Your first packaging design is not about perfection — it’s about getting in the market and learning fast. Early packaging is your minimum viable product (MVP). It needs to be good enough for consumers to understand what you’re selling, meet all legal labeling requirements, and help you start testing your product in the real world.
At Union Kitchen, we’ve seen hundreds of food entrepreneurs make the same early mistake: they spend thousands of dollars on a high-end design, only to realize six months later that it doesn’t reflect what customers actually care about. You don’t yet know what people truly value in your product — and that’s okay. Design is a process of discovery. The market is the teacher.
The right packaging designer will help you get to market quickly, learn from real feedback, and build a foundation you can evolve as your business grows.
Here’s how to find that designer.
Early packaging is all about getting in the market to learn.
At this stage, every decision — your colors, callouts, logo placement, even your tagline — is an assumption. You’ll only know if those choices resonate once you see what customers pick up, what they comment on, and what they ignore.
That’s why we encourage founders to start their design process using AI tools such as ChatGPT, Canva, or other AI-powered design platforms. These tools can help you create your base concept — the structure, copy, and rough visuals that communicate what your product is and why it matters.
Once you have that foundation, work with a professional packaging designer to clean up the design — refine fonts, adjust alignment, finalize color palettes, and ensure your layout meets print and labeling standards. This approach dramatically lowers your costs while still producing professional results. Instead of spending thousands of dollars upfront, you can often complete your first round of packaging design for a few hundred dollars.
Think of this as your minimum viable packaging (MVP). It needs to be good enough for consumers to understand what you’re selling, compliant with FDA and retailer requirements, and polished enough to represent your brand — but it doesn’t need to be final. You’ll refine it once you have real feedback from customers in the market.
When we first started working with Snacklins, a Washington, D.C.–based snack brand, we all believed the main selling point was that it was a vegan pork rind. It was clever and different — a fun twist on a familiar product.
But once the product hit shelves, the market told a different story. Vegans weren’t particularly excited about a pork rind, even a vegan one. And traditional snack customers weren’t drawn to something labeled “vegan.”
What people did love was how Snacklins tasted — light, crispy, and only 80 calories per bag. Customers kept saying the same thing: You can eat the whole bag. That insight completely transformed the brand. Snacklins redesigned its packaging, replacing the early “vegan pork rind” message with a focus on flavor, fun, and guilt-free snacking.
That shift — from assumption to real understanding — is what great design enables. You can’t guess your way there. You have to learn in the market.
Once you have your base concept, work with a designer who knows food and beverage packaging. Packaging is not just graphic design — it’s an intersection of creativity, compliance, and production.
An experienced food packaging designer understands:
FDA and retailer labeling requirements
Dielines, barcodes, and printing setup
Category norms (for example, colors and cues customers expect for snacks, beverages, or frozen foods)
Material performance — how color and ink look on different packaging substrates
When reviewing portfolios, ask to see real packaging examples, not just digital mockups. A designer who has worked with consumer packaged goods (CPG) will help you avoid costly reprints and ensure your product meets both design and technical standards.
💡 Pro Tip: If you're part of the Union Kitchen Accelerator, use your Product Workbook which includes a comprehensive Packaging Design Checklist to verify every required elements — from nutrition facts to allergen disclosures — before going to print.
Your first goal is to get something to market, not to be perfect. A fast, iterative design process will teach you far more than months of fine-tuning.
Work with a designer who moves quickly and communicates clearly. Aim for a four-week turnaround from concept to print-ready files. That gives you time to finalize your design while maintaining momentum toward your launch.
Speed doesn’t mean cutting corners. It means understanding that real-world data beats speculation. The sooner your product is in stores, the sooner you’ll see what customers actually respond to.
💡 Pro Tip: If you're part of the Union Kitchen Accelerator, ask us for direct introductions with designers who are already vetted and understand the importance of speed to market.
Treat packaging design as an ongoing investment, not a one-time expense. Every time you learn more about your customer, you’ll refine your design to match. That might mean highlighting a callout that resonates, simplifying your layout, or introducing new colors or sizes as you grow.
By starting lean — creating your concept with AI tools and hiring a designer for refinement — you give yourself room to evolve. Your packaging will get stronger, smarter, and more aligned with what customers value.
Your first design is your MVP. It’s meant to test, not to be perfect.
Use AI to your advantage. Build your base concept with AI tools like ChatGPT, then hire a designer to refine it.
Budget lean. Expect to spend a few hundred dollars, not thousands.
Hire experience. Choose designers who understand food packaging and compliance.
Move fast. Aim for a one-month turnaround to get in market quickly.
Iterate constantly. Learn from customers and evolve your design with every stage of growth.
Union Kitchen is a Washington, D.C.–based food business Accelerator that helps entrepreneurs launch, scale, and grow consumer packaged goods. Through our integrated ecosystem and investment fund — we help founders build successful food businesses.
Ready to launch your product and start learning fast?
Explore our programs and resources: