Steeped in Heritage

Packaging Design for Nari Chai

Packaging redesign for a chai startup transitioning from hand-assembled tins to retail-ready resealable stand-up pouches across three flavor varietals.

The Challenge
The client needed packaging that could compete on grocery store shelves while honoring South Asian cultural heritage, incorporating existing brand assets, and communicating an accessible luxury feel - all formatted to production-ready dielines.

My Process

I built on the client's existing jewel tones and elephant motif, re-sketching the elephant illustration and extending it into a repeating gold pattern - evoking the richness of South Asian textiles and architectural ornamentation. Each flavor received a distinct background color for easy shelf differentiation. Gold accents were woven through the typography, logo, and illustration to reinforce the luxury positioning without feeling inaccessible.

Typography paired an elegant script for the varietal titles with the existing logo font for consistency. Borders and text frames drew from South Asian architectural arches and decorative patterns, grounding the design in cultural context. A client-provided photo of the owner and her grandmother was placed alongside her brand story, honoring the generational roots of the product.

Two interactive print details added personality: a tear-away phrase on the seal that turns opening the pouch into a moment, and a bottom panel reading "Chai = Tea" - a cheeky nod to the redundancy of "chai tea" that the brand often shares, making the packaging a conversation starter and social-media-friendly touch point.

The Result
Three production-ready pouch designs, dieline-formatted for mass print, that balance cultural authenticity with forward-looking brand identity - shelf-ready, brand-aligned, and designed to be as shareable in person as online.