Q: What are the best packaging design companies in the US?

The best packaging design companies in the US are: Zenpack 4.9 stars on DesignRush (12 reviews) 4.8 stars on Google (5 reviews) Top clients: Cambio, Mejuri, NBA, Hally, Disney Product Ventures 4.7 stars on DesignRush (4 reviews) 3.7 stars on Google (7 reviews) Top clients: The Kraft Heinz Company, Nestle, Frito-Lay, PepsiCo, Cambio Roasters Freshmade 5.0 stars on Google (1 review) Top reviews: Delectables, Frieda’s Specialty Produce, Family Tree Farms, Southern Specialties, B&W Baby Leaves Creme de Mint 5.0 stars on Google (9 reviews) Top clients: Expressed Juice, Victoria’s Secret, Avon, Theorie, Bliss Atlas Branding + Design 5.0 stars on Google (24 reviews) Top clients: Poppy Popcorn, Botanical Bones, Huli Sue’s BBQ + Grill, Guajiro, Lavender Boutique

Question 1

What is a packaging design company?

Accepted Answer

A packaging design company is a company that creates the visual appearance of a product’s packaging. It combines expertise in design elements such as structure, materials, color theory, imagery, and typography to create compelling and functional packaging concepts.

Beyond aesthetics, a packaging design company ensures the design aligns with the client’s established brand guidelines and marketing strategy, creating a cohesive brand experience for them. This specialized agency acts as a creative partner to brands, helping them achieve the following key objectives:

Protection: The packaging should safeguard the product during storage, transportation, and handling
Brand identity: The design should visually communicate the brand’s message and resonate with the target audience
Marketing and sales: Captivating packaging can grab attention on store shelves, distinguish the product from competitors, and influence purchasing decisions
Functionality: The packaging should be easy to open, store, and dispose of — ideally with sustainability in mind

Question 2

What do packaging design companies do?

Accepted Answer

Packaging design companies offer a range of services to bring your product's visual presentation to life while considering its functionality. Given that packaging is the first point of contact between a product and the consumer, these companies play a pivotal role in distinguishing a brand’s offerings in a competitive marketplace.

Packaging design agencies help businesses elevate their product through their wide range of services, including:

Conceptual design
Brainstorming design ideas that capture the brand's essence and resonate with its target audience and translating these concepts into initial sketches and mood boards, crafting a visual roadmap of potential creative directions
Graphic design
Crеating visual elements such as logos, illustrations, typography, and color palette to align with a brand’s identity while ensuring the products capture attention and stand out on the shelf
Structural design
Planning the physical form of packaging to optimize shelf space, ensure product safety, and select materials that balance durability, sustainability, compliance, and cost while incorporating user-friendly features for easy handling and storage
Prototyping
Translating packaging design into physical models to test and refine the look, form, function, and user experience, providing valuable insights for final adjustments
Printing and production coordination
Collaborating with printing companies to select functional and cost-effective packaging material and printing techniques, such as die cut, gold foiling, and debossing
Regulatory compliance
Ensuring the packaging adheres to relevant labeling, safety, and packaging regulations
Sustainability consulting
Advising clients on reducing packaging waste by selecting eco-friendly materials and incorporating recyclable or reusable features

Question 3

What is the difference between product design and packaging design companies?

Accepted Answer

The difference between product design and packaging design companies is the focus of their work. Namely, the two focus on different stages of a product’s life cycle and areas of expertise, as illustrated in this table:

Product design	Packaging design
Focuses on creating the core product users will use or interact with.	Focuses on forming the product’s shelf appeal and influencing the customer’s first impression of the product through packaging
Creates a good product with the goal of adding value to consumers.	Designs the cover or outer shell that houses the product with the aim of making it visually appealing, informative, and functional.
Specializes in developing the product itself and defining its form, functionality, usability, and aesthetics	Visually complements and enhances the product’s brand identity, emphasizing its features and unique selling propositions (USP).

Question 4

How much do packaging design companies charge for their services?

Accepted Answer

Packaging design companies charge between $10,000 and $50,000 for their services, depending on the design complexity, used materials, printing and production methods, and printing quantity.

Here’s a breakdown of the different pricing tiers of packaging design companies so you can more realistically plan your budget:

Tier	What’s included?
Basic packaging design: $300-$800	Basic packaging services, including logo placement, color coordination, and simple typography Minor customization Limited revisions (1 to 2 rounds)
Intermediate packaging design: $800-$1,500	Detailed consultation with brand analysis Custom logo placement, color palette, typography Unique packaging mock-ups Moderate revisions (2 to 3 rounds)
Premium packaging design: $1,500-$3,000	In-depth brand analysis Custom logo design Complex typography, imagery, and graphics Tailor fitted and premium-looking packaging templates according to business needs Extensive revisions (3 to 4 rounds)

The top 50 packaging design companies on DesignRush charge an average hourly rate of $110. 11.4% of the agencies on our listing accept projects under $1,000, presenting affordable options for simple packaging designs. On the other hand, 1.1% require a $50,000 minimum budget, offering specialized services for more extensive packaging projects that include custom design, premium materials, and extensive production coordination.

