Manuka Doctor skin care launched in the U.S. in June 2013 – after first hitting the market in New Zealand and the UK in 2011, and winning “Best New Brand” in the UK’s Cosmetic Executive Women 2012 Beauty Insiders’ Choice Awards.

The brand uses eco-friendly harvested Manuka honey, as well as other bee products, in its formulations – including purified bee venom, or PBV.

The ingredient that sounds deadly is trendy – bee venom was named a top beauty trend on the list, “Things to Watch in 2013,” where it was described as “nature’s botox” by trend analyst group JWT Intelligence.

The Manuka Doctor line.

Packaging Goals for Building a New Brand

Nicola Macfarlane, senior vice president, Manuka Doctor, was in charge of the strategic development. “Launching a brand in an already cluttered beauty arena requires packaging that commands attention – a stand-out design can ensure sell-through. Our Purified Bee Venom also had to be highlighted as a key active ingredient,” she explains.

The products are housed in airless bottles, plastic jars, and tubes. “Airless pump products are indispensable for day-to-day usage. They make life more convenient,” says Macfarlane.

Tubes are used for many of the brand’s products, including the facial cleansers. Tubes are so functional, and feel sensual, due to a soft touch finish. “Plus, our tubes provided the crisp white background that matches the brand’s identity, allowing us to easily print the sub-branded colors, as well as regulatory requirements,” explains Macfarlane.

Manuka Doctor’s ApiNourish Hydrating Facial Cleanser is in a tube with a soft touch finish. The silvery-gray band at the bottom highlights its key ingredient – Purified Bee Venom.

Manuka Doctor’s ApiRevive Rub Ease Balm is a massaging balm with a peppermint scent, housed in a darkly colored glass jar to protect its ingredients, which include Purified Bee Venom and glucosamine. It is designed to relieve stressed out muscles and aching joints.

A few glass jars are used as well – for Rub Ease Balm, which is shown, and darkly colored to protect some if its ingredients; and for the ApiNourish Face Mask, which is launching at Sephora October 2013.

“We chose glass for our face mask because it is our ‘hero product’ and we wanted the packaging to match its premium nature,” says Macfarlane.

Creating a brand identity is extremely important, and a new company must “get it right,” Macfarlane says.

“It is important to first define strategies for growth, at the start of the packaging design process,” she explains.

Some of the design goals for the brand were to clearly differentiate the products, as well as present the brand as authentic – with an impactful look.

It was also important for the packaging to convey the efficacious nature of its ingredients, and bee-friendly values.


A Design Based on a Bee

So how did Manuka Doctor decide to feature its “star,” and source of its key ingredients, the bee?

A drawing of a bee in flight, wings spread, looks as if it is buzzing within the brand’s circular, vibrantly illustrated logo.

But, the bee logo isn’t yellow, which may have been too typical and expected. It’s orange on the brand’s website – and then changes from purple to blue, or green, depending on the product.
Different colors are used to color-code the sub-brands – anti-aging products are purple; products for troubled skin are green; and “restorative natural products,” like Rub Ease Balm, which is shown, are blue.

Macfarlane describes the colors that the brand uses on the packaging as “strong.” “We chose clean PMS colors to ensure they would remain as bright and crisp as possible in the printing process,” she adds.

Manuka Doctor’s ApiNourish Introductory Kit contains age-defying products designed to be used as a 3-step regimen. They are packaged in deluxe trail size tubes and plastic jars.

The typeface chosen for the graphics is called ITC Stone Sans. “We chose this because it was an extended family of typefaces containing serif, sans serif, and informal styles, each with a Roman and italic version in three weights, medium, semi bold, and bold,” explains Macfarlane.

The Kits

Manuka Doctor’s colors – green, purple and blue – pop against the mainly white backdrop of the bottles, tubes and jars. But the trial size products in the brand’s 3-step introductory kits are in boxes that are more boldly colored, in green and purple.

“Although the brand is predominantly white, the Bee Icon is really highlighted in the Intro Kit, with its strong use of color. It makes the boxes pop on shelf against the full-sized white core range of products,” explains Macfarlane.

The ApiNourish Kit is purple, and contains anti-aging products; ApiClear is green, and the products are designed for blemish-prone skin.

“The Intro Kits allow us to sell generous smaller sized introductory packs in a premium presentation, which continued the overall look and feels consistent with the brand,” adds Macfarlane.



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