Pride Month packaging designs: Brands reimagine the rainbow in limited-edition launches

16 Jun 2020 --- The rainbow flag is a symbol of identity, diversity and allyship in the LGBTQ+ community. As queerness becomes less of a societal taboo, brand owners are experiencing the benefits of incorporating the rainbow flag in packaging design to attract consumers and boost brand image. PackagingInsights looks into an array of unique and eye-catching Pride Month packaging designs showcasing this year, including Bobo’s limited-edition Lemon Poppyseed Pride Bar and Skittles' Pride Pack gray, achromatic composition.

US-based nuts and oats snack brand Bobo’s launched a limited-edition Lemon Poppyseed Pride Bar for the second consecutive year. A hundred percent of the proceeds from every bar bought are allocated to PFLAG (priorly known as Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) and its continued partnership with local non-profit The Center on Colfax, which supports the LGBTQ+ community in Colorado.

“By helping raise awareness for these important organizations and their mission, we have not only been able to deepen our relationship with current fans, but also find new-to-brand consumers making it a win-win approach,” Mike Mackay, Brand Manager of Bobo’s, tells PackagingInsights.

“We have intentionally selected the partners we work with, so we can focus on their efforts and give proper attention to raising awareness for their causes with each bar. By limiting [both] the partners and flavors we use, we are able to do business for good and give back to these non-profits with the select bars, while growing the brand and our core line of regular products,” he continues.Bobo’s Lemon Poppyseed Pride Bar donates 100 percent of the bar's proceeds to two LGBTQ+ organizations.

The price of the flag on pack
The Lemon Poppyseed bar packaging depicts a rainbow flag in the background, as well as rainbow hearts and a character holding the Pride flag in their hand in the foreground. This kind of seasonal packaging tends to be more expensive than the brand’s standard flavors, says Mackay, primarily because they run in smaller batches.

“Volumes are the main driver since we don’t produce as much of our ‘cause’ bars compared to our traditional flavors. Since volumes are lower, it makes the cost per piece higher in general as well as needing to use a more expensive printing process – digital versus direct – because of minimum-order quantities.”

However, the costs are greatly outweighed by the benefits of giving back to meaningful and thoughtful non-profit organizations, says Mackay. This is by raising awareness of important causes and sending a positive message of love and support to the Bobo’s community.

“We received an overwhelming response from the Pride bar last year and surpassed our sales and give-back goals. Our original plan for 2019 was to sell our ‘cause’ bars as exclusive online products through [the Bobo’s website]. However, we received such strong interest from our retail grocery partners [that] we adapted our packaging to be able to sell the bars both online in six-packs as well as a single bar at retail.”

Retail grocery partner interest has ranged from Kroger National and King Soopers locally to independent mom-and-pop stores, Mackay maintains. “Our team developed an exclusive Pride flavor just for Kroger with our Dark Chocolate Almond + Sea Salt. The stores brought in the Pride bars as well as Pride display shippers for their store floors.”

“The Bobo’s community has also been a tremendous force in supporting our efforts and spreading the love,” he concludes.

Skittles sheds its colorful skin to show that during Pride Month "only one rainbow matters."Sacrificing brand image for the cause
Skittles has taken a different approach in terms of packaging design to express its support and solidarity for the LGBTQ+ community. Under the motto “Only one rainbow matters during Pride,” the Mars brand has given up its signature rainbow-colored packaging for a gray, achromatic design throughout the month of June. The Skittles Pride Pack will be available at CVS and select Walmart stores in the US.

“For us, this is more than just packaging. Skittles Pride Packs were created as a way to show our support for the LGBTQ+ community and highlight that during Pride only one rainbow matters, which is why we gave up ours in support of the one that matters most. Skittles Pride Packs are gray to reflect neutrality and to show the symbolism of Skittles giving its rainbow to a bigger cause,” a Mars spokesperson tells PackagingInsights. 

For every Skittles Pride Pack purchased between May 25 to July 7, the company is donating US$1 to GLAAD (formerly known as Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), a US non-governmental organization that puts pressure on homophobic media reporting. The company will raise up to US$100,000 for the NGO, which continues its Pride packaging move from last year. 

When asked how Skittles assures consumers the brand is an LGBTQ+ ally, the spokesperson affirms: “By partnering with GLAAD, Skittles has committed to supporting the organization’s efforts outside of just Pride month. We have more in the pipeline with GLAAD for later this year that fans of our Pride Packs will have to stay tuned to see.”

“We believe that giving up our rainbow means so much more than just removing the colors from our Skittles packs and we’re excited to do our part in making a difference for the LGBTQ+ community through our partnership with GLAAD, not only in June, but all year long,” adds Hank Izzo, Vice President of Marketing, Mars Wrigley US.

Barefoot's four new vibrant Pride Packaging Collection designs celebrates those who have made a significant impact on the LGBTQ+ community. Packaging comes out of the closet
Other prominent examples of Pride packaging include wine and bubbly brand Barefoot’s newly launched, limited-edition Pride Packaging Collection of Brut Rosé Bubbly in four rainbow-themed designs. Up to US$60,000 will benefit Free Mom Hugs, a non-profit organization consisting of parents and allies who love the LGBTQ+ community and work toward full affirmation and equality for all.

In the beauty sector, cosmetic brand Face Halo is releasing a new Pride-themed version of its reusable makeup remover. The packaging bears a minimalist rainbow-striped heart on a white background while the outer stitchings of the makeup remover pads themselves are printed in vibrant rainbow colors. The product sells for US$25 for a pack of three with five percent of proceeds benefiting the Trevor Project, a call line organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services for LGBTQ+ youth.

Marc Jacobs Beauty unveiled five new shades of its US$29 Enamored Hydrating Lip Gloss Stick for Pride Month, with each shade housed in rainbow-print packaging. The lip gloss box also includes brown and black stripes on the rainbow flag, which draws attention to issues of people of color within the LGBTQ+ community. The brand will be donating US$10,000 each to Le Refuge, a French organization that supports LGBTQ+ youth, and Sage, an organization that helps older members of the LGBTQ+ community.

By Anni Schleicher