Step Into Christmas

The design journey begins with opportunity identification, project sign off and critical path mapping, followed closely by product and design concept exploration. From there we move into product and design concept exploration, examining how our in-house design team can bring those festive ideas to life in ways that feel fresh, relevant and new.

Once the concept has taken shape, the next step is to prepare presentation decks for our customers for feedback and revisions. Finally, with approval in place, we move into full artwork creation with suppliers and printers. By the time autumn arrives, the products will be getting ready to be launched onboard to delight passengers all around the world.

Navigating Operational Realities and Practical Challenges

Whilst Christmas is generally a time of joy, it doesn’t come without its fair share of practical challenges. Short-run productions can impact packaging formats, print finishes and product selection to a great extent. Our goal is always to deliver high-impact seasonal designs, even within the realities of smaller volumes and tighter budgets.

With every year, sustainability is always at the forefront of our customer’s, and our own minds, and we work closely with our suppliers and printers to strike a careful balance; making designs feel festive whilst ensuring they remain commercially and operationally viable. Through smart material use, efficient packaging layouts and close collaboration with the team, we consistently find creative solutions without compromising on quality or passenger experience throughout all cabins. For example, a festive-themed box with a photo-realistic 3D ribbon, can be just as impactful as a real ribbon, but without the additional cost or environmental impact.

The Importance of Packaging

Although the design of the box is important, the packaging material itself is equally as significant. Packaging performs many different roles, from protection to presentation, to highlighting appetite appeal and driving engagement, and our packaging technologists work hand-in-hand with our design team to ensure every piece of packaging is both visually appealing and operationally robust.

Creating the Perfect Design

We’re often asked to work with the brand guidelines of a particular carrier, and whilst these can seem prescriptive and limiting initially, looking at them from the fresh perspective of seasonality often sparks creative responses that add unexpected and fresh life to familiar branding.

Creating the perfect packaging design involves all teams within the company, and during the holiday season this is even more prevalent. We strive to deliver a fresh take on familiar themes and by using our in-house research and innovation function, we put trend-led design on the tray table. This year, authenticity, nostalgia, craftsmanship and modern simplicity are some of the key trends we’ve noted influencing flavour profiles, and this has been reflected in the work that we have produced this year.

Colour, shape and graphics all play a role in influencing consumer perception – especially during the holiday season – and we create designs that brings seasonal storytelling to life.

Final Thoughts

The Christmas holidays are a magical time for many passengers, and to be able to play a part of bringing that festive feeling to people – even at 40,000 feet – through the designs we produce at En Route, is always a pleasure.