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Package Design Problem? Oshun's Electrolyte Concentrate

A sports drink that resembles cosmetics

By Rain Noe - July 22

in Packaging

A startup called Oshun sells concentrated electrolytes. Their 250mL bottle makes "200 large glassfuls" of their hydrating beverage, and since most of their target market has access to water, they're presumably saving a ton on shipping.

However, look at their packaging design:

I'm mystified; "boutique cosmetics" is a strange aesthetic choice for what is essentially a sports drink. Do you reckon this was intentional, or that they simply failed to hire a package designer and DIY'd it?

Also: Do you feel that certain product categories, by dint of incumbency, "own" certain package design forms? There are, for instance, hemmorhoid creams that come in toothpaste-like tubes, and I always thought that was a bad idea. I associate pump-top packaging with soaps and shampoos, and think I'd feel subconscious resistance to drinking something that came out of a pump-top.

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Dee An

5 months ago

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Making an electrolyte concentrate easy to use very regularly is a good idea. Reduce friction to hydration, good.
Making it look like hand soap is... such a bad idea that it is laughable.

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Dee An

5 months ago

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There's a scene in Red Dwarf when Lister gets distracted and sprays shaving foam into his armpits... Pressurised tins of deodorant and shaving down not being dissimilar. In the sane series, Lister's room mate Rimmer accuses Lister of swapping out Rimmers tube of toothpaste for a tube of KY Jelly.

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Zach W

5 months ago

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I love when companies add unnecessary plastic pumps to packaging! Hooray waste!

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- Dee An
  
  Zach W
  
  5 months ago
  
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  Unnecessary maybe, but the pump is a convenient dosing mechanism, and there's no reason that it need be single-use.
  Of course the distribution method that would have the least environmental impact would be dry powder, but in humid countries (where you most benefit from electrolytic drinks) you would need to think about how to keep the powder from absorbing moisture from the air.
  
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Dan Lewis

5 months ago

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Confusing if you use skincare products but the reverse is actually dangerous - Vacation Sunscreen. I can't wait for the lawsuits.

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