Packaging for nine camping meal kits, plus launch ads

What they asked for

Marcus Bell started Saltbox selling dehydrated camping meals at two farmers’ markets in Colorado. When two outdoor retailers asked to stock them, his hand-labeled pouches had to become boxes that worked on a shelf, survived a backpack and told you how to cook dinner in the dark.

The first request was the box for the best seller, Trail Kit No. 4, with a note: “It has to look good next to the big brands, but not like one of them.”

What we made

• A packaging system: one box shape, a number-led front, a color for each kit and one back-panel layout for all nine.

• Nine finished boxes, print-ready, with dielines from the printer.

• A cleaned-up Saltbox lockup: same name, steadier letterspacing, a small campfire mark.

• Four cooking-step illustrations reused across every kit.

• Launch ads: 12 social ads and two retailer shelf talkers.

How the subscription ran

One Twist across five months. Sami led the packaging and Hana drew the illustrations. The first box took three requests to settle the system. After that, each new kit was a single request, usually back in two days. We paused for three weeks while the printer ran proofs, then resumed for the ads.

Where it landed

All nine designs went to print in the first run. Saltbox launched in both retailers’ spring catalogs, and Marcus still uses the back-panel layout for every new kit himself.