SUGARFIX by BaubleBar Packaging

In 2017, BaubleBar launched a collaborative online and in-store partnership with Target. It was called SUGARFIX, a collection of accessibly priced accessories that Target shoppers could scoop up alongside their groceries, cosmetics, and front-of-store Starbucks order.

By the time I arrived at BaubleBar in 2019, the SUGARFIX line was a major success. The BaubleBar wholesale team worked closely alongside Target on the line’s product development, and the marketing team supported their endeavors with occasional social features and email plugs.

In 2020, BaubleBar’s ecommerce channel launched a line of novelty earrings (think dangly charcuterie boards, studded sushi rolls, and tiny ice cream trucks). For that specific collection, marketing leaders hoped to create a unique packaging experience that spoke to both the product and our brand voice. The intention was for these earrings to be immediately “giftable,” requiring no wrapping in addition to the product itself.

One of BaubleBar’s co-founders asked me to lead the copy development for this packaging project. I ended up writing unique copy that sat on the carding for each set of earrings, which is the piece of packaging that earrings are bolted to when you first purchase them. The earrings sat in a box, and when it was opened, you’d be greeted with a fun sentence or two about your new accessory.

This copy soon caught the eye of the Target team, who had their own line of novelty earrings in development. They approached us and asked if I would write similar copy for their earring carding.

This project presented a unique challenge, since I didn’t work directly for Target — meaning that I had to satisfy BaubleBar’s brand voice needs while also staying within the parameters of Target’s editorial guidelines. Additionally, I needed to make the copy particularly eye-catching, as the Target team was interested in driving in-store engagement with the product.

For close to three years at BaubleBar, I ideated and wrote the copy that sat on all of SUGARFIX by BaubleBar’s earring carding (in every Target location across the U.S.). Soon, thanks to great sales results, the packaging concept expanded to other product categories, including necklaces and bracelets. Our strategy also drove significant in-store engagement and a noticeable uptick in SUGARFIX UGC — specifically images that showed Target customers shopping the collection in person.

Eventually, I also trained and oversaw another copywriter in the development of this packaging.

This was probably one of my most rewarding projects to date. There’s nothing quite like taking a quick trip to Target and getting to see your own words.

Here are some images that SUGARFIX customers snapped while shopping the collection in-store: