Celebrating Valentine’s Day as a kid is one of the most suspenseful, hopeful, and exciting holidays. Seeing what cards and treats your classmates bring is a moment full of the thrill only comparable to that of a roller coaster that goes in a loop-de-loop. Studio Carnley created the limited-edition Valentine’s Day packaging for Moon Pies for the parents of kids in a last-minute pinch while still respecting the excitement of the day. The vintage-inspired graphics paired with the holiday’s sweet colors will make any child proud to hand one of these delicious treats to their crush of the moment.
Studio Carnley had the opportunity to create MoonPie’s first-ever Valentine’s Day box. The success of this project weighed heavily on one simple objective – give shoppers a reason to deviate from gifting chocolates to gifting MoonPies. Chocolate is synonymous with Valentine’s Day so we knew that a cookie (how MoonPie is categorized in the grocery industry) could not rely on design alone and compete. We needed to consider the target MoonPie buyer – a full-time working parent that is short on time and budget. Could we make this person the Valentine’s Day hero of their office or their children’s classroom?
The final product is a ready-made Valentine’s Day kit. The box is designed with 12 illustrated cut-out cards that pair with the 12 Strawberry MoonPies inside. Shoppers no longer have to scour aisles for chocolates and cards separately nor do they have to visit multiple shops on their grocery run to pick up Valentine’s gifts for the office or classroom. The market tests proved to be successful. Valentine’s boxes were tested in 6 strategic markets in 2022 and sold out within days of release. MoonPie will launch these boxes nation-wide in 2023 across multiple grocery and discount outlets.
