How to design sports nutrition packaging
A tub of protein wins or loses on the shelf in a second and a half — getting everything across in that time is harder than it looks.
The sports nutrition category is visually worn out: aggressive “MASSIVE” lettering, overloaded tubs with a dozen badges and promises. Against that backdrop, calm, readable packaging becomes a point of difference in itself.
A second and a half on the shelf
That's how long, on average, a shopper in a physical store looks at a pack before deciding whether to look closer or walk past. In that time they need to read: what it is, who it's for and how it differs from the tub next to it. Everything else — ingredients, dosages, certificates — only matters once the product is in their hands.
Marketplaces play by different rules
On a physical shelf the pack competes with its neighbours in person; on a marketplace it competes as a stamp-sized thumbnail in the search feed. So everything essential — name, flavour, size — has to be readable even when shrunk to 300 pixels, not just on a glossy render for the product page.
average time a single card gets in a marketplace search feed
PULSE — first protein batch sold out in 12 days
VIEW CASE
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