Margão’s Limited Edition

Designer: Vera Rita
Project Type: Student Project
School: Instituto Politécnico do Cávado e Ave
Course: Graphic Design
Tutor: Nuno Martins
Location: Porto, Portugal
Packaging Contents: Spices
Packaging Substrate / Materials: Metal box and glass containers
Printing Process: Digital printing

Margão was originated in Portugal in the year of 1958 with only 15 references and 2 workers. The owner used to travel by himself to India, more specifically to the city of Margao, to buy spices and then sell them to friends and family and, 10 years later, the brand was founded.

Nowadays, Margão is still the top brand of spices in Portugal and an undeniable leader in its segment. This company has two main goals: to satisfy the market while responding to its needs and adapting to its changes and also respecting the traditional tastes and flavors while doing so.

As the joy of cooking is growing and becoming more valuable, the tendency for the use of spices also increases, for example, for those who bring their own food to work, college, etc. in that sense, the quality and freshness of the product is totally required. According to experts the spices need to keep their flavours for better results so they should only be added to the food by the end, like parsley, for example.​​​​​​​

Keeping this in mind, I created a metal box (slightly bigger than a pack of cigarettes) with three containers made of glass for a proper conservation of the product – a limited edition that allows its users to take it with them anywhere, keeping the brand’s identity and an elegant look for its transport. The containers, when empty, can be reused and each one has a customizable section where you can write in with a normal pen the name of the spice and its validity and can later be erased by washing the container.

What’s Unique?
Each container is identified by what’s inside and written by the user so, the user ends up participating on the design of their own product that is created by the textures, colors and appearance each spice gives.