Let’s stop treating limited editions like marketing fireworks
When every brand is screaming for attention, Muriel Schildknecht, executive creative director at Lonsdale Asia, proposes that maybe the smartest move isn’t louder design offering short term rewards.
Limited editions are everywhere. Neon cans. Heritage throwbacks. IP collabs. They flash, they disappear. Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Chinese New Year… rinse, repeat. And too often, they leave nothing behind but a spike in sales and a trail of plastic.
We’ve turned what should be a stand out moment of brand expression into just another tick box on the marketing calendar. Done right, limited edition packaging isn’t seasonal décor, it’s design with intent. Not an afterthought, but a provocation. It’s a way to say something new without losing who you are. Because here’s the real problem: most limited editions aren’t designed to last. They’re designed to create momentary impact and hype.
We can do better.
When used well, limited edition packaging isn’t a gimmick, it’s a strategic act of storytelling. A design intervention. A moment that reshapes how people see and how they feel about the brand.
At any time of the year, the smartest thing a brand can do isn’t to scream louder, they should say something worth remembering.
It’s not about selling more. It’s about saying more
Limited editions should unlock long-term value by expressing something deeper about what the brand is, and what it’s becoming.
At Lonsdale Asia, we created a special edition range for LUX to celebrate 100 years of women’s empowerment with packaging inspired by radical art movements from across the decades. Each edition was a meaningful tribute to strength, identity, and bold femininity. LEP as a cultural statement.
When limited editions work, they don’t just perform on the shelf. They build mental availability, emotional relevance, and even brand pride.
Designers, don’t decorate. Direct
A limited edition is not a costume change. It’s a message. Without saying a word, it can signal heritage, shift perception, tease a repositioning. That’s the power of design. But only if it’s purposeful.
France’s most iconic apéritif, Ricard’s limited edition ready-to-drink proves the point. A blend of retro graphics and bold geometry, it didn’t just look “cool.” It told a story. About origins. About belonging. About Mediterranean joie de vivre. The design connected with a legacy of iconic memorabilia, including glasses, jugs and other merchandise. Not just a drink, but a modern cultural object. That edition didn’t try to mimic youth codes, it reasserted its own.
And that’s what limited editions should do. Not chase trends, but translate identity. Stretch the brand without losing its soul.
Don’t just chase culture. Contribute to it
We’re in an era of drops, collabs, remix culture. Everyone wants to be part of the moment. But tapping into culture without adding to it just feels empty.
That’s why Dove x Crumbl worked, perhaps against all odds. A body care brand meets a cookie brand? Strange. But the emotional overlap made it sing: indulgence, comfort, self-love. Dove didn’t just change colour, it shifted tone. It embraced Crumbl’s drop culture, its social-first audience and its sensory language. And in doing so, Dove made itself feel younger, more playful, more deliciously human. It was packaging positioned as an experience. And it moved the brand forward.
Limited shouldn’t mean low stakes
Often, limited editions are treated like side projects; fun, fast, forgettable. But what if we took them seriously?
What if every limited edition was an opportunity to say something that couldn’t be said within the core range?
What if we judged them not by how quickly they sold out, but by how deeply they connected?
Because when you use limited editions to reinforce brand values, explore new codes and provoke emotion, they don’t just create attention. They create attachment. That’s the shift we need: from short-term gimmicks to long-term memory.
Final thought: design for the echo, not just the impact
A truly great limited edition doesn’t just perform on launch day. It lingers. In photos. In conversations. On shelves and in collections. It becomes part of the brand’s mythology, a cultural object instead of a passing seasonal variant.
So the next time you’re thinking of launching a limited edition, ask this:
Will it just be noticed or will it be remembered?