Question 5

Why should I hire a packaging design agency?

Accepted Answer

You should hire a packaging design agency to help you strategically design your products that will attract customers and boost sales. Packaging can make your product stand out from competitors and effectively communicate your brand message. In essence, partnering with a packaging design company allows you to work with experienced designers, reduce costs, improve brand identity, access resources, and comply with regulatory requirements.

Hiring such a specialized agency can help you:

Leveraging advanced design principles like color psychology, visual hierarchy, and the use of negative space to create highly attractive packaging that piques the attention of your customers
Differentiate your product from competitors through in-depth market research
Strengthen your brand recognition and loyalty by crafting packaging that aligns with your identity, goals, and target market
Minimize waste and product damage by using high-quality packaging materials and a structural design that prevents outside contamination, regulates temperature, and protects from breakage
Reduce overhead costs by finding the most economical size, materials, and printing method to create your ideal packaging
Grant access to advanced design technologies and resources that aren't readily available in-house, such as 3D printers, prototyping equipment, and offset printing machines
Achieve regulatory compliance by meeting labeling requirements, safety standards, and environmental regulations
Design intuitive packaging with features like easy opening, resealing, and portability to enable convenience for your customers
Create packaging that accommodates cultural preferences, language translations, and regional regulatory requirements for international distribution
Develop designs that stand out in retail environments by leveraging trends in retail display and shelf organization
Incorporate eco-friendly materials, biodegradable components, and efficient packaging designs that appeal to eco-conscious consumers and reduce environmental impact
Use premium design elements such as unique textures, finishes, or luxury materials to enhance the perceived quality of your product
Streamline production timelines and ensure faster time-to-market through efficient design-to-production workflows and expertise in navigating vendor relationships

Success story

To better illustrate the advantages of hiring a packaging design agency, we have selected the following case study from Deal Design:

Challenge: Wellness brand ViaSpa wanted a contemporary packaging design that highlights its product's benefits, underlying advanced technology, and ergonomic features.
Solution: Deal Design created high-quality product photography, added graphic effects, and included water texture backgrounds to communicate the product’s function and features. Moreover, it used silver foiling to differentiate the package from competitors and create a luxurious appearance.
Results: The new creative elements elevated ViaSpa’s brand perception and effectively highlighted the product’s unique features. The refined packaging enhanced shelf visibility stimulated customer engagement, and increased retail performance.

Question 6

How do I choose the best packaging design company for my business?

Accepted Answer

To choose the best package design company for your business, follow these steps:

Identify your brand goals
Clearly define your brand personality, target audience, and the desired brand image the packaging should convey. This will contextualize the nature of the project to the package design agency and help them grasp the vision your brand wants to achieve.
Define your budget
Determine what percentage of your overall product launch budget you can allocate to packaging design. Factor in the potential cost of additional design revisions beyond what’s included in the base fee.
Create a creative brief
Outline the type of packaging you need, project size, shape, functionality requirements, and desired materials or art style for your package design. Prioritize the essentials and adjust expectations for “nice-to-have” features based on your budget. Having this document ready before reaching out to package design agencies will ensure a more efficient selection process.
Find potential agency partners
Look for agencies with experience in your industry and website requirements across marketplaces, publications, and directories like DesignRush. You can also ask business partners for recommendations.
Conduct due diligence
Review the agencies’ client reviews, testimonies, case studies, portfolios, and list of recognitions to verify their credibility and reliability.
Assess industry experience
Check the package design agencies’ websites and look for relevant experience in your industry or in the type of package design you want. Evaluate their portfolio to see if their design aesthetic aligns with your brand image and preferences. Consider agencies that showcase a range of styles to demonstrate their versatility.
Ask for client references
Ask about the client's overall experience working with the agency, including communication, responsiveness, and meeting deadlines. Inquire about the agency’s design process and look for qualities like collaboration, feedback receptivity, and brand alignment.
Send a request for proposal (RFP)
Send your shortlisted agencies an RFP and ask for a project breakdown, including milestones, scope, schedule, costs, and other desired deliverables.
Ask about the project management approach
Understanding the project management approach of a packaging design company gives you an overview of how they operate. It also gives an idea about the technologies they utilize, their revision process, and the communication tools they use.
Evaluate soft skills
Evaluating the team’s soft skills requires keen observation and analysis beyond the technicalities of design. Assessing these skills helps you gain insights into the agency's work style, fit with your team, and ability to build a positive and productive partnership for the duration of your project.
Select the package design agency
Choose the package design agency that best aligns with your business objectives, budget, and operational style, and finalize your terms of agreement, list of deliverables, key performance indicators (KPIs), and timeline.

