We’re living through a paradox.

Consumers are more price-sensitive than ever, yet still trading up when the product feels worth it. Across beauty, food, wellness, and lifestyle categories, shoppers are cutting back on essentials but still saying yes to “worth-it” moments.

What’s changed isn’t the budget. It’s the bar. And brands that understand how to make value visible - without relying on luxury codes - are the ones growing in this new middle.

💡 It’s Not About Price. It’s About Perceived Worth.

Even in a constrained economy, many consumers aren’t just hunting for the cheapest option. They’re weighing price against story, design, function, and feel.

Here’s what the data tells us:

• McKinsey reports that more than 60% of consumers are open to trading up if the product aligns with their values or improves their lifestyle.

• In beauty, prestige skincare is holding stronger than mid-tier mass brands, not because it’s luxurious, but because it promises efficacy.

• In food and beverage, premiumisation continues - especially in functional drinks and craft-style products - as long as the value is clear at first glance.

The modern shopper wants to feel like they’re making a smart choice, not indulging in one.

👁️ How to Make Value Visible (Without Feeling Over-Designed)

Whether you're a snack brand, a serum, or a supplement, perceived value begins long before trial. It’s signalled through design language, material cues, tone, and structure.

Here’s how that plays out:

1. Material Cues

• In wellness: matte pouches, glass droppers, recyclable lids.

• In food: embossed card, foil-accented labels, textured wraps.

• In gifting: heavy weight = high perceived cost.

What it communicates: care, quality, intention.

2. Packaging Structure

• Elevated silhouettes or custom die-cuts signal investment.

• Flip-tops and drawer boxes feel special, even if the product inside is £5.

• Unboxing friction creates a pause, which creates attention, which creates perceived value.

What it communicates: this brand pays attention to detail.

3. Storytelling Hierarchy

• Functional brands often try to cram all benefits into one block of text.

• Premium perception comes from focus: one idea, clearly expressed.

• Clarity = confidence.

What it communicates: this brand knows what matters.

🛍️ Value Without Luxury: Who’s Doing It Right?

• Function of Beauty: Fully custom, pharmacy-adjacent vibe, with mass-market pricing.

• Oatly: Typography-forward, packaging that reads expensive but feels accessible.

• Not Pot: CBD gummies in pastel jars that look like designer toys.

• Tony’s Chocolonely: Playful, chunky design that feels like a gift but costs under €3.

• Bumble and bumble’s Sunday Shampoo: Premium design in a translucent plastic bottle—clean, not opulent.

These aren’t luxury brands. But they look and feel better than the shelf next to them.

🧠 Merch & Effect POV

The middle is where the magic is. Not everything needs to be gold-plated. But it does need to feel good in the hand. It needs to justify its price without apologising for it. That’s where POSM, packaging, and display come into play.

We design physical assets that translate invisible brand value into something the shopper can instantly recognise. A shelf block that uses material contrast. A gifting kit that unboxes like a ritual. A countertop unit that feels like a home for discovery, not a product dump.

Because “premium” doesn’t mean expensive. It means considered.