Stories & Ink updates branding, moving from site to shelf

Tattoo skincare company Stories & Ink rebranded with the help of creative agency Robot Food, following its shift from solely operating direct-to-consumer to now also selling through retailers and wholesalers. The transition has inspired new packaging to help win new customers.

Stories & Ink, a skincare product provider for tattooed individuals, announced its acquisition of retail listings in the US with Target, and a big, yet to be named retailer in the UK. With this comes a rebrand from creative agency Robot Food, as the company moves away from a UK focused, online-only customer base. 

Preparing to sell through retailers and wholesalers as well as D2C, the packaging update looks to communicate the brand to unfamiliar customers. Stories & Ink founder Stu Jolley highlights this saying, “Selling digitally allows the brand experience to be much more immersive, but the retail reality is very different. We knew our understated approach wouldn’t work in that environment.” 

Co-founder of Stories & Ink and founder of Robot Food, Simon Forster, adds, “The difference between packaging design for online selling and retail is nuanced but significant, and even more so when considering designing for a global audience with altering retail experiences.”  

To help the brand adapt, Robot Food designers introduced front and side faces with bold colouring on the packages. The side faces feature images and ingredients inside of the cream, serum or soap by illustrator Tom Gilmore to appeal to new customers.

The new fonts, ‘Engineer Black’ and ‘Roboto Mono’, are meant to reflect the brand’s progressive nature and effective formulas, juxtaposing high tech and handcrafted tattoo culture. Above all, Robot Food sought to relay the brand ethos of “Inklusivity for all”, which is printed on the packaging.  

Stories & Ink products are currently available in US Targets, but are not expected to reach UK shelves until the end of March.