How We Beat the Knockoffs and Made Fresh Scents Impossible to Ignore

In CPG, packaging is the product. When lookalike brands start stealing attention, you lose more than shelf space; you lose velocity.

Description

In categories like home fragrance, visual similarity is one of the biggest commercial risks a brand can face. When products rely heavily on artwork and scent names, brand ownership can quickly disappear, making it difficult for shoppers to distinguish the original from the imitation.

Fresh scents addressed that exact challenge. The brand was competing in a crowded space of visually similar sachets, many of which borrowed familiar cues without delivering comparable product performance. While the category historically rewarded decorative appeal, that approach left little room to communicate functional value or brand credibility.

The shift came through deliberate brand design and smarter structural packaging design. By introducing a fold-over carton and a more consistent header system, the packaging created a clear brand presence that is immediately visible on the shelf. That structure also provided space to communicate meaningful benefits, including fragrance longevity and category expertise, which were previously invisible to shoppers.

Importantly, the artwork and fragrance storytelling were not lost. Instead, they were framed within a system that made the brand easier to recognize and easier to trust. The result is retail packaging that defends against knockoffs by clarifying ownership, improving shopability, and reinforcing why the product is worth choosing in a crowded set.

This is what it looks like when packaging is designed to protect brand equity, not just decorate the shelf.

Video Transcript

00:00:00 It's kind of hard to even spot which
00:00:01 ones are the knockoff brands.
00:00:06 Hey guys, Shopping with Christie.
00:00:08 There's nothing better than seeing your
00:00:10 work roll out in stores.
00:00:13 >> Yes.
00:00:14 >> And I just saw some, so I'm going to
00:00:15 show it to you. Today we are at at home
00:00:18 shopping for a new pot. But I happen to
00:00:21 run across this wonderful end cap. It's
00:00:24 a primary feature and a impulse purchase
00:00:27 driver here at at home. hat tip to at
00:00:30 home buyer. I got to speak to her about
00:00:32 this set as part of this project. But
00:00:33 one of the things you can see is it's
00:00:35 pretty hard it well I should say
00:00:37 traditionally it's been hard to shop.
00:00:39 It's very driven by the art and then
00:00:40 fragrance. But a tricky little thing is
00:00:43 that our client Willoughbrook which owns
00:00:46 this brand Fresh Scents was having some
00:00:48 problems because there's a lot of
00:00:49 knockoff brands here. And in fact, it's
00:00:51 kind of hard to even spot which ones are
00:00:54 the knockoff brands. So I'll point a
00:00:56 couple out to you. Here's one. As you
00:00:58 can see, they have sees the day. It's
00:01:00 just a scented sache, though. It's not
00:01:02 actually Fresh Scents. Similar scented
00:01:05 sache. Here's a different brand. Uh,
00:01:08 it's hard to read that. Brooklyn
00:01:09 Fragrance Company. So on and so forth.
00:01:11 And here's a good before and after right
00:01:13 here. You know, a lot of their sachets
00:01:16 look like this. Fun art, different art,
00:01:18 beautiful art, inspirational phrases.
00:01:20 And then the toppers did say fresh
00:01:22 scent, but it kind of carried the art up
00:01:24 and you wound up not really having a
00:01:26 brand block, right? right? It was very
00:01:28 different by fragrance. And so what we
00:01:30 did to really defend against the
00:01:31 knockoffs is to create a much stronger
00:01:34 branded presence and also give us space
00:01:38 off the sache on the fold over carton,
00:01:41 fold over top to communicate some of the
00:01:43 functional benefits which really weren't
00:01:45 previously communicated on the sache. So
00:01:47 we have here up to 6 months of steady
00:01:49 fragrance, fresh scents, experts in home
00:01:52 fragrance since 1975. This is their
00:01:54 signature collection. So, there's more
00:01:56 fragrance in the pouch and beautiful
00:01:58 framing of the art here. Beautiful
00:02:00 framing of the art. Every product kind
00:02:02 of gets its hero pop, but this header
00:02:05 card now does a much better job. You can
00:02:07 see Fresh Sense, the brand, so much
00:02:09 better than, let's say, down here when
00:02:12 it's up against these other competitive
00:02:13 items. Huzzah. I think it's looking
00:02:15 great. Looks like it's shopping well,
00:02:17 too. All right. See you guys later.

Christy Lebor Partner & Head of Brand Development, SmashBrand

48 Articles

Christy Lebor is a Partner and Head of Brand Development at SmashBrand, a premier brand development agency championing the FMCG space. With two decades of Fortune 500 CPG experience, Christy harnesses her background from industry titans to infuse brands with a growth trajectory that transitions them from category disruptors to legacy brands.

Her portfolio includes:

Brand management roles at global giants: Kraft, PepsiCo, and Unilever.
Launching pivotal products: Axe Body Wash in the US and the original Dove Campaign for Real Beauty at Unilever.
Steering innovative product lines at PepsiCo: Gatorade chews, protein bars, Mio Fit, and Amino Energy.
Pioneering breakfast innovations at KraftHeinz: Just Crack an Egg
Leading the branded business segment and global innovation at JBS, the world's largest meat company in the world.

Prior to her tenure at SmashBrand, Christy's track record spans various senior management and development roles. Each role has honed her expertise in the intricacies of FMCG, enabling her to cultivate category advantages for brands. From SKU rationalization to directing pivotal innovation stage gates, Christy's acute expertise in FMCG has consistently placed her at the forefront of the industry. Her ability to make incisive, strategically sound decisions has been key in propelling brands to market leadership.

Her philosophy pivots on the principle that timely, relevant data, integrated with brand strategy, is the linchpin for brands aspiring to scale and establish market dominance. At SmashBrand, Christy intricately weaves this philosophy, ensuring brands are not just strategically poised but holistically developed.

Educationally, Christy is equipped with a BBA from The University of Michigan Business School, an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, and additional prowess in Private Equity and Venture Capital from Harvard Business School.

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