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Limited edition packaging can be a great way to entice consumers, both established and new, to buy. Often of a higher quality than the brand’s standard packaging, the limited edition version is more appealing, splurge-worthy and satisfying to own. The limited edition design is the ideal opportunity for a brand to take bold leaps to make a statement and impress a new audience. As with the examples listed below, if effective, the brand will be rewarded with boosted sales, greater brand awareness, as well as increased customer loyalty.

Carlsberg
You’ve probably witnessed Carlsberg’s recent £15m marketing campaign ‘The Danish Way’ which aims to premiumise (it’s a word!) the floundering brand by returning to its simple, Danish roots. Winner of an D&AD Award, the most recent branch of the campaign is ‘The København Collection’ – a run of limited edition packaging featuring abstract interpretations of Carlsberg’s ingredients: barley, hops and yeast. This pared-back look is an attempt to win favour with 25 – 29 year old males whose main driver of choice is taste. Carlsberg could have hopped on the World Cup bandwagon like many of its competitors (Kronenbourg, Budweiser) but instead decided to establish itself as more suave, less Suaréz.

Nutella
Nutella is a fun brand that often goes nuts with its packaging. Having dabbled in limited edition designs many times previously, in 2017 they went big, verybig. Design agency Ogilvy Italia had 7 million (!) unique designs for the jars printed using an algorithm (I, for one, welcome our new robot overlords.) They went out as a limited-edition run in Italy and sold out in one month. Molti soldi!
Also worth a look: Similar algorithms have been used by Diet Coke and Absolut.

Jameson
For the past seven St. Patrick’s Days, Jameson Whiskey have brought out a limited edition bottle which, in their own words, allows them to “highlight and empower artistic talent.” It’s a mutually beneficial project that has firmly established itself in the design calendar as something to look forward to. The past seven have each been very impressive with, for me, 2016’s design edging ahead of the rest. Created by Irish urban artist James Early, it features a dynamic, expressive, stained-glass inspired style. Noice.

Scotch Magic Tape
A few years ago, creative agency Kolle Rebbe designed MAGICALLY INVISIBLE!* limited edition packaging for Scotch Tape. They managed to house four rolls of sticky tape in a seemingly empty box, thus promoting the brand’s unique “invisible” quality. This stop-in-the-stationary-isle-worthy innovative design won a CLIO Award (the Oscar of the advertising world.)
*The illusion is created using the age-old mirrored panel trick & there is no Santa.

Johnnie Walker
Late last year, “story-telling company” LOVE created limited edition gift packs for Johnnie Walker’s whisky which, as mentioned earlier with Carlsberg, were tasked with appealing to a younger, more contemporary consumer. A collaboration with American mural artist Tristan Eaton, the resulting designs reimagine Johnnie Walker’s iconic walking gentleman with wild intricacy and richness. Luxurious gold foil abounds on the boxes which are constructed using rigid boards and are wrapped in shimmering, premium pearlised paper. Noice x3

Lorna Mc Weeney | Packaging Designer
Lorna is a Packaging Designer with Neworld, a brand agency with over 30 years experience. We immerse ourselves in your industry, your customers, your competitors and your business goals to create design solutions that will guarantee to boost your bottom line.