SmashBrand

SmashBrand is an American branding and packaging design agency headquartered in Boise, Idaho. Founded in 2009 by Kevin Smith and Michael Keplinger, the firm focuses on consumer packaged goods, combining brand strategy, visual identity, packaging development, consumer research, and pre-launch testing. Its work is intended to help products communicate more clearly at the point of purchase and improve their prospects in retail environments. The agency's practice spans the strategic and executional stages of consumer-brand development. It advises clients on positioning, naming and brand architecture, packaging systems, front-of-pack communication, category conventions, and the practical requirements of retail execution. Its packaging work is supported by consumer testing intended to evaluate how shoppers notice, understand, compare, and select products before a redesign or new product launch reaches the market. This positions SmashBrand between a conventional creative agency and a specialist packaging consultancy. SmashBrand introduced PREformance in 2019 as a stage-gated testing system. The program was designed to assess packaging and brand concepts at successive points in development, allowing clients to identify weaknesses before committing to production and distribution. Company materials and industry coverage describe the system as part of an iterative approach in which strategy, design, testing, and refinement are connected rather than treated as separate assignments. The system was updated in 2025 in response to changing consumer packaged goods preferences and market conditions. The agency's publicly mentioned clients and projects include Duracell, Walmart, OXO, Zing Zang, and Vega. A documented 2024 packaging redesign for Zing Zang illustrates the firm's emphasis on refreshing established consumer brands while retaining enough recognition for existing shoppers. Work associated with Vega has included consumer-insights and rebranding activity. These examples reflect a portfolio centered on packaged food, beverage, household, and other consumer categories, although the available public information does not provide a complete client list. SmashBrand has also been associated with Inc. 5000 recognition in multiple years and with packaging-design award listings, including GDUSA's American Package Design Awards during the 2022–2024 period. In 2025, Christy Lebor joined the agency as partner and director of strategy. Her previous experience at Kraft, PepsiCo, and Unilever strengthened SmashBrand's senior strategic capability in large-scale consumer goods and brand management. The agency's positioning reflects broader changes in the CPG sector. Brand owners have increasingly moved between direct-to-consumer and retail models, while physical stores and shelf visibility remain important sources of discovery and purchase. SmashBrand presents packaging as both a brand-expression medium and a commercial tool: the package must convey category cues, product benefits, and differentiation quickly while remaining legible within a crowded retail setting. Its public profile is that of a specialist agency rather than a product-owning brand, and its commercial performance is therefore primarily tied to client engagements, consulting, design, and testing services.

SmashBrand was established in Boise, Idaho, in 2009 by Kevin Smith and Michael Keplinger. From its beginning, the agency focused on consumer packaged goods rather than general-purpose corporate branding. Its work addressed a practical problem faced by CPG companies: products must communicate brand meaning, category, benefits, and differentiation rapidly in environments where shoppers compare many packages at once. The agency therefore developed a practice connecting brand strategy with packaging design and consumer evaluation. During its development, SmashBrand expanded beyond visual design into a more integrated model covering positioning, packaging systems, consumer insights, testing, and retail execution. Public descriptions of its process emphasize iteration: concepts are developed, tested with consumers, refined, and assessed against the requirements of the intended category and distribution channel. This approach treats packaging as a commercial interface as well as a graphic object. In 2019, SmashBrand launched PREformance, a stage-gated testing system for brand and packaging development. The system was intended to provide structured checkpoints before clients proceeded to later design, production, or market stages. By placing testing within the development process, the agency sought to identify problems in noticeability, comprehension, preference, or shelf communication before products were widely distributed. The firm's client work has included publicly mentioned projects for Duracell, Walmart, and OXO, as well as packaging and brand assignments for food and beverage companies. A 2024 redesign for Zing Zang was among the documented projects. SmashBrand has also been associated with consumer-insights and rebranding work for Vega. The public record does not establish a complete client roster or disclose the commercial terms of these engagements. SmashBrand's visibility increased through agency rankings, Inc. 5000 appearances in multiple years, and packaging-award listings. GDUSA's American Package Design Awards included the agency in listings covering 2022 through 2024. These recognitions contributed to its profile within the packaging and design sector, although awards and rankings do not independently establish the effectiveness of every client program. The agency's later history reflects changes in the CPG market. Consumer brands have moved between direct-to-consumer distribution and conventional retail, while physical stores have remained important for product discovery and purchase. SmashBrand's public commentary and service offering have consequently emphasized shelf performance, front-of-pack communication, category-specific design, and the relationship between digital brand expectations and physical retail execution. In 2025, the company updated PREformance to reflect changing consumer preferences in CPG markets. The same year, Christy Lebor joined as partner and director of strategy. Her background at Kraft, PepsiCo, and Unilever added experience from major packaged-goods organizations to an agency whose services already centered on brand strategy and packaging decisions. SmashBrand remains headquartered in Boise and operates as an independent professional-services brand focused on consumer packaged goods branding, packaging, and testing.

