FAQ
Your Questions Answered!
The ideal time to hire a package design agency is typically after you have secured your trademark (unless you need naming services for your brand), and after you have chosen your manufacturer and finalized your formulation or product.
We offer package design, logo design, branding (including brand naming, tagline development, brand messaging, and brand presentation and mood boards), website design, social media branding, copywriting, email marketing and design for print materials. See our full breakdown of services.
Pricing for branding packages can have a big range depending on what you need, what materials your packaging uses, and many other factors. Projects range between $5,000 to $40,000 depending on the project size and budget. Schedule a quick call to learn more.
We highly recommend that you seek a trademark for your brand name before we do any branding work (unless you need brand naming as a service—we can help with that).
If an existing brand already holds the trademark, you might be in a complex legal situation—and you would no longer be able to use your packaging, logo, or other branding assets. We can begin the process before a trademark is secured, but in order to protect you and your business, consider applying for a trademark as soon as possible before you invest in branding assets.
At Crème de Mint, our branding process starts with a deep dive into your vision and target market, using curated mood boards as the creative launchpad. These boards act as a collaborative tool to explore logo and packaging direction, helping shape design choices that reflect your unique vision. They help us align on style, color, fonts and more—giving you a voice in the creative direction from the start. They spark meaningful conversations and help shape a strategic, cohesive brand identity and packaging design that connect with your audience.
Branding processes and rebrands often take 6 months or more. But at Crème de Mint, we work a little differently. With our branding process, we streamline everything (see What is your branding process?) From mood boards to concepts you can expect our process to take only a few weeks.
Here are the steps to securing a trademark:
Step 1: Hire a trademark attorney (while not required, we recommend it!)
Step 2: Check for your desired name through the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Organization). If a brand in your industry has a similar name (even if it’s spelled differently), you most likely will not be able to secure a trademark.
Step 3: Apply for your trademark. Your application will take about 5 months to go through
the process.
Step 4: If your trademark gets approved, submit a Statement of Use with the USPTO.
For more information on the trademark process, read this blog post.
It’s important that your trademark attorney is a good fit for you. I recommend reaching out to several to determine if you will work well together. Download our lawyer directory to find attorneys we have worked with in the past or that other clients have recommended. Additionally, you can locate trademark attorneys through your state’s bar website.
Because every brand’s needs are unique, we don’t work directly with printers or manufacturers. We provide each new client with a free copy of Start My Product Line! The Ultimate Guide. The guide contains a list of preferred printers for secondary packaging, primary packaging, and manufacturers, including a list of vendors who specialize in sustainability. Once you have secured your vendors, you will need to provide us with accurate measurements as soon as possible.
Then you’re in the right place! We have worked with many startups and new brands, as well as established brands looking for rebrands and refreshes. We love to guide our clients in the right direction with our resources and experience.
Primary packaging is the container that holds your actual product. For example, a lipstick tube or a bottle that holds supplements.
Secondary packaging is the external packaging or box that holds your primary packaging.
Check out our blog post on primary and secondary packaging for more guidance.
If you want your brand to stand out, you want your packaging to be unique.
We can help you with custom product design or package design. However, it is important to note that creating a custom product design can cost $10k or more for a custom mold. That does not include the design costs or the costs per unit.
We have helped several of our clients create unique primary components using stock packaging from other industries. If this appeals to you, we can absolutely help you with that.
For cost reasons, most of our customers choose existing stock packaging. This process requires searching, comparison, and consideration of your price per unit and quantities. Because of this, we typically work with clients who already have their primary packaging, which is sometimes determined by the co-packer or manufacturer you are working with.
We can develop your custom secondary packaging, along with all the branding you need for your primary and secondary packaging (See What is the difference between primary packaging and secondary packaging?)
We stay educated on current FDA regulations, and will do our best to advise you. However, we recommend running the final designs by a lawyer before printing.
Absolutely! Schedule a quick call to learn more.
Before we get started, we will need to know what assets you need, information about your target audience, and a list of competitors.
Ahead of the start of your project, we might need any of the following information, depending on your product:
- Measurements
- Specifications about your packaging from your printer and manufacturer
- An ingredients list
- Any necessary disclaimers, warnings, or caution statements
- Any health claims or certifications you are permitted to have on your packaging
- Barcodes (if you are new to barcodes, check out our guide)
- Any nutrition or supplement facts that need to be included on your packaging