Woodford Reserve Bourbon candy packaging

When you see Woodford Reserve Bourbon on the shelf or in advertisements, it appears as a high end, refined product. Woodford Reserve has enjoyed enough popularity to extend its product lines to offer a big variety of bourbon.

The related bourbon balls candy packaging was recently revamped in an effort to bring these together as a brand family. See for yourself . . . here it is before: green glossy paper with large foil stamped area for logo and product name.

After reviewing the quality of the packaging - although it's closer than before - the packaging still doesn't reflect the refinement and luxury that is Woodford Reserve. 

The new packaging uses uncoated paper to wrap the rigid box which is better than the high gloss green previously used. An elegant pigment foil is used for the logo on the lid. The belly bands are what ended up cheapening the look.

The idea was to have one master rigid box and use belly bands to differentiate between products. This is great for inventory, great for getting your lowest unit price by ordering high quantities and of course, having one master box simplifies packout.

So what's my issue?? The paper used could have had an embossed texture to give the rigid box a higher end feel. The belly bands are poorly produced on thin coated paper (you can see in the photo that the products I bought had print issues).

For a little more money, both the rigid box and the belly bands could have tied the candy to the bourbon so much better through thoughtful paper and print selections. A missed opportunity.