• 2025

  PREformance is updated

  [1]SmashBranden.wikipedia.org

  The testing system is revised in response to changes in consumer packaged goods preferences and market conditions.

• 2025

  Christy Lebor joins the leadership team

  [1]SmashBranden.wikipedia.org

  Christy Lebor joins SmashBrand as partner and director of strategy after working at Kraft, PepsiCo, and Unilever.

• 2024

  Zing Zang packaging redesign

  [1]SmashBranden.wikipedia.org

  The agency undertakes a publicly documented packaging redesign for Zing Zang.

• 2022

  American Package Design Awards recognition period begins

  [1]SmashBranden.wikipedia.org

  SmashBrand is listed in connection with GDUSA's American Package Design Awards during the 2022–2024 period.

• 2019

  PREformance is launched

  [1]SmashBranden.wikipedia.org

  SmashBrand introduces PREformance, a stage-gated system for testing brand and packaging concepts during development.

• 2009

  SmashBrand is founded in Boise

  [1]SmashBranden.wikipedia.org

  Kevin Smith and Michael Keplinger establish SmashBrand as a branding and packaging agency serving consumer packaged goods companies.

A specialist consumer packaged goods branding and packaging agency that combines strategic positioning, design, consumer testing, and retail-oriented execution.

• Brand and packaging testing system · 2019

  PREformance

  PREformance is SmashBrand's stage-gated testing system for evaluating brand and packaging concepts before launch or major production commitments. It is designed to connect consumer feedback with successive development checkpoints, helping teams examine how shoppers notice, interpret, compare, and respond to a package. The system was launched in 2019 and updated in 2025.

• Packaging design service

  CPG packaging design

  SmashBrand develops packaging identities and systems for consumer packaged goods. The work can include visual hierarchy, front-of-pack communication, category cues, structural or format considerations, and the adaptation of a brand across a product portfolio. The agency presents packaging as a tool for both brand expression and retail communication.

• Brand consulting service

  Brand strategy and rebranding

  The agency provides positioning, brand strategy, consumer-insight, and rebranding services for CPG companies. These services are intended to clarify a product's role in its category, define a distinctive promise, and translate strategic decisions into packaging and other consumer-facing expressions.

• 2024Zing Zang packaging redesign

  United States

  SmashBrand worked on a packaging redesign for Zing Zang, applying its CPG packaging approach to refresh the brand's shelf presentation and consumer communication.

  Source
• Vega consumer-insights rebrand

  United States

  Public descriptions associate SmashBrand with consumer-insights and rebranding work for Vega, linking research and strategic development with the brand's consumer-facing identity.

  Source

• 2025

  Update to PREformanceGeneration change

  Background

  Changing consumer preferences and conditions in the consumer packaged goods market prompted a revision of the agency's testing approach.

  Action taken

  SmashBrand updated PREformance to reflect the new market context.

  Source

• 2025

  Appointment of Christy Lebor as partner and director of strategyStrategy

  Background

  SmashBrand sought to strengthen its strategic leadership in consumer packaged goods branding.

  Action taken

  The agency appointed Christy Lebor, whose prior experience included Kraft, PepsiCo, and Unilever.

  Aftermath

  The appointment expanded the agency's senior expertise in large-scale CPG strategy.

  Source

• 2019

  Launch of PREformanceProduct launch

  Background

  CPG clients needed a structured way to test brand and packaging concepts before committing to production and distribution.

  Action taken

  SmashBrand introduced PREformance as a stage-gated testing system for brand and packaging development.

  Aftermath

  The system became part of the agency's integrated strategy, design, and consumer-testing offering.

  Source

1. 1SmashBranden.wikipedia.org
2. 2SmashBrand official websitesmashbrand.com