Joint Juice hired DDW to give their packaging a warmer appeal, and less of a medicinal appearance.

The design architecture of the front panel maintains its impact even when reduced in size for the narrow side panels of the new, slimmer 24-can pack of the "Plus" formula.

DDW Blends Warmth and Medicine For Joint Juice Supplement Beverage

Joint Juice is a glucosamine nutritional supplement drink targeted at consumers suffering from joint pain, whether by injury, wear, or arthritis. Since most all glucosamine products are sold in tablet, powder, or concentrated liquid form in small bottles, a ready-to-drink form of glucosamine could easily get overlooked.

The Joint Juice company realized its packaging and marketing strategy was not connecting with the consumers in the aisle. First, they hired Deutsch Design Works (DDW) in San Francisco to redesign their packages with a contemporary look. Then, at DDW's urging, they went into the stores to introduce their product personally to aisle-browsers with samples.

The company was not very interested in traditional ad campaign avenues that might prove fruitless. So DDW did a great deal of research into how the category was perceived in the stores, and thought long and hard how to get across the Joint Juice message with the package alone. Steve Goldman, general manager of DDW, says, "It's really about thinking through the process and doing it in a new, entrepreneurial way instead of a mass marketing way."

To many glucosamine supplement shoppers, the large rectangular box of 8-oz. juice cans probably looked out of place, and warranted little consideration in the supplement category. In addition, the original box did not communicate the products many benefits effectively.

An appetizing presentation

Barry Deutsch, co-founder and creative director of DDW, explains how the designers created a much friendlier presentation that draws shoppers in for closer examination. Deutsch is particularly pleased with the way the orange and yellow contrast nicely with the clinical blue, bringing warmth to soothe the cool blue.

The cool blue area illustrates the pain that needs to be soothed by using cues that are reminiscent of an X-ray. The typical area of knee joint pain "glows" with irritation, and above the blue field is an imperative statement: "Hydrate & Lubricate Your Joints." The goal was to demonstrate the problem as non-intrusively as possible.

The soothing warmth around the blue has a gradual gradation from cool yellow to deep, warm orange under the Joint Juice logo. The lighter areas draw the eye to the benefits, and the deep orange creates better contrast for the logo.

After adding a picture of refreshing looking glass of iced juice and a slice of fruit, DDW created a clear hierarchy of information for the left side of the box. "We were trying to take some of the medicine out of it," says Deutsch. "We made glucosamine still important, but not tied to the name so much."

Deutsch says the clean logo treatment is much more legible and less "tricky" at first glance compared to the original logo. The color palette is more appetizing, and the benefits are accessible even though they are distributed in a few different ways in a few locations. In addition, the DDW design architecture was able to be adapted well to different-size side panels for different dimension boxes. "The system was more flexible that we thought at first," says Deutsch.

The right box for cans

The Joint Juice box presentation is further aided by the capabilities of Atlanta-based MeadWestvaco Packaging Systems. MeadWestvaco developed an easy-to-carry 24-pack Duodozen® carton with eye-catching graphics. The company uses a state-of-the-art, six-color hexachrome process in combination with a high-gloss UV coating on sturdy Coated Natural Kraft® (CNK) paperboard.

"The hexachrome printing on this new carton creates an exceptionally high-end package," says Bill Wagner, national account manager for MeadWestvaco Packaging Systems. "This particular six-color process is further enhanced by the smooth printing surface of the CNK board. The combination of the board and advanced printing process create a carton with remarkably crisp and vibrant, photo-quality graphics."

The hexachrome printing process features standard CMYK as well as two additional colors, orange and green. This six-color process runs well on offset printers due to their advanced registry control. It is highly precise and creates a sophisticated package with bold colors and high-gloss coating. "This unique and colorful packaging attracts consumers, making Joint Juice easily recognizable to shoppers who have previously purchased the product, as well as those who are unfamiliar with the supplement," Wagner says.