“Retail shelf space is super limited and everything is highly competitive. This is a premium product, we’ve gotta give them something that has a cool factor and exudes quality and innovation.”
Gems are a premium edible that combines real organic fruit with cannabis-infused sugar for a bliss-filled experience and none of the chemical aftertaste. Such a uniquely exceptional product requires branding and packaging to complement it and incite consumer curiosity. Unfortunately, the brand’s original packaging (a standard pill bottle) and visual identity didn’t support this. To compound the problem, the US market is flooded with run-of-the- mill pill bottles, boxes and zippered pouches.
We had the unique pleasure of shaping several facets of the brand (pun intended) from the dieline itself and packaging design to the logo and extended visual language. All of these work together to elevate a consumer’s experience as they spot and engage with this incredible product.
We wanted the experience of holding Gems to feel precious, incredibly engaging and stand far apart from the competition. A custom seven-sided gemstone dieline for the outer packaging was developed and would remain consistent for all flavors and varieties so that consumers could identify the product easily from a distance. This gemstone silhouette is decorated to resemble a “gemified” fruit through bright, eye-catching colors and other decorative elements that mirror the flavor of the product within.
Silver and gold metallic foils were utilized to not only add a touch of luxe, but also quickly differentiate between the two varieties available in each flavor (CBD and THC).All of these elements work together to create a unified system that is flexible enough to easily allow future flavors to be brought into the product line.
As it is opened, the gemstone blossoms like a flower to reveal the inner child-proof box inside. Thus even the shape of the packaging and unboxing experience are brand assets. This functionality can be seen here: https://vimeo.com/879800939
As a final easter-egg, the bottom panels on the inside are adorned with fruit graphics that when spun function as an animated zoetrope. This can be seen in action here: https://vimeo.com/879771281
The final result is uniquely Gems and we couldn’t be prouder.
