Packaging design company Burgopak is today celebrating its 25th birthday.
Burgopak began in 2001 with a small studio in a business centre in South West London. There was no running water, but the team were based alongside many other creative startups and artists’ studios.
Some of those employees who were there at the start, are still with Burgopak now – Rosie Reardon, CEO, Dane Whitehurst, Creative Director and Alexander Parker, Head of Wellness. In those early days the team had to work out everything from scratch, from securing packaging patents to sourcing manufacturers.
Rosie Reardon, Burgopak’s CEO, remembers: “It was a hugely exciting and also a terrifying time – there weren’t many companies trying to do what we were so there was no blueprint to follow. We just had to jump in and go for it. We built the business from the ground up, together.”
Burgopak initially made packaging for CDs and DVDS, including Placebo’s Black Market Music album and a 2003 live album by Coldplay. But when these formats began to become obsolete, the business had to evolve. The team pivoted into designing packaging for mobile phones for the likes of Motorola and O2 and sim cards for Vodafone, T-Mobile and EE and the business took off.
One particular highlight was designing the packaging for a limited-edition mobile phone given to VIP guests at the Beckham’s World Cup party at “Beckingham Palace” in 2006.
Burgopak has since grown into a global, award-winning operation, with 28 staff in the London office and manufacturing partners around the world.
Dane Whitehurst, Burgopak’s Creative Director, said: “It has been great fun to adapt our focus over the years, to react to new opportunities and challenges. We have been lucky enough to work with so many incredibly talented clients that have taught us so much along the way and helped us push the boundaries of what can be done with paper.”
Burgopak designs packaging with the “wow factor” for products of all shapes and sizes, across different industries. They are particularly well known for their work for fintech and wellness brands. It has created over 300 million unboxing moments, for clients including Motorola, Virgin, Bloomingdales, Hotel Chocolat, Nike, Fortnum & Mason, Revolut, Formula 1 & Sony.