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If you walk through an Egyptian supermarket today, you may see that something feels different. The chips look globally recognized, granola seems like it belongs on New York shelves, and juice brands? They’re into more typography than the drink itself. Suddenly, marketers and audiences are noticing that the packaging that once screamed “I’m so Egyptian” has become westernized. And to be honest it does look good. However, the question is still raised: is this some type of evolving with the taste of consumers? Or are they slowly losing their identity to visual aesthetics?
A Global Makeover
Packaging goes beyond slapping a logo on a bag or a product. This is one of the fastest ways to communicate a brand’s message regarding quality, personality, price, and even sometimes social status. Now Egyptian consumers are more exposed to international brands through travel, social media, and global food trends.
That is why their visual expectations are set to evolve as well. Minimalism for example, now signals something premium. Certain fonts show heritage, while matte finishes can refer to sophistication.
Take the rise of kettle-cooked chips. Egypt’s salty-snacks market has seen growing interest in this certain department. With brands such as Tiger and BIG expanding into premium kettle-cooked and “Excellence” ranges, while Raw and Spuds have also established themselves in the category.
Take Chipsy’s Kettle Cooked redesign for example. Its packaging was recognized at the Transform Awards MEA in 2025 for blending English and Arabic to communicate a more premium proposition, all while still keeping elements of the parent brand recognizable.
That is why perhaps the goal isn’t to become Western. Perhaps the goal is to look premium enough to compete in today’s world and show how “premium” has developed its own visual accent.
Why Are Brands Doing It?
1. Premiumization sells
When a product moves from “everyday snack” to “premium experience,” the packaging has to make that jump believable. It is essentially the packaging saying, “This isn’t just another bag of chips.” And the consumer gets to decide whether they believe it or not.
2. The shelf has become more competitive
Supermarket shelves are what I would love to call visual battlegrounds. Brands are competing not only against local competitors but also against imported products and increasingly sophisticated local challengers.
3. Packaging has become social content
The package no longer exists only on a supermarket shelf. It appears in TikToks, Instagram Stories, grocery hauls, desk shots, gym bags and “what I eat in a day” videos.
But Is “Global” Automatically Better?
Not necessarily would be the right answer. That is, because the biggest advantage of this direction is perceived modernity.
A refreshed package can make an old product feel younger, more relevant and more competitive. It can also help a brand enter new price points or occasions without completely changing the product itself. There is also something exciting about seeing Egyptian FMCG brands becoming more confident visually. The downside? Everyone can start looking like everyone else.
If every granola brand uses minimal, every juice brand uses pastel palettes with fruit photography, while every snack brand adopts bold English typography, You’ll notice that every “premium” product suddenly looks like it was designed for a global supermarket, where exactly is the brand’s personality? And more importantly, where is Egypt’s identity?
Local Doesn’t Have to Mean “Traditional”
This is where the conversation gets more interesting. Being local doesn’t necessarily mean putting hieroglyphics on the pack. Local identity can be subtle.
It can live in the language. The humor. The naming. The flavor choices (like kebda eskandarany.) It can live in the way an Egyptian consumer talks about the product itself. A contemporary Egyptian brand can look modern without being culturally anonymous. In fact, that may be the cherry on top.
Then There’s Sting…
Perhaps one of the more interesting recent examples in weird branding is Sting’s Malt drink. The product entered Egypt as a malt-flavored energy drink. That is all fun and games until everyone noticed how the packaging and product cues lean into the visual language consumers wouldn’t associate with malt beverages.
Because alcohol has a very different cultural position in Egypt from many Western markets. Yet the brand is borrowing some of the visual codes (like a beer pint) and that specific green color adopted by a lot of beer brands. Some audiences decided that this is the brand trying to make alcohol culturally acceptable. However, it may be more of a case of signs and symbols, aka semiotics, left to do the heavy lifting. But the question remains: How close can a brand get to a familiar cultural code without actually crossing the category boundary? Because from where I am sitting… this is crossing it.
The Risk of Identity Borrowing
Of course, this strategy comes with a weight to it. When brands borrow global visual language, consumers may also borrow the meanings attached to it. I agree that this can cause curiosity. However, it can also create confusion. A consumer might wonder: Is this trying to be something it’s not? Is the brand becoming more sophisticated or simply copycatting another category? And that is where packaging strategy gets to have more folds to it than just mere aesthetics.
So, Are We Losing Our Local Originality?
My answer would be maybe. But maybe we’re also witnessing something more like Egyptian consumers developing a more global visual vocabulary.
The real problem isn’t that Egyptian brands are becoming more global. The problem would be if global became the only way they knew how to look premium. Because there is a difference between globalization and imitation. One allows local brands to borrow, adapt and evolve. The other makes every shelf look the same.
And perhaps the most interesting future for Egyptian packaging isn’t choosing between “local” and “global” at all. It is figuring out how to make something that looks unmistakably contemporary and unmistakably ours.
