As a well-established online-only brand, Wow had grown rapidly and built a substantial business. But when it was time to expand into offline retail, their existing packaging fell short. Competing on a physical shelf—where products sit directly beside their rivals—required a level of standout and clarity that the online-focused design wasn’t built for. Given our proven track record of helping skincare brands launch and scale, Wow was eager to draw on our expertise.
We transformed Wow’s dark brown labels into lighter ones, retaining the gold accents but using them more intentionally to highlight the science-backed active ingredients. We reworked the visual hierarchy to give equal emphasis to the brand and product names, and introduced imagery above the gold band to better engage customers. The communication then closed with a clear callout of the benefits and the formulation’s lack of harmful ingredients—an important decision driver for consumers.
While our design iterations began with a single shampoo variant, the system was conceived from the start to translate seamlessly across multiple products. First, it needed to extend naturally to the sister conditioner product, then across other categories such as face washes and creams. It also had to adapt to different packaging formats—labels, mono-cartons for tubes, jars, and bottles. Finally, the design needed to accommodate a range of hero ingredients, each expressed through distinct colors, while still retaining enough familiarity with the previous packaging to ensure customers recognized the brand’s continuity.
Ultimately, the packaging architecture we created met every requirement—preserving brand continuity while delivering a fresh, modern aesthetic and, most importantly, achieving powerful shelf throw in retail. To support long-term growth, we developed comprehensive guidelines that enable new products to be built and scaled seamlessly, without any loss of clarity or consistency in the brand’s visual language.
Today, the transition of Wow’s entire product line to this new system is nearly complete, and the impact has been profound—strengthening brand recognition, improving visibility in crowded retail environments, and contributing meaningfully to the company’s continued expansion.
