CASE STUDIES
Dr. Squatch Discovery Pack Cologne Packaging
Project Overview
Dr. Squatch, a fast-growing men’s personal care brand known for its rugged, natural aesthetic, required a premium packaging solution for their new Cologne Discovery Pack, designed to hold either three or five sample-size bottles of their Natural Cologne scents.
The packaging needed to deliver a high-end brand experience while aligning with the company’s sustainability values and aggressive product launch schedule. In addition to aesthetics, the project required tight coordination between design, manufacturing, and supply chain teams to ensure reliable execution ahead of the holiday selling season.
The brand required packaging that:
- Utilized eco-friendly and responsibly sourced materials
- Was produced by a domestic manufacturing partner to reduce risk and improve speed-to-market
- Coordinated manufacturing within a timeline for a national holiday product launch
- Maintained the premium look, feel, and brand consistency of their existing product line
- Provided structural integrity to protect glass bottle during shipping and handling
Wynalda delivered a thoughtfully engineered packaging solution that combined sustainable materials with advanced manufacturing techniques, and precise structural design. The final package securely houses each bottle while creating an engaging unboxing experience that reflects that brand’s rugged, natural identity and supports efficient, scalable production.
FEATURES
CUSTOM MOLDED PULP
HOT FOIL STAMPING
EMBOSSING
Rigid Box
The outer package is a two-piece telescoping rigid box with an integrated platform, designed to align visually with Dr. Squatch’s existing packaging portfolio. It is constructed with 60 pt W1S recycled chipboard, providing the rigidity and durability required to protect fragile glass bottle throughout distribution and fulfillment. The 80# text wrap is printed on Wynalda Packaging’s Landa S11 Digital Offset Press, achieving six custom colors, and coated with a dull varnish for a refined, matte finish.
Embossing to Mimic Stock Texture
To maintain visual consistency with Dr. Squatch’s established packaging, the wrap material needed to replicate a specific textured surface used across their product line. Because a domestically sourced paper stock with that exact texture was not available within the required timeline, Wynalda’s team developed a process to emboss the entire sheet, recreating the desired texture while maintaining production efficiency and domestic sourcing requirements.
Hot Foil Stamping
After embossing, the wrap was hot foil stamped with design elements featuring fine lines and intricate details. Applying foil over a textured surface required precise control of pressure, temperature, and dwell time to ensure consistent adhesion and sharp visual detail.
“Throughout the project, we closely monitored the depth and consistency of the embossed texture to ensure it met both visual and tactile expectations. In addition, the customer required fine type foil stamping over the textured surface. This presented a unique challenge, as we needed to ensure proper foil adhesion on the embossed sheet while still maintaining crisp detail and the level of brilliance the customer expected.”
– Charles, Die Cutting & Stamping Manager
Molded Pulp Insert
Inside the box, a custom molded pulp tray securely holds the cologne bottles. Made from 20% recycled material, incorporating scrap solid bleached sulfate (SBS) generated from Wynalda’s own folding carton manufacturing process. This closed-loop approach reduces material waste while supporting sustainability goals.
Structural Design Process
During the development process, Wynalda’s engineering team created and sent several iterations of 3D-printed samples to be tested for product fit and presentation. Once the structure of the tray was finalized, the team produced prototypes for a transportation study to ensure durability and performance.
Pulp Tray Masks Provide Versatility
To minimize tooling and production costs, Wynalda designed a single universal molded pulp tray that could be used for both the 3-bottle and 5-bottle discovery packs. We developed two different SBS masks for the pulp trays: one exposing all five cavities, and one exposing only three. The masks are printed with four-color process plus two custom colors and finished with dull varnish. They are then die-cut and glued to the molded pulp trays.
The Result
The final package successfully balanced sustainability, structural performance, and premium branding. The textured rigid box, detailed foil stamping, and molded pulp insert work together to create a high-end presentation with eco-conscious materials. The packaging met Dr. Squatch’s holiday launch timeline, delivered the brand experience they were looking for, and provided the flexibility needed for multiple product configurations.