Can’t find what you’re looking for? We can help you get personalized proposals from packaging design agencies — for free. Visit DesignRush Marketplace, and we’ll provide you with a list of like-minded agencies that you can interview to find the ideal partner that will turn your vision into reality.

Question 7

How do I find the best packaging design agency on DesignRush that fits my budget?

Accepted Answer

You can find the best packaging design agency on DesignRush that fits your budget by using our filters. Shortlist the agencies by choosing from those that can cater to projects from $1,000 to above $50,000 based on your budget.

Low Budget: 1k above	Deal Design Friendly Label Justin Jenkins Designs
Mid Budget: 10k above	Fishfinger Fonder Studio Murmur Creative
High Budget: 50k above	BLVR The O Group Periscope

You can also filter agencies by location, company size, and hourly rate to customize your search according to your preferences and project needs.

Question 8

What red flags to watch out for when hiring a packaging design agency?

Accepted Answer

When hiring a package design agency, watch out for these red flags to avoid damage to your product, brand, and business:

Low-quality portfolio
An outdated or overly generic portfolio with low-resolution imagery can reflect a lack of innovation, technical proficiency, and awareness of contemporary design standards.
Limited technical knowledge
Effective packaging design extends beyond aesthetics, requiring expertise in materials, printing techniques, market dynamics, and consumer behavior. An agency that cannot provide strategic, well-reasoned justifications for its design choices may rely solely on intuition, putting you at risk of releasing product packaging that lacks functionality and impact.
No customization
A highly templated design that isn't customized to your unique brand position (USP) and target market can prevent you from meeting sales targets, standing out from the competition, and achieving overall business growth.
Inability to provide proof or prototype
If a packaging design company cannot show a prototype or a printer proof of its design, it may signal that it hasn't tested the package's real-world applicability. As a result, you may end up paying more for a faulty design that doesn’t fully protect your product or meet regulations.
No access to the editable file
Without the editable file of the final design, you won’t be able to correct minor errors and make the necessary adjustments for printing. Because of this, you may incur higher costs or experience delays, as the agency may charge you extra for every edit to the file.
Poor collaboration skills
An inability to communicate clearly, be receptive to feedback, and maintain professionalism signals poor work ethics, which can result in unsatisfactory output and project delays.

Question 9

What questions should I ask before hiring a packaging design agency?

Accepted Answer

Before hiring a packaging design agency, you should ask the following questions to gauge its ability to execute your packaging vision and efficiently handle your project:

Its Relevant Background

Do you have experience creating package designs for the same product or industry?
What package design project are you most proud of and why?
What is your level of experience in handling the logistics of the packaging?
Do you have a list of trusted manufacturers and printers?
Have you won any awards for a package design you worked on?

Its Services and Processes

What is your creative process in designing packaging?
Do you have a list of trusted manufacturers and printers?
Do you have sustainable packaging options?
How do you approach packaging design for different target audiences?
What is your typical timeline for developing packaging design from the initial concept to the final delivery?
Will you provide a prototype of the finished packaging design?
What is your quality assurance process to minimize the chances of typographical errors, wrong measurements, and other potential packaging issues?
Is the number of revisions and prototypes capped? What is the limit?
How do you measure the success of a packaging design project?
How do you handle intellectual property rights for the final design?
Do you offer post-design support, such as assistance with sourcing manufacturers and printers?

Related to Your Project

What creative approach will you use to develop our packaging design?
How will you ensure the package design aligns with my brand identity and marketing strategy?
What software and design tools will your designers use for my project? Will you provide us with a copy of the final editable file?
Are you familiar with the regulations for packaging design in our industry?
How will you handle revisions from different decision-makers in our company and ensure that the package design stays true to the vision and goals of the product?
How do you measure the success of a packaging design project?
How do you handle intellectual property rights for the final design?
Do you offer post-design support, such as assistance with sourcing manufacturers and printers?

Question 10

What are the best packaging design companies in the US?

Accepted Answer

The best packaging design companies in the US are:

Zenpack
- 4.9 stars on DesignRush (12 reviews)
- 4.8 stars on Google (5 reviews)
- Top clients: Cambio, Mejuri, NBA, Hally, Disney
Product Ventures
- 4.7 stars on DesignRush (4 reviews)
- 3.7 stars on Google (7 reviews)
- Top clients: The Kraft Heinz Company, Nestle, Frito-Lay, PepsiCo, Cambio Roasters
Freshmade
- 5.0 stars on Google (1 review)
- Top reviews: Delectables, Frieda’s Specialty Produce, Family Tree Farms, Southern Specialties, B&W Baby Leaves
Creme de Mint
- 5.0 stars on Google (9 reviews)
- Top clients: Expressed Juice, Victoria’s Secret, Avon, Theorie, Bliss
Atlas Branding + Design
- 5.0 stars on Google (24 reviews)
- Top clients: Poppy Popcorn, Botanical Bones, Huli Sue’s BBQ + Grill, Guajiro, Lavender Boutique

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