Studio Unbound’s bold new concept for Sour Puss reimagines sour candy with rebellious design

Studio Unbound, the UK-based branding and packaging design agency, has revealed its latest concept work for Sour Puss - a rebellious take on confectionery that challenges the category's obsession with fast consumption through shocking design and premium packaging innovation. 

The concept explores how sour candy can be repositioned from mindless munching to mindful moments, using a premium tin format that encourages consumers to savour rather than scoff. While most confectionery brands focus on showing the product to communicate taste, Sour Puss takes a radically different approach - using vivid colours, tantalising typography, and shocking illustrations to make you feel what the product does to you.

The design centres around the Sour Puss illustration - a shocking, slightly grotesque character reminiscent of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland, suggesting these sour sweets are so intense they'll transport you to another dimension. The custom typography looks like a startled cat with its hair on end, while the watermelon-flavoured sweets themselves are shaped like weird cat eyes with ears. The entire package reads like a trippy punk rock poster from a bygone era, making traditional FMCG packaging rules irrelevant.

Working with illustrator Gianluca Gambino and typography artist Gian Wong, Studio Unbound blended two distinct artistic styles into one cohesive visual language. The premium tin packaging features 3D embossing that makes the cats feel alive, while the poster-like aesthetic transforms the entire package into a piece of art that's impossible to ignore.

Sour Puss proves that confectionery can be shocking, rebellious, and premium all at once, creating a brand experience that's as intense as the product inside.

For more information on the design, visit Studio Unbound's website or follow them on Instagram .

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