Rivella: Good packaging does more than just grab attention

In a dynamic market where consumers make decisions in a matter of seconds, packaging is a powerful tool for strengthening a brand. For established brands in particular, a redesign is therefore more than just a creative challenge: it requires a strategic balance between innovation, distinctiveness, and brand recognition. But how do you know if a design actually works?

To determine which packaging direction best supports Rivella in the Dutch market, Validators conducted an extensive study of various new designs and Rivella’s Distinctive Brand Assets (DBAs)—the distinctive brand elements that contribute to the brand’s recognizability.

The goal was not only to determine which design performs best, but also to understand why. Which design elements help packaging stand out and strengthen brand recognition? And how can these insights guide future creative decisions?

Testing Different Can Designs

The effectiveness of packaging goes beyond mere visual appeal. Effective packaging must stand out on the shelf, be recognizable, convey the right brand values, and create a connection with consumers—all within a fraction of a second. That’s why we combined implicit and explicit research methods in our study. This allowed us to identify not only what consumers consciously say about a design, but also how they intuitively react to it. Of the sixteen designs tested, one emerged as the strongest. The results provide insight into how the right combination of design elements can ensure that packaging performs well across multiple dimensions.

The Role of Visual Elements in Packaging Design

Color, typography, illustrations, and other visual elements all influence how consumers perceive packaging. They can attract attention, strengthen brand recognition, or evoke certain associations, but they do not necessarily contribute to all of these aspects at the same time. Packaging research helps distinguish these different functions from one another. It provides insight into how individual elements contribute to the overall design and the impression the brand leaves. This demonstrates why evaluating packaging must go beyond simply assessing its visual appeal. It’s about understanding what a design communicates and how consumers respond to it.

(The image above is for illustrative purposes only; it is not the image or the "new" packaging that was included in the study.)

The Balance Between Brand Recognition and Innovation

For established brands, redesigning packaging presents a unique challenge. Familiar elements can enhance brand recognition, but at the same time, brands must continue to evolve to remain relevant. Research into Distinctive Brand Assets helps shed light on how various visual elements contribute to a brand’s identity and recognizability. With this knowledge, brands can better determine which elements should be retained and where there is room for new creative directions. Instead of treating all design elements as equally important, brands can use research findings to make more informed choices. This allows the packaging to evolve further without losing what makes the brand recognizable.

From Research Data to Design Choices

Packaging research—including this study for Rivella—shows that effective packaging research goes beyond simply identifying the design that consumers find “most appealing.” Effective packaging must perform on multiple levels: it must attract attention, be recognizable, convey the right brand values, and feel familiar.

By combining implicit research methods, behavioral evaluation, and qualitative feedback, the study revealed how individual design choices influence the overall effectiveness of packaging. These insights help explain why certain design choices work, which elements are worth retaining, and where there is room for experimentation.

Ultimately, good packaging design is about more than just “knowing what works.” It’s about understanding why it works. That insight allows for more well-founded creative choices and helps brands refresh their designs without losing what makes them recognizable.

Curious about the possibilities of packaging research?

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