Aesthetics can make or break your brand. Good packaging means positive customer experiences. We’ve discovered five companies that incorporate clever and tasteful packaging for their products.

Thelma’s Treats

Thelma’s Treats

Cost: $2.50 per cardboard oven, which holds 24 cookies

“I wanted our box to convey being at your grandmother’s house for cookies,” says founder Dereck Lewis. The oven is delivered to its customers around Des Moines, with still-warm treats inside.

Caliber Collection

Caliber Collection

Cost: $4.30 per item, with custom velour bag

“Our packaging was integral to our message,” says Jessica Mindich, who repurposes firearms into jewelry. “It’s a big responsibility to take something that represents the forces of destruction and intimidation and turn it into something positive.”

Roseur Fine Roses

Roseur Fine Roses

Cost: undisclosed

“Why shouldn’t a box of roses look like a dress box from Paris?” says co-owner Allan Ghiassi. Roseur’s logo is die-cut to ventilate the roses; wave-corrugated material, foam wrap and a custom-designed base protects the flowers.

P.J. Salvage

P.J. Salvage

Cost: average $0.80–$1 per box, which changes seasonally

“The product is what sells, but the special packaging—and the surprise to the person opening it sets you apart from your competitors,” says CEO Peter Burke. In the past, he’s sold loungewear and sleepwear in pizza boxes, cereal boxes and even milk cartons.

Peggy Jean’s Pies

Peggy Jean’s Pies

Cost: $0.92 per box

“Say “pie’ and people think doilies and cafeterias, but our jars have updated the experience,” says cofounder Rebecca Miller. Her pies are shipped in jelly jars, ready-to-eat, in a box that securely holds six varieties, with six tiny forks.