When the first Staples opened it's doors on May 1, 1986, private label products where a new concept for consumers. But it wasn't long before the idea caught on. After all, what's not to like about getting a product of the equil quality as the name-brand — only paying a lot less because there isn't a fancy logo on the out side of the package.
Staples' early private label products sold well, but the package design did nothing to elevate the Staples brand. Plus package colors and designs where inconsistent. Frankly, it was time for a change. I personally oversaw each evolution of Staples packaging — from the old designs (seen directly below), to a design the emphasized the Staples name and on to the design that ultimatly reflected the new Staples brand positioning.
Staples Own Brand Packaging
Old designs
Phase 1 "own red"
The new Staples private label packaging gave greater prominence to the Staples name and truly gave the compay ownership the color red. The design was conceived and implemented in just under 2 months and over 1,000 where converted to the new design. The new packaging also received a Gold Award for Creative Excellence from the International Brand Packaging Awards (over 10,000 entries where received), and has been recognized as a finalist in the world’s 100 most effective rebrands by ReBrand 100.
The new package design elivated Staples producs from a private lable — offen compared to a generic supermarket products — to an Own Brand similar in percived quality to Target's own Xhilaration brand. Created in partnership with Wolff Olins, this design has be rolled out to over 3,000 SKUs world wide.