Skimmelberg packaging design
Project lead & client management. Unfold
Design, Illustration and packaging design: Unfold
Copywriter: Jakkie Brink
Skimmelberg Fynbos Oils, a local producer and bulk exporter of fynbos oils, reached out to Unfold to design their new luxury packaging range for retail. The Skimmelberg team had a strong vision for the visuals and design direction. To align our ideas, we kicked off with a brand workshop—a one-hour online session where we explored competitors, gathered inspiration, and shared design recommendations. This workshop gave us a solid foundation to start the design process with clarity and confidence.
A refreshed logo
Refreshing the Skimmelberg Fynbos Oils logo was a critical first step in getting the brand retail-ready. The original logo featured a beautiful icon that we were excited to refine, but the typography needed an update. After an extensive typeface search, we landed on a soft, modern serif for “Skimmelberg,” paired with a geometric sans-serif for balance. A sage green became the foundation of their brand palette, setting the tone for a fresh, refined identity.
We refined Skimmelberg’s industrial logo into a sleek, retail-ready design—elevating the brand while staying true to its roots.
Six colours for six oils
With sage green as the foundation of the Skimmelberg brand, we selected five additional colours—one for each fynbos oil. The range includes Buchu betulina, Buchu crenulata, Rose geranium, Cape snowbush, Cape may, and Cape chamomile. The blue shade for Cape chamomile was a natural choice, reflecting the vivid blue hue of its oil. To bring the story to life, Jakkie Brink, our go-to copywriter, crafted a short brand story along with notes capturing each oil’s unique scent.
Botanical drawings refine the packaging
Ronel created delicate botanical line drawings for each plant, which we digitised and refined to work seamlessly across both 100ml and 10ml bottles. Each label was carefully designed to meet EU cosmetic and FDA labelling regulations, with special attention to ensuring directions for use remain legible even at tiny text sizes. A minimalist design paired with a geometric font with a high x-height provided the clarity needed—even at sizes under 5pt.
Environment first
Skimmelberg Fynbos Oils exists because of the wonder of buchu and the natural world—so sustainability is at the heart of everything they do. To align with this commitment, we selected printable cardboard tubes as a durable, protective housing for the oil bottles. These tubes shield the glass bottles inside, eliminating the need for bubble wrap or additional plastic packaging.
A happy project
We’re incredibly proud of how this project came together. The Skimmelberg team brought so much value to the creative process—and their enthusiasm for the design, right from the first draft, made this collaboration a joy. Creating something that truly felt like them while staying true to our own design instincts? That’s the kind of work that keeps our creative hearts happy.