“Shoppers pick up the competitor's pack, even when ours is cheaper.”
Usually the pack fails the two-second test. We fix the order the eye reads the front, so brand, product and reason to buy show from an arm's length.
/ 01 Packaging design agency
Design that has tosell on its own.
Shoppers pick up the competitor's pack, even when yours is cheaper, because a pack has only a few seconds to win. PromotEdge is a packaging design agency.
We design labels, cartons, pouches and jars for Indian brands, so your product is picked on the shelf and on the delivery app, and sells more.
Packaging matters most when a brand known for price wants to move up. If the brand itself is unclear, start with branding. Making food or drink? See food packaging design, or our FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) page.
A pack now lives three lives: a crowded kirana shelf, a supermarket aisle, and a thumbnail on Amazon, Flipkart or a delivery app such as Blinkit or Zepto. We design for all three.
- 2015working with Indian brands since
- 65+in-house team: strategy, creative, media and tech
- 4pillars under one roof: strategy, advertising, digital, on-ground activation (BTL)
- 6cities: head office in Kolkata, teams in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Guwahati and Bhubaneswar
/ 02 What you receive
Everything from shelf auditto press files.
| Deliverable | What it is | When you get it |
|---|---|---|
| Shelf and screen audit | Your pack beside rivals, in shops and on apps | Week 1 |
| Design brief | Buyer, shelf, one reason to buy, provable claims | Week 1 |
| Design routes | Two or three fronts, on a shelf mock-up and at thumbnail size | Weeks 2 to 3 |
| Full pack artwork | Every face, barcode and mandatory panel placed | Weeks 3 to 5 |
| Range system | A layout guide for the next SKU | Week 5 |
| Structure and dieline | A dieline drawn or checked, or artwork fitted to a stock box | With the artwork |
| Printed mock-ups | Samples before the full run | Weeks 5 to 6 |
| Print-ready files | Printer's specification, colour references, text check sheet | Week 6 |
| Online pack images | Sized for Amazon, Flipkart and quick-commerce listings | With print files |
Timings are for up to four SKUs; a new structure or many languages adds time. Product photography and wider graphic design are separate services.
/ 03 Common hurdles
What usually gets in the way,and the way through.
“On the delivery app, our product looks like a blur.”
Most packs are designed for the shelf and then shrunk. We check the front at thumbnail size from the first sketch.
“Every new flavour looks like a different company made it.”
One range system fixes the places for brand, variant colour and claim, so each new SKU (stock keeping unit, one size or variant) takes days.
“The printer said our file can't be printed as it is.”
Artwork drawn without the dieline (the printer's flat cutting and folding plan) causes this. We start from the printer's dieline.
“We redesigned, and our regular buyers thought the product had changed.”
We list your pack's strongest cues first and keep the ones that still work.
“The back of the pack is so crowded that the key claim is lost.”
Your team supplies and approves the legal text; we fit it, keep it readable and leave the front free to sell.
Send us your pack and two competitors, and we will tell you plainly what a buyer sees first. Get a free growth plan
/ 04 How we work
A pack inabout six to eight weeks.
Book the printer's slot early for a festive launch. We confirm the timeline in the quote.
- 01
Learn the product and the buyer
We meet your marketing, sales and production people.
- 02
Go to the shelf
We buy your product and three rivals, in shops and online. This usually changes the brief.
- 03
Design and test the front
Two or three routes on a shelf mock-up and at thumbnail size. Think creative, act on numbers: we say which will sell.
- 04
Fill every panel
Your team sends mandatory text, claims and barcode, and approves them in writing.
- 05
Mock up and check with the printer
Printed samples, a colour proof (a test print) and the printer's sign-off before a full run.
- 06
Launch and hand over
Final files, online images and the range guide, so the next variant stays consistent.
Tell us what’s not working. We’ll send you an honest one-page growth plan, free.
Go deeperMore on this
How we deliver it, and why
How your business model changes the plan
A D2C (direct-to-consumer) brand designs for the thumbnail first. A brand sold through distributors needs a pack that survives the carton and a small shop shelf. An export maker follows the destination country's label rules. A maker of health products carries more mandatory label text. A maker of industrial goods needs cartons and crates that survive freight and show handling marks. A real estate developer's sales kit or gift box is also a pack, and the same print checks apply.
- Buy your pack and three rivals. Shoppers compare packs side by side, so we look the same way. Photos on the shelf and on the app.
- Judge the front in two seconds and at thumbnail size. Shelf and phone both decide in a glance. Routes on a shelf mock-up.
- Work from the printer's dieline. A file the press cannot run means a reprint. The printer's sign-off.
- Build a range system. The tenth SKU should look like the first. A layout guide.
