We received a consultation from Bunendo Shoten, a bookstore in Toyama Prefecture that offers various products and services, primarily books, regarding the creation of pop-up gift boxes to adorn donuts.

Bunendo Shoten is a large bookstore operating nine stores in Toyama Prefecture. They approached us with a project to create gift boxes with pop-up cards to convey ‘gratitude’ to the recipients. However, designing and producing pop-up cards require extensive knowledge and experience ranging from intricate design to printing and processing. They found us while searching for the ideal partner for this task.

The background of the consultation

Among the services offered by Bunendo Shoten, there is a donut specialty shop called WellWellDoughnut.
The person in charge expressed a desire to create pop-up card gift boxes to add value to the donut packaging.

Upon further discussion, it was revealed that while there is 100% confidence in the taste and quality of the donuts, there is a concern about differentiation from other donut offerings. Therefore, the idea of producing gift boxes with pop-up cards was considered to add value to the packaging.

At first, they consulted with a packaging production company they were doing business with, but it turned out they couldn’t produce pop-up cards. So, they contacted us through our website ‘Shikakegami’.

The concept of the pop-up gift box

The concept behind the pop-up gift box, as envisioned by the responsible party, was to convey ‘gratitude.’ For example, whether it’s for a birthday celebration, a long-awaited reunion, or perhaps for Mother’s Day, the idea was to offer this gift box as a means to express gratitude for various occasions that occur throughout the year. The hope was for people to pick up this gift box as one way to convey their appreciation in everyday situations.

In the West, there has long been a culture of ‘expressing emotions through beautiful things,’ fostering the tradition of giving bouquets as a non-verbal communication of respect and gratitude, often conveyed through the language of flowers.

So, the pop-up card section was decided to be themed around ‘flowers’ with the intention of conveying the often difficult-to-express feelings of ‘thank you’.

Considering the specifications

At first glance, you might expect delicious donuts, but in fact, a breathtaking bouquet pop-up card appears. For this, it was necessary to design luxurious and beautiful cards that could convey feelings of gratitude in everyday life.

However, the more luxurious the design, the more complex the production becomes, leading to increased costs. Therefore, it was necessary to consider designs and specifications that balance luxury with cost-effectiveness. Additionally, it was important to ensure that the gift was not just handed over but could also be ‘cherished for a long time’.

There are also other reasons for choosing the flower motif. Some people cannot display fresh flowers due to allergies, or there are places where hygiene issues prevent them from being displayed. However, with paper, such issues can be avoided. We also consider environmental considerations, including the recyclability of materials.

The production challenges

The transportation cost was a major challenge in production. Integrating the box with the pop-up card meant that the box also had to be assembled and delivered. The size of the gift box is quite large, measuring 400×220×60mm, which incurs significant transportation costs.

So, we decided to specifically handle the production of the pop-up cards only, and instead of integrating them with the box, we chose to ship them in a folded state to reduce costs. By allowing the cards to be displayed separately from the box, we believe it was a good solution for the ‘cherish for a long time’ method.

Collaboration with pop-up artists

We decided to enlist the expertise of Hiromi Takeda, a leading figure in creating flower pop-up cards, for the design of the pop-up section. Takeda studied under the renowned British pop-up artist Keith Moseley and is particularly well-known internationally for her flower-themed pop-up cards.

She is currently one of the leading young pop-up artists in Japan, possessing extensive experience, solid technical skills, and creativity.”

We have been collaborating with her for over 10 years now, and she not only focuses on the visual beauty but also considers factors like ease of assembly in her designs. This is incredibly helpful for us on the production side.

The finished product is here

We managed almost all stages of the process, from identifying the challenges, proposing specifications, progressing with design and development based on that information, to finally handling printing, processing, and assembly. Thanks to the careful and thorough approach, we believe the end result is of extremely high quality.

I purchased one of the gift boxes with donuts inside to see it for myself at a later date. When I opened the box, I was amazed by the beauty of the pop-up card. Upon opening it further, I was surprised to find that there were as many as 10 donuts inside! What I received had a fluffy texture with a perfect balance of fruity acidity and the sweetness of the donuts, making it incredibly delicious.

You can currently purchase the donut sets with gift boxes on the Bunendo Shoten website. Given that the store inventory is also limited, sales are likely doing well. With Mother’s Day approaching, some might consider giving this gift box instead of a bouquet as a way to express gratitude for the everyday.

We have handled numerous pop-up greeting cards in the past. Even for companies without prior production experience, we possess the expertise to translate your ideas into tangible results. If you’re interested in making pop-up cards but don’t know where to start, feel free to consult with us. We provide services through our specialized pop-up card department, ‘Shikakegami’.