Nestle Polo
Can we update an iconic package without losing what made it distinct?
2016
Industrial Design
About
Polo - "The Mint with the Hole" - is one of Nestle's most recognizable confectionery brands. The hole isn't just a product feature; it's the entire personality. When Nestle approached FITCH to develop a more premium pack, the challenge was finding ways to feel new without losing the playfulness and iconicity that made the brand.
Working as the industrial designer on the project, I developed a range of packaging concepts that played with the brand's existing visual language - the shape, the existing pack, the quirky tone - while exploring different formats, materials, and mechanisms. All concepts were modeled in Rhino and rendered in Keyshot.
Design Routes
Pocket Pack
A simple, pocketable pack. Twist to dispense one mint; the pack springs shut automatically.
Flip Top
A translucent plastic flip top, letting the mints speak for themselves.
Round Tin
A simple tin with a form derived directly from the shape of the mint itself.
Round Tin with Insert
An alternative version of the round tin, with a translucent colored plastic insert.
Mint Stick
Inspired by the mechanism of a glue stick - twist the base, and a mint rises to the top. Familiar enough to be intuitive, unexpected enough to be fun.
Carousel
A larger format designed to sit on a desk. Twist the top and a mint pops out. The kind of object people keep on a desk because it's satisfying to use.
Square Tin
A square tin with graphics derived from the keyline technical drawings of the original Polo pack - a nod to the brand's history that works as decoration without being nostalgic about it.