Go deeper: label rules and AI
Front-of-pack food rules from FSSAI
FSSAI's FAQ on the labelling regulations says the product name and the veg or non-veg symbol go on the front of the pack only, the symbol cannot be exempted, and the FSSAI logo and licence number must show in a contrast colour.
Source: FSSAI, Labelling and Display FAQ (file dated 23 June 2022), read 10 October 2026
AI in packaging design: today
Adobe says Firefly makes images from text, images and sketches, can fill and expand an image, and marks outputs with Content Credentials. Handy for early ideas.
Source: Adobe Firefly product page, read 10 October 2026
AI in packaging design: next
Our view: concept sketches will keep getting faster. The dieline, the printer's file and every legal line still need a person to check them. Want us to show where AI saves time on your next pack? Ask us.
Have a launch date? Tell us, and we plan backwards from the printer's slot. Talk to us
/ 05 Cost
What affects the cost of packaging design.
We don't publish a price list. Design is quoted per project, after a first conversation. Printing, materials and photography are separate, at actuals. Printing is delivered through PEXORA, a joint venture of PromotEdge and Prodigy.
What affects the cost
- How many SKUs, sizes and variants
- A new pack structure, or artwork on a stock box, pouch or jar
- Number of design routes and change rounds
- Language versions of the front panel
- Category: food and cosmetics carry more mandatory text
- Mock-ups, special finishes and online images
How we quote
- You tell us about the product, the shelf and your packs today.
- We look at your packs, your printer's limits and your category's legal text.
- We write a scope: SKUs, shapes, routes and change rounds.
- You get a quote within 2 working days, with design on its own line.
What you get in the quote
- The SKUs, sizes and variants covered
- Design routes and change rounds
- Editable files and dielines
- Printed mock-ups and the printer's sign-off
A low design fee can cost more later. Ask any agency, including us, who pays for a reprint caused by an artwork error.
Our beliefWe know digital inside out, and we think like an Indian business.
/ 06 What happens next
What happensafter you ask.
For projects we think we can help, this is how it goes.
- 01
A strategist calls you
In one working day: a 30-minute call with one of our strategists about your business and what is not working.
- 02
You get a 1-page plan
A short, honest plan: what to fix first and what we would do. It is free.
- 03
A quote, if you want one
If you want to go ahead, we send a quote within 2 working days.
We confirm the timeline in the quote. Contracts start at 3 months, with 30 days' notice to stop.
Brands and people are named only as public examples. They are not PromotEdge clients or endorsers unless stated.
Keep exploring
Related pages.
The expertise that fits your business, and the places we work.
By industry and city
What people say
In their own words
“An aligned partner is always a welcoming step. Someone who can think deep through lines, understand the matrix of product management. Fortunate enough, PromotEdge has been a partner in progress for me. …”
Bobby SrinivasChief Manager Marketing & Brand Marketing at Utkarsh India“PromotEdge is one of the most hard working creative agency that LISTENS ! Do I need to say anything more ?!!!! …”
Harsh GuptaManaging Director at Rishta Foods“As a progressive and emerging digital marketing company, PromotEdge is doing something right to enhance the experience of companies associated with them. …”
Anish Basu MallikMarketing Executive at Unimark Group
No pressure. No sales pitch.
Send us your pack and two competitors.We'll show you the plan.
Straight answers.
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It depends mostly on SKU count and whether the pack shape is new; printing is extra. We quote after a first conversation, with design on its own line. Time is about six to eight weeks for up to four SKUs, and a new structure or many languages adds time.
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As general guidance, the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011 ask for the packer's name and address, common name, net quantity, month and year of manufacture, MRP with taxes and consumer care details. Food adds the FSS labelling rules. Not legal advice.
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Often, yes. Under the Plastic Waste Management Rules, as amended in February 2022, brand owners register for EPR (extended producer responsibility) on the CPCB portal. Words like eco-friendly need proof, as the October 2024 greenwashing guidelines expect. Not legal advice.
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Yes. We check every front at thumbnail size and deliver listing images, sized for each marketplace, with the print files. A busy front often blurs on a small screen, so we simplify early. Our ecommerce marketing team works on titles, ratings and ads.
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Yes to both. Our servicing team is based in cities across India, works hybrid and remotely and meets you in your city at least once every three months. We ask for your printer's dieline first and get their sign-off on the final file.
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We start from your product, shelf and printer. We have no published packaging case study yet. In a first meeting we can look at your pack beside two competitors and tell you what we would change and what we would keep, so you judge our thinking before you decide.
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Ask each agency, including us: do we get the editable files and dielines, how many change rounds are included, who pays for a reprint caused by an artwork error, and is the front tested at thumbnail size? Ask for the answers in writing, so you can compare quotes like for like.
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We can't promise a sales rise, because price, schemes and shelf space move sales too. Agree the numbers before launch: sales per outlet, online clicks and orders, and repeat buying. Then compare the same shops and listings before and after.