Grab any product off a modern shelf, and its packaging probably looks nothing like it did fifty or a hundred years ago. Bold illustrations, ornate typography, and glass bottles have mostly given way to minimalism and recyclable plastic. Packaging design has always mirrored the era it came from, and vintage versions offer a genuine fun time capsule.
What is striking is not just the visual style; it is how much more elaborate old packaging tended to be. Brands relied on intricate illustration and detailed lettering long before clean, minimalist branding became the industry standard. Here are 18 packaging designs that have transformed over the decades.
1. Coca-Cola Glass Bottles
The original curved glass bottle, with raised lettering, looked nothing like today’s aluminum cans.
2. Cereal Boxes
Early cereal packaging favored dense text and modest illustration compared to today’s character-driven designs.
3. Cigarette Tins
Illustrated metal tins were once standard before cigarettes moved to today’s soft packs. Now a soft pack disappears into a pocket without a second glance. Back then, the tin was the whole point.
4. Soap Wrappers
Bars of soap were often wrapped in paper printed with florid script and illustration.
5. Coffee Tins
Vintage coffee cans featured elaborate label art, a far cry from today’s simple bagged pouches.
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6. Candy Wrappers
Old-fashioned candy packaging relied heavily on colorful patterns and big lettering. Bright colors caught your eye from across the store, and the bold letters told you exactly what was inside before you even picked it up.
7. Milk Bottles
Glass bottles stamped with a dairy’s name replaced today’s disposable cartons and plastic jugs.
8. Toothpaste Tubes
Early metal tubes had a completely different feel and finish compared to today’s plastic versions.
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9. Flour Sacks
Cloth flour sacks were often printed with patterns so the fabric could be reused for sewing clothing. Families would plan their sewing projects around which sack patterns they could find, turning a practical need into a creative choice.
10. Beer Cans
Cans from the mid-20th century used bold, simple graphics different from modern branding.
11. Medicine Bottles
Apothecary-style glass bottles with hand-lettered labels preceded today’s pill bottles.
12. Chewing Gum Packs
Vintage gum wrappers used dense illustration and typography packed into a tiny surface.
13. Butter Wrappers
Waxed paper wrappers featured simple farm imagery, a far cry from today’s foil-topped tubs.
14. Cracker Tins
Large decorative tins were used for crackers and cookies, designed to be reused once emptied.
15. Perfume Bottles
Ornate glass bottles were treated as much like collectibles as containers. People kept them on shelves long after the contents were gone, valuing the bottle itself as much as whatever it held.
16. Ice Cream Cartons
Simple printed paperboard tubs were replaced by today’s more elaborate containers.
17. Motor Oil Cans
Metal oil cans featured bold and colorful branding before the switch to today’s plastic bottles. The tin’s colors and lettering were designed to stand out on a garage shelf, built to survive grease and years of hard use.
18. Detergent Boxes
Laundry soap boxes relied on bold typography long before modern minimalist branding took over.
Looking for similar content?
Check out 15 Cereal Box Toys That Are Now Worth More Than the Cereal to see which breakfast prizes turned into serious collector cash. For a trip down past aisles, 15 Old Grocery Store Items That Collectors Would Love to Find rounds up the packaging and products people wish they had saved. And before you clear out grandma’s cabinet, 15 Valuable Vintage Glass Pieces You Should Never Throw Away breaks down which pieces are actually worth real money.
