Ready meals
Cartons and sleeves over trays, with the serving shot, portion and cooking method up front.
Frozen food packaging design.
Packaging for frozen ready meals, desserts, vegetables, seafood and seasonal ranges. Designed for the freezer, where packs are seen through frosted glass, stacked on their side and chosen in the few seconds a shopper holds the door open.
What makes frozen food packaging different?
Frozen food packaging design is the design of cartons, sleeves, printed bags and tray lids for frozen ready meals, desserts, vegetables, seafood, pastry and seasonal ranges sold through supermarket freezers.
The freezer is the hardest fixture in the store to shop. Doors fog, packs frost over, and shoppers decide fast with the door open. A frozen pack has to read through glass and frost, show the food honestly when it cannot be seen, and carry storage and cooking instructions that matter for food safety.
Before founding Morice&Co., Morice Kastoun designed the Coles Christmas-themed frozen meals, about 15 SKUs: a seasonal range that had to feel festive and still sit inside the retailer's own-brand system.
00Our position
Design for the door, not the screen.
Test the front through fogged glass and at a metre. Big, simple shapes and a strong colour block survive; fine detail and pale tints disappear.
The serving image is the product.
Shoppers cannot see a frozen meal. The photography has to be appetising and honest about what is in the carton.
Cooking instructions are part of the design.
Clear, numbered oven and microwave steps reduce complaints and repeat-purchase failure. Give them space and hierarchy.
01What we design
Frozen formats we design.
Freezer packs are printed, folded, frosted and handled cold. Each format has its own limits.
Seasonal and limited ranges
Christmas and occasion ranges that feel special for six weeks and still sit in the brand system.
Frozen vegetables and fruit
Resealable and pillow bags, where variety and use are clear and a window or honest image shows the product.
Desserts and ice cream
Tubs, cartons and multipacks where indulgence sells and flavour systems carry the range.
Seafood and protein
Cartons and bags where species, cut, origin and cooking from frozen are the questions to answer.
Pastry and party food
Large-format cartons for the entertaining occasion, with servings and oven times clear.
02The rules
What a frozen food label has to carry.
Frozen food follows the same Food Standards Code as any packaged food. Storage and preparation information carries more weight here, because safety depends on it.
Storage conditions
The label must state any storage conditions the food needs to keep until its date (Standard 1.2.6). For frozen food that means keep frozen, usually with the temperature.
Directions for use
Cooking or thawing instructions where the food needs them for health or safety: cook from frozen, cook until piping hot, do not refreeze once thawed.
