Issue 16 – Honey

The only packaged good that never goes bad

Unbox Inbox is a weekly newsletter packed with packaging inspiration and observations

Photo by Clare JoAnna

🍯 This is a long issue, so you may need to hit “expand” or read it in your browser 🍯

A Honey Deep Dive

Honey, I’m home! And by home I mean back from my radio silence last week. If you noticed I didn’t send a letter out last week, you’re a real one. And if you didn’t, pretend I didn’t say any of that. Turns out churning out a time-consuming side project week after week is a lot harder when you have a full plate of work (I started Unbox Inbox while transitioning from a full-time job to freelance life). While I take this newsletter seriously–and would love for my job to be to go down the rabbit hole every week–the reality is this thing is something I do for fun, to feel creative, get inspired, and connect with other packaging enthusiasts. So sometimes work work takes priority, and not forcing something last week was my way of keeping things fun around here (go read

Ali LaBelle

’s recent words about side projects if you haven’t already).

But now we’re here, and we’re talking all things honey. I recently discovered the wonders of

Caroline Chambers

’s letter, and the first thing I made was her sheet-pan honey-roasted chicken, carrots, and brussels sprouts with tahini yogurt. I hate hot carrots (anyone else?), but I LOVE tahini, and it was a perfect “I’m too lazy to cook but I’m doing it anyways” dinner. That was a long-winded way of saying I had to buy honey this week so its packaging was on the brain. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this Honey Rabbit Hole, and if you do, consider doing that whole like, comment, share with a friend, subscribe thing. Thanks for being here!

1. Honey for the person who bases their apartment search on its proximity to the best co-op

I’m chuckling to myself as I write this because it’s me–and I’m sure it’s some of you. What do these all have in common? They look like something your aunt who lives in Bend always has on hand, or that could’ve been stocked in Ruth Reichl’s pantry when she was sharing a large house with a group of people with a similar political mind-sets in the 1970s. Translation: I love this packaging. It feels sincere, not overly branded, and for the most part, completely out of touch with current design trends (I mean that as a compliment).

2. Honey for the person who found a 50-year-old bottle of honey in the fixer-upper they moved into

Again, I mean that as a compliment. What I loved about the Honey Rabbit Hole at large was how untouched it was by overly trend-y and brand-y design (can’t say the same for manuka honey). I love these for the same reasons I love the above bottles, these just have more of a “pantry in suburban Chicago in the 70s” sensibility. There’s something so satisfying about their flat, two-color design that somehow doesn’t look bland-y. Take notes people!

3. Honey for the person who needs a gift for their shoppy-shop-loving friend

Sometime over the last couple of years, small businesses selling smaller-time brands became a bit of an eye-roll. I however, love a niche little store where I can discover new brands–even if I’ve already seen 50% of them on instagram. Some of these tilt a bit in the direction of what I was criticizing above, but some of them feel like the 2020s version of the above (Black Bee Honey, Flamingo Estate, Happy Organics). If I had included the abundance of manuka honey brands out there these days, they’d all fall into this category.

4. Honey for the person who wants to feel like they’re buying local honey even when they’re not

You can buy nearly all of these on Amazon, so they are decidedly not local (even if the bottles say they are). If you’re going to buy local honey, go buy your honey locally. I do love to see the innovation of the Nate’s squeezable tube though (we love a squeezable tube here). They say it’s more eco-friendly, but also that it help you get every last drop of honey out, which isn’t easy in any form factor with such a sticky product.

5. Honey for the person who has gone out of their way to visit Magnolia Market in Waco

I’ve only been there once, and I didn’t buy any honey, but these seem like the vaguely artisanal, minimalist designs that I could see fitting in there. What these all have in common is generous white space, mostly sans serif type, and a millennial edge without feeling too much like a bland.

Time Travel Time

Honey didn’t start getting packaged in the iconic honey bear until 1957 (more on that in Packaging Peanuts below), and before then there was an abundance of beautifully designed tins. The more packaging rabbit holes I go down, the more I realize that most things used to be packaged in tins.

Some beauties found on eBay and Etsy

Chatterbox

I’m not the only packaging-obsessed Chloe hanging out on the internet. Enter Chloe Gordon, who works at The Dieline doing all things writing, curating, social media, behind-the-scenes logistics, and planning. She recently launched their newsletter Shelf Life, which you should most definitely subscribe to here. She also dabbles in consulting on the side to help brands strategize their social campaigns, product launches, and photoshoot concepts. Learn about one of those brands below, along with a slew of other cool things.

What are 3-5 items that are always stocked in your home?

