Packaging as Product Personality

“The women’s company’s first products were Braganza Tea, Tendertee Tips and Senator Coffee, later followed by Frisco instant coffee. According to René Morkel, the names mainly came from Rupert. He proposed Braganza for the tea, recalling the Portuguese princess Catharina da Braganza who had married Charles II of England in 1662 and popularised tea at the royal court and in the West. The label on the packet depicted her presenting the king with a chest of tea. This was a typical Rupert touch: a product had to have a ‘personality and an address’, and be linked to a story sales people could tell.”

“‘You were wise not to use just the surname Stuyvesant but also the first name; it gives the product a far more personal character. White packets are highly problematic, since they can create an impression of coldness if not accompanied by warm colours. That is exactly what you have done here. The gold on the packet, which sometimes looks heavy, is used very subtly. You neatly circumvented the danger of black by using a paler shade that looks more like olive green. The asymmetrical red stripe running halfway round the packet creates a sense of quality and unique distinctiveness that I have never seen in any other packaging. This asymmetry imparts a dynamic vitality to the packet and a self-assured image, suggesting that this is an established brand and its manufacturer is definitely a company of stature.’ [Our translation.]”