Material: Plastic, with a half-body sleeve label

Package style: The package becomes the serving bowl, also including mixing sauces and a fork

Description: Noodle cup is taken to the next level in mass-merchandise stores, departing from cups and cellophane wraps typically found with instant-noodle packaging

The most successful element of this package is the clarity through which it relays its message. The logo is bright and bold, being visible whether the bowl is merchandised at, or slightly above or below, eye level. The colorful and appetizing picture connotes a quality product. A hungry consumer wouldn’t have to look twice before grabbing this instant meal off the shelf. I really appreciate that I can glance at the packaging, and without speaking the language that most of the copy is written in, can nevertheless tell what the product is and how it would be used.

As a food packaging and container designer, I am distracted slightly by the shape of the bowl and lid. While I believe that the packaging graphics are successful, the sharp edge of the bowl is apparent through the shrink-wrap and visibly cuts through the logo. A simple solution would be to design the layout with the edge in mind, placing the whole logo either above or below it. The shape of the container also could be reassessed and designed with a smoother edge transition. I’m unclear on the purpose of the protruding ring on the bowl’s lid.

The bold graphics and colors are incredibly effective. However, the design of the bowl and lid could be refined to meld more successfully with the packaging.

Virginia Russell, Industrial Designer
Sabert Corp. (www.sabert.com)

The package is an intriguing mix of the traditional and the contemporary. It combines the classic and iconic noodle bowl shape with all of the advantages of new shrink film packaging technology to give the consumer an instantly recognizable retail image for soup. The photography adds the necessary appetite appeal and quickly allows consumers to select the variety.

Presentation of a strong brand identity is the only area in which this package falls short. Because the package shape is classic, and easily copied, and the photography is merely descriptive, a unique brand identity is critical to creating a point of difference. Unfortunately, the red rectangle, with a somewhat promotional font selection, lends the package a generic appearance.

Richard Shear, Principal and Creative Director
The Shear Partnership (www.shearpartnership.com)

I commend Fashion Food for marketing a product in one of the most unique packaging structures I have come across in quite a while. It works both functionally and emotionally.

The package has strong shelf impact because of its shape and form. It immediately reinforces the brand’s Asian heritage and overall essence. It reinforces appetite appeal and enhances overall flavor expectations, and it looks like something you would get at an Asian restaurant. However, the overall graphic design could be more premium to support the price point. The overall design architecture could be improved as well. It appears that the branding (logotype), descriptor copy, and photography are placed haphazardly on the package or as three individual elements. The product could benefit from a more unified and integrated architecture and hierarchy of communication.

The package also contains mixing sauces and a fork, which is not apparent in viewing the package. This could be a major convenience selling point.

Russ Napolitano, Vice President, Business Development
Wallace Church Inc. (www.wallacechurch.com)