1. Algae Cooking Club's algae oil

2. Vanilla Premier Protein 

3. VitaCoCo Coconut Water 

4. SuperGoop's Unseen Sunscreen

5. Ithaca Lemon Garlic Hummus 

Why are you loyal to those brands or products?

Ok, disclaimer: yes, I work with Algae Cooking Club, but I truly love the product. I never knew how overwhelming the flavor of something like an olive oil was until I started using algae oil, and now I never see myself using anything else. 

I honestly have no idea what got me started doing this, but I use Premier Protein as my coffee creamer. Now I'm addicted to it and always have a Costco-sized box of it in my pantry. If you haven't tried this elite combo yet, do it, trust me. 

VitaCoco is my favorite liquid to mix into a smoothie. Plus, drinking it plain makes for the best hangover cure. 

I've always hated the texture and consistency of sunscreen on my face, but SuperGoop's formula is elite and perfect, and I love it so much. Thank God for Holly Thaggard and for preventing wrinkles. 

Ithaca's Lemon Garlic Hummus is my crack. I don't know how it's possible but I go through a tub of it two days within purchasing it. It's more expensive than other hummus brands, I know, but I'm telling you, it's delicious and perfect, and I need a gallon tub of it. I love it on pretzel chips, chicken, and plopped on salad. Honestly, I'll eat it on anything.

What was the last thing you bought because it stood out to you on the shelf?

Oh, this is tricky. It's not that I have decision paralysis in stores, but it's that I want one of each, always. 

There's a wine shop in New Orleans called Patron Saint with the cutest little shoppy-shop items. I recently went and saw this chocolate brand called Fine & Raw, and their little chunkies were too cute not to purchase. 

What was the last thing you bought because someone you know recommended it?

Ok, this might not count, but the sample lady at Costco was handing out Yasso's Poppables the other day and she highly recommended them. I did indeed sample, and I did indeed immediately add them to my shopping cart. 

What was the last thing you bought because of an algorithm? 

I just recently got engaged, so, of course, my algorithm knows. I got served an ad from Dissh, an Australian clothing brand, and was already in the market for a white dress for an upcoming engagement party, so it got me. It was this dress, if you're curious. I'm also totally about to buy Hot Girl Snack's Good Girl Pickles because of the algorithm, too. 

Favorite place to shop irl?

I'm a Costco girly through and through. I will battle the crowds, play bumper carts, and stand in the longest line to get groceries there. Why? The samples. The discovery. The character. I love it all. 

Favorite place to shop online?

I honestly try not to do too much online shopping. I'm someone whose job is to literally be online all day, so I do my best to avoid the temptation. That being said, I recently stumbled across a brand called Maison Flâneur, and I'm addicted to scrolling through the site. Home decor is my weakness, and when it comes to beautifully crafted home decor? Kryptonite. 

Someone is visiting where you live for a day, what are 3 musts?

I live in New Orleans, LA, so I'm taking whoever visits me on a never-ending food tour. There would be more than three stops on this tour, but the top three would be:

1. Clancy’s, is an upscale New Orleans restaurant that’s been around forever. We're ordering dinner, of course, but the dirty martinis and their fried oysters with brie are non-negotiables for the table. It’s not touristy, which I appreciate. 

2. Another night, I'm taking my guest to a restaurant called Mandina’s. This is also not a touristy spot but has the best classic New Orleans food. I've tried a lot of gumbos since living in Nola, but this one is by far my favorite. Plus, we're getting a side of fries. 

3. Lastly, we're spending an afternoon at Bacchanal. It’s a cool outdoor spot with live music, wine, and cheese—my three favorite things. For anyone reading this that might be going to Nola soon, let me know; I'm happy to send you my incredibly massive (slightly embarrassingly long) list of restaurant recommendations. 

Thank you, Chloe!

Packing Peanuts

(Those loose leftover pieces at the bottom of the box)

Speaking of The Dieline, read up on why we package honey in bear-shaped bottles. I’m currently reading a Theodore Roosevelt biography, so the inclusion of him in that history is oddly synchronous for me (fun fact, he didn’t like being called Teddy). “These bees, like their keeper, are true artists,” and a jar of their honey is $250. I’ve used manuka honey from a jar on my face before, but putting it in a tube makes it feel more like a skincare product. Obsessed with the blurry floral photos. Sweet honey for your tiniest sweet honey. The iconic black honey. You better believe I had Honey by Samia stuck in my head for the duration of writing this letter.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading, I love you. If you’re feeling generous or inspired, please forward this newsletter to a friend and encourage them to subscribe too <3