In the competitive world of consumer goods, even the smallest changes can have a significant impact on user experience and brand perception. Our client, a global leader in personal care products, wanted to reinvent the packaging of their widely used tissue packs. While the product itself was well-established, they saw an opportunity to enhance its functionality and aesthetic appeal, ensuring it better aligned with evolving consumer expectations.
At the heart of their challenge was a key constraint: any new design needed to be manufacturable using their existing production assets to avoid costly modifications or operational disruptions. This meant that innovation had to be carefully balanced with feasibility, finding ways to create a premium experience while staying within manufacturing constraints.
The challenge: designing innovation within constraints
The brief required a solution that met multiple objectives:
- Enhance user experience – Improve functionality, ease of use, and perception of quality.
- Maintain manufacturing efficiency – Ensure any innovations could be produced using existing equipment without significant capital investment.
- Align with brand identity – The new packaging needed to reinforce the brand’s premium positioning while retaining practicality.
- Create a differentiator – The redesign had to provide a meaningful improvement over current market offerings.
To meet these goals, the client engaged 42 Technology to lead a structured innovation and design process that would transform their initial ideas into viable, manufacturable solutions.
What we did
Our team conducted research into consumer behaviours, seeking to understand how packaging influences purchasing decisions and everyday interactions.
The project began with an extensive exploration of user needs, brand values, and existing manufacturing capabilities. Ethnographic studies and consumer interviews provided valuable insights that shaped our design direction.
With this foundational understanding, we embarked on a structured innovation phase, generating a wide range of potential solutions. We developed and refined concepts that pushed the boundaries of design while respecting manufacturing realities. Our iterative approach allowed us to rapidly prototype and test different configurations, identifying the most promising directions for further development.
After filtering the concepts through a rigorous feasibility assessment, we narrowed the selection to three distinctive designs that struck the right balance between user appeal and manufacturability. These designs were then developed into full-scale prototypes and prepared for consumer trials.
Results for our client
The client successfully tested the new packaging concepts in real-world consumer trials, validating their impact on user experience and perceived product value.
The key outcomes included:
- Improved user satisfaction – The new designs offered enhanced functionality, making the product easier to use and more appealing.
- Seamless integration into existing manufacturing lines – By ensuring compatibility with legacy production assets, the new packaging could be implemented without major operational changes.
- Stronger brand differentiation – The innovative packaging designs reinforced the client’s premium positioning, helping to create a stronger market presence.
The project exemplified how a strategic, insight-driven approach to packaging design can unlock new opportunities, even within tightly defined constraints.
Why 42 Technology? A blend of creativity and engineering expertise
42 Technology’s ability to combine creative ideation with technical feasibility was instrumental in the success of this project. Our structured process ensured that every design iteration was backed by user insights and manufacturing practicality. The client valued our expertise in navigating the intersection of innovation and real-world constraints, allowing them to bring a fresh, elevated product experience to market without disrupting their existing operations.
By delivering a series of validated, consumer-approved packaging concepts, we helped our client move confidently towards a premium product experience, one that meets consumer expectations while remaining cost-effective and scalable.