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222 VOGUE INDIA JULY 2016 http://www.vogue.in
Those who have been to the supermar-
ket lately know that the healthy foods
section isn’t the only new addition to
the aisles. The microgreens and kale
chips that we are munching on also
come in exquisitely designed packag-
ing, only adding to the lure.
Packaging design is having a mo-
ment in India. “Packaged products
used to be imported. India never had
an institutionalised design culture.
Groceries were sold by weight, not pre-
packaged,” offers Emilia Bergmans,
founder of Delhi-based design compa-
ny The Brewhouse. Post-liberalisation,
as markets opened up, Indian kitsch
became the signature packaging style,
permeating everything from zany
matchbox art to vintage pinup girls on
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ed to become more generic in their at-
tempt to become global,” says Kuhu
Kochar of All Things Chocolate.
Kochar, who collaborated with
designer Aneeth Arora of Péro recent-
ly, is amongst those building a new
visual vocabulary within Indian food
brands. Collaborations are getting in-
creasingly popular too. Last year, fash-
ion designer Masaba Gupta’s designs
added a punch to Le 15 Patisserie’s
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while this year textile designer Peter
D’Ascoli is lending his iconic designs
that celebrate Indian heritage to bou-
tique tea brand No3 Clive Road.
Once a sea of unimaginative deriva-
tives, conscious packaging is now ready
to break free from the template. Even
the humble mineral water is up for
change—Qua’s shape and innovate de-
sign (awarded the World’s Best Pack-
aged Natural Mineral Water in 2011)
offers a refreshing take on the blue,
see-through packaged water bottles.
Like any good salesman, packaging’s
ultimate role is about creating desira-
bility—to make you want to buy a
product you don’t really need. Pushing
the limit for product packaging and
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such as Elephant Design (they created
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age that is reminiscent of sucking a
mango) and Alok Nanda & Company
(their typography for Filter’s range of
Indian chocolates is unique). Here are
some products that prove it’s okay to
judge a product by its cover.OUT OF
THE BOX
With origami tea sachets and
chocolate designed like box sets,
gourmet food packaging is working
hard to keep up with its contents.
MEGHA MAHINDRU looks at the new
buf et of food packaging in IndiaDESIGN_____________
NOM NOM
Milk, synonymous
with generic plastic
pouches and cartons,
gets a facelift with the
soon-to-be launched
Delhi brand Nom
Nom. “We wanted
to elevate milk,
beyond nutrition
and ritual, into a
lifestyle concept. So
everytime you open
the refrigerator, these
beautiful bottles
remind you to have
milk,” says Rohit
Dhamija of Lazy
Eight Design. SHUTTERSTOCK.COMWorldMags.net