What’s your idea of luxury? Diamond rings, fine cars and stays in Swiss chalets? Perhaps a month of trekking in the wilderness with  not much more than a backpack and some good hiking boots better suits your fancy. We all have different ideas of what makes us feel special. I’m cheap, so my idea of bliss is found in free things — being at home for stretches of time longer than 45 minutes, aimlessly poking around on my laptop and not feeling guilty because I have chores to complete, or hot coffee (okay, technically, coffee’s only free if I’m at work). 

 

No matter what your frills and thrills are, most of us do enjoy a well-designed package. Great packaging plays into the experience and becomes part of the treat: the robin’s egg blue box with a white bow that encloses your ring, the cup your coffee is handed to you in. Innovative packaging is a delight as well. How about packaging that allows children and those in developing countries to get nutrients they need? That sure sounds like a luxury. 

 

We examine the idea of small luxuries in packaging for our cover story, “Milk: An ‘Anywhere, Anytime’ Drink.” Americans are so on the go, all the time, that they don’t have a minute to stop for a cold glass of milk — to the point that milk consumption has reached its lowest level since 1984. U.S. residents have easy access to fridges, so it’s easy to say it’s our own fault, but what about people in rural India or Mexico? Enter shelf-safe packaging that allows milk to go unrefrigerated for up to a year. Milk is no longer relegated to the American breakfast table, but has become gratifyingly portable for any age, in any location. 

 

Also in this issue is our Packaging That Sells summary, with a listing of the Design Gallery entries attendees voted as best packaging. I brief you on the good things that went on at the conference — and I kid you not when I say it was all good. See for yourself, "BRANDPACKAGING's Packaging That Sells Conference Recap".