Elephant Design vs Almond Branding

Both are Mumbai design studios with strong packaging reputations, and they built them in different places. Almond Branding's work sits largely with established FMCG names competing on retail shelves. Thought Over Design's sits largely with D2C brands competing for attention online. The right choice depends on where your product is actually bought.

A note on method. This comparison is drawn from publicly available information, including both studios' own published work. Neither was interviewed for it, and neither had sight of it before publication. If either studio wants to correct or add anything, we will update the page and say we did.

The short version

Where each built its reputation

Almond Branding

Almond Branding has worked across a client list that reads like the Indian FMCG aisle: Amul, TATA, Parle, ITC, Dabur, Emami, Marico, Kellogg's, 3M and Maharishi Ayurveda.

That history shapes the work. Packaging for brands at that scale has to survive a crowded physical shelf, work across dozens of SKUs and sizes, print consistently at volume, and stay recognisable to customers who have bought it for twenty years.

They are recognised specifically for packaging that lifts brand recognition and retail visibility, with strength in premium and FMCG categories. They also state they work with startups on more cost-effective packaging, so the client list is not the whole picture.

What that suggests they are good at: structural and graphic decisions that hold up in retail, range architecture across many SKUs, and production realities at scale.

Thought Over Design

Thought Over Design was established in Mumbai in 2014 by Anushka Sani and now runs as a remote team across Mumbai and Goa. Their stated focus is challenger brands and entrepreneurs building new narratives in their categories.

Their named work includes Ugaoo, HK Vitals, Hocco and Nykaa. That is a D2C-native list: brands born online, discovered on a feed or a marketplace listing, sold without a shelf.

Their scope is broader than packaging. They describe building brands from research and strategy through identity systems, packaging, photography, film and websites. For Ugaoo that included campaign films and a launch photoshoot alongside the branding.

What that suggests they are good at: brand narrative, systems that work across digital touchpoints, and the content layer that D2C brands need and FMCG brands often buy elsewhere.

The distinction that actually matters

Not quality. Both are well regarded and both work across packaging and branding.

It is where your product competes.

If your product sells on a shelf, in general trade, modern trade or quick commerce with a physical pack, your packaging has to win against forty other packs at arm's length, print reliably at volume, and extend across sizes and variants. That is the problem Almond's client history is built around.

If your product sells online, discovered through a feed, a listing or a creator, your packaging is one part of a system that includes photography, film, the website and the unboxing. It has to read at thumbnail size and photograph well. That is the problem Thought Over's client history is built around.

Most brands eventually need both, which is why this is a question of sequence rather than a permanent choice. The question is which problem you have now.

Which fits which brief

That last row is the interesting one, and it is where a lot of Indian consumer brands now live. A pack that has to work on a shelf and as a 400-pixel image on a delivery app is a genuinely new brief, and it is worth asking any studio directly how they approach it.

What this comparison cannot tell you

Being clear about the limits, because they matter more than the table above.

• What it is like to work with them. We have not spoken to clients of either.

• What they charge. Neither publishes pricing, and we are not going to estimate it.

• Who would actually be on your account, which is the question that most determines how a project goes.

• Current capacity, which changes month to month.

• How they handle things going wrong, which is the real test of any studio.

Both studios publish their work. Look at it directly rather than taking a summary's word for it, and pick based on the projects that resemble your problem rather than the most impressive logo on the list.

Questions to ask both

Ask the same questions of each and compare the answers rather than the portfolios.

1. Who specifically would work on this, and what else are they on?

2. Show me work for a brand at my stage, not your largest client

3. Is my product's problem a shelf problem or a screen problem, and how would you approach it?

4. What is included, and what is separate? Photography, film, website, rollout

5. How many revision rounds before charges start?

6. What do I receive at handover, and at which payment milestone?

7. What would you decline to do for us?

Question three is the one that will tell you most, because it reveals whether they have understood your business or just your brief.

A note to both studios

If we have characterised your work incorrectly, or you would like to add pricing, process or client references to this page, tell us and we will update it. Corrections get made and noted.

hello@reborngoods.co

Or let us do it

We interview studios and record what they are actually strong at, including the categories they turn down. If neither of these is right for your brief, we will say so.

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FAQ

What is the difference between Thought Over Design and Almond Branding?
Both are Mumbai packaging and branding studios with strong reputations. Almond Branding's published client list is largely established FMCG, including Amul, Parle, ITC, Dabur and Kellogg's, and it is recognised for retail visibility and shelf presence. Thought Over Design, founded in 2014 by Anushka Sani, works largely with D2C and challenger brands including Ugaoo, HK Vitals, Hocco and Nykaa, with a scope extending to photography, film and websites.

Which is better for a D2C brand?
Thought Over Design's client history is D2C native, and their scope covers the content layer that online brands need alongside packaging. That said, Almond Branding states it works across D2C categories and with startups, so the honest answer is to brief both and compare how each frames your problem.

Which is better for retail packaging?
Almond Branding's history is built on brands competing on physical shelves across many SKUs and sizes, which is a distinct discipline involving range architecture and production consistency at volume. If your pack has to win at arm's length in a crowded aisle, that experience is directly relevant.

Do either publish their pricing? 
Neither publishes rates publicly. Indian boutique and mid-size studios typically fall in the ₹3 to ₹12 lakh range for a rebrand, but that is a market band rather than a quote from either studio, and scope drives the number far more than tier does.

How was this comparison put together? 
From publicly available information, including both studios' own published work and client listings. Neither studio was interviewed and neither reviewed the page before publication. Both have an open invitation to correct or add to it.

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