Thinking inside the box
Rhonda Page
Strategic Advisor to Entrepreneurs, Founders of Growth-Stage Companies, and Creative Agencies | Accelerate Business Development, Differentiation and Brand Positioning | Sustainability and Brands for the Future
I’m not a fan of take-out food
I’ve never been a fan of take-out food for obvious reasons. In 2020 I succumbed on a number of occasions for various family logistical reasons. We ordered from a local Italian restaurant that sent everything in tin foil and styrofoam containers. I couldn’t order from them again - the amount of waste upset me.
Fast forward to this past weekend. It was my friend’s birthday and we decided to order from her favorite restaurant and eat together on zoom. It was a high-end restaurant and the food came in oven-proof recycled cardboard. I was able to reheat the food and recycle the containers. Having spent many years doing branding work for CPG companies, this got me thinking about what true sustainability really means and how important it is.
Sustainability as the new business reality
The pandemic has brought sustainability to the forefront. It’s not a trend that will pass, but a new business reality. Increasing numbers of customers see beyond the pure purchase interactions with companies and demand business practices that are ethical and sustainable. This consumer awakening will impact companies on many different levels, way beyond sales.
Ask your client the important questions
When I did branding work for consumer packaged goods companies I was disheartened by the addition of SKUs because market research recommended it or because a brand needed a sales spike. The CPG industry is due for an overall and I believe that design firms have a role to play. I recommend that you work toward becoming a strategic partner and trusted advisor to your clients and at times be bold enough to push back on the decisions they are making if you disagree. Ask the important questions like:
- What is your main objective for this brand?
- will this create consumer loyalty?
- What will be the impact on the planet?
A Smart Sustainability Story
To get you thinking of new possibilities, here is my favorite sustainability story in CPG. I met Jon Bostock, CEO of Truman’s (https://www.trumans.com/) last year and interviewed him for a webinar, Why the Creatives Will Be The Most Important People in the Room. Truman’s has reinvented the household cleaning category based on the fact that 90% of household cleaners are water. As designers, you don’t think much about the supply chain but think about the carbon footprint of trucks transporting huge boxes of plastic bottles and all those big plastic bottles being tossed out and replaced. Truman’s have taken the water out of cleaning products and created a small cardboard package containing 4 - 3 inch viles for kitchen, bathroom, hardwood flooring, and glass. You add the product to a spray bottle and add water. They are delivering directly to consumers and have eliminated the store (also a trend that CPG’s have started to play with). Truman’s describes itself as “The Coolest Cleaning Company on the Internet”. They are cool with clever product names like “Everything and the Kitchen Sink”.
Truman’s is my favorite example so far of sustainability in consumer packaged goods. In 20201 and beyond, your job as a designer is about much more than packaging, graphics. It’s about helping clients to really thinking out of the box (or in this case, thinking in the box). It’s time to get on your creative problem-solving hat and help your client create real wins in brand loyalty that will help the planet rather than a sales spike on their profit and loss sheet.