New Look For BabySpa

Redesign enhances the best of original packaging.

Developing packaging for an upscale line of personal care products for baby posed some challenges for Baby­Spa. The goal was to create an image that clearly communicates “for baby,” and underscores the special mother/baby bond without being cartoonish. The new packaging and brand design successfully reflects the philosophy of the brand, appeals to a sophisticated consumer and provides functional improvements over the original containers.

BabySpa is introducing six products in an improved product line. The first of the line, which will eventually number 16 products in open stock by the end of April, was at retail in mid-February.

Packaging for the new collection has been totally redesigned, according to Eric Altschul, BabySpa president.

Stepanie Godkin, design director of The Sterling Group, New York, worked with the BabySpa team to come up with a look that would capitalize on the brand’s strengths, retain elements from the original packaging that worked and improve those features that didn’t.

“The Sterling Group studied the BabySpa brand to determine its strong­est features. It also look­ed to see what its competitors were do­ing,” said God­kin. “We came up with a proposal, which included a business plan and suggested four different platforms. The platforms were presented with words and/or mood boards and became the basis for designing the new packaging,” she said.

Sterling determined that BabySpa’s best points are the sense of touch and the emotional bond between baby and mother. Therefore, the new packaging needed to communicate those elements. Godkin explained, “We kept the photographic image of a mother and baby but deliberately made it soft focus. We chose an unusual color—a silvered mushroom beige—for the brand name and the common elements across the line (the cap and a band that carries the brand name) to underscore the natural ingredients in the line.”

The handprint that appears in the logo is reminiscent of the palm prints created by many preschoolers and the hand and foot prints on birth certificates. It was held over from the original packaging. Godkin noted, “The handprint is a graphic to underline the touch aspect and to harken back to the original package. The new design is more sophisticated and not at all kiddie because it’s the mother that buys the product.”

To make it easier for consumers to find the various items in the line on the shelf, “We’ve segmented the line into six categories and assigned each a color for easy identification,” Altschul said. The packaging is color coded: skin care formulas are in peach; bath products are teal; the mas­sage/aromatherapy items feature lavender; sun care products are yellow; the winter care category is deep blue and miscellaneous products are packaged in soft gray.

The new bottles are taller and slimmer to facilitate being held. They can easily be used with one hand. The new silhouette is also more elegant and gives BabySpa more presence on the retail shelf as more bottles can be placed side-by-side in the same amount of space.

“And there’s a new disk top that can be opened with one hand too,” Altschul said. New tubed products also feature easy flip-top dispensing. One of the accessory items is a non-slip baby bath glove to be used as a washcloth.

“Overall, the new look better reflects the premium, upscale nature of Baby­Spa products,” Altschul stated. The cap and band that circles all the bottles is a soft tan while all the packaging features the same mother and baby photo to communicate the emotional bonding be­tween parent and baby that BabySpa wants to encourage and enhance, ac­cording to Altschul.