus on category shoppers.
A-brand packaging must reflect carefully crafted positioning. Logos, brand colours, and typographic treatments must remain consistent across SKUs, ranges a/o categories. This often restricts how flexibly a brand can show the product or cater to context-specific needs (e.g., at-shelf clarity, easy navigation).
Private labels, on the other hand, are primarily tasked with function over form. Their primary mission? Helping the shopper navigate the shelf quickly and confidently. That means:
Category-first design logic — the visual makes the category (and segment) instantly recognizable.
Product name prominence — clear, bold, often centrally placed to reduce cognitive demand.
Neutral or simplified branding — allowing imagery and product cues to do the heavy lifting.
Visual storytelling — appetizing product photography - or pure in-pack product - is prioritized over abstract brand messages.
A graphic design needs to bring this to live. Take, for instance, these ones from various leading retail formulas across Europe – ICA, Edeka, Tesco, REMA 1000, Mercadona and Albert Heijn – across the board, product visibility and legibility win. They might seem simple, even plain compared to 'flashy' A-brands (excusez le mot!), but that’s their strength — they are designed for intuitive and effortless shopping: clearly category coded, product name is prominent, appealing visualization.
What This Means For A-Brands
For brand owners, this shift presents a challenge: how to compete when shoppers are drawn to clarity and speed?
The Clarity Gap – A-brands risk losing out in environments where speed trumps loyalty. Private labels, with their clean layouts, win the “shelf-readability” game. If your packaging is cluttered or overbranded, you might be harder to find — even if you're well known.
Asset Overload – The temptation to showcase multiple assets (logo, color, heritage design) can be overwhelming. Private labels show restraint — and in doing so, improve shopability.
Context Adaptation – For obvious reasons A-brands may fear diluting equity by adapting too much, risking ‘decision fatigue’ at shelf with drop-offs too much.
What A-Brands Can Learn
Despite the constraints, A-brands can elevate their presence by adopting some private label strategies — without sacrificing brand identity:
Semiotic codings – Conduct semiotic desk research prior to designing your packaging to determine category codes and consumer meanings, guiding packaging design to ensure relevance, clarity, and standout pack communication;
Balance of information – Find the right balance between the product name and brand logo. Determining the right distinctive brand assets at point-of-purchase may help to prioritize what needs to be shown on pack;
Segment branding – Develop simple and clear sub-brand systems which are intuitively understood and reflect category needs;
Clarity in communication – Simplify language on-pack and use photography strategically — literal images can still be premium when executed with taste.
Design for the digital shelf – Clear packaging isn't just a physical shelf strategy — it's essential for e-commerce thumbnails and mobile shopping, where legibility is king.
Closing Thoughts: The North Star
Private labels remind us that shopper-first design is hyperfocused. To many, they are the real benchmark as they lead the way at-shelf on search & find, clarity and conversion to brand pick-up. So, A-brands not only can’t afford to design in isolation but also can’t just rest on their laurels when private labels have upgraded any of their designs in a category: Basic, Mid-range, Premium, Organic. Only in-context pack design testing reveals if your pack cuts through or gets lost. It’s the most effective way to ensure your design wins where it really counts: on the shelf.
