Realm

We started with the landscape — mapping the competitive category, identifying the key players, and building a clear understanding of how the home fragrance space communicates visually and strategically. For Realm, the challenge wasn’t just differentiation in a crowded category, but ensuring its focus on clean ingredients came through in a way that still felt desirable and confident on the counter.

With a founder making real decisions about where to invest and how to sequence the work, it was important that every recommendation stayed grounded in what was actually achievable, both strategically and commercially.

Next, we moved into packaging strategy — and grounded every recommendation in what was realistic for a first launch and the desired timeline. Instead of jumping straight to one direction, we mapped the full range of options and to figure out the smartest path to launch. That meant looking at everything from stock packaging, to fully custom, to the hybrids in between as well as refill strategies.

Stock packaging sat at one end of the spectrum: the fastest, most cost-efficient route to market, using existing formats with minimal upfront investment. The tradeoff is less room to differentiate or express the brand. 

Fully custom packaging sat at the other end: full creative freedom, built specifically around Realm's product, audience, and brand world — the strongest path to true ownability, but with higher investment, longer timelines, and more complex production. 

In between, hybrid approaches adapted stock structures with selective customization, striking a balance between brand expression and the realities of manufacturing, retail, tooling costs, and sustainability.

This strategic foundation gave Realm a clear, grounded path to launch — and a roadmap for what comes next. And that strategy has certainly worked with Realm able to roll-out in Target stores nationwide just 7 months after launch.