SOLUTIONS supports Mucoangin’s worldwide packaging re-launch

Various brand names, differing designs, numerous legal requirements: The worldwide re-launch of Boehringer Ingelheim’s OTC sore throat remedy Mucoangin was a delicate and multilayered task. SOLUTIONS Branding & Design Companies AG needed to harmonise a brand identity without changing the existing product names.

In France and Spain, the brands Lysopaine and Lizipaina are the respective market leaders among over-the-counter sore throat remedies and have been since the 1960s. These product names obviously had to remain unchanged. In other countries such as Germany or Belgium, the lozenges are sold under the brand name Mucoangin, but using different styles of packaging. In addition, the product was to be introduced in other international markets, such as Brazil, Venezuela and South Korea. As a first step it was therefore necessary to develop a consistent packaging design that unites all three brand and design ideas while at the same time maintaining the recognition value of the individual products. Another factor to consider was the positioning; it should signify the effectiveness of the product, and at the same time communicate a positive end benefit effect.

Micha Goes, member of the board at SOLUTIONS, explains the peculiarities of the product: “We were presented with an extra challenge, which required us to harmonise the customer’s demands across individual countries: On the one hand, the packaging had to support the credibility of an effective over-the-counter remedy. On the other hand, the internationality of the brand meant that we had to account for various forms of distribution, not limited to sale at a chemist’s.”

A harmonised packaging design was further complicated by legal requirements: For example, in Spain images of human beings are not allowed on pharmaceutical products. SOLUTIONS therefore developed a design without a head image, using a strong word mark and logo only.

An additional requirement was integrating a distinction between tablets for stronger and milder throat pain for the entire product range in a way that would maintain a connection to the product family – and be confirmed in consumer tests.

The goal was to develop a striking brand flag for the off-pack communication. It would not only communicate the brand itself perfectly, but also make use of the packaging design to incorporate indication, effect, positioning and recognition value.

“By using an international design guide as a basis for ensuring consistency in local adaptations, all individual design concepts could be implemented in the respective countries in an extremely timely fashion and with virtually no errors. It took less than a year from the first briefing to the final print. This was made possible by effective cooperation with the various countries supporting the design concepts from the start,” explains Stefanie Metzner, International Brand Manager at Boehringer Ingelheim.

“The initial feedback we have from German chemists’ shows that Mucoangin is now better recognised as a sore throat remedy. The new wild berry flavour will contribute to this development even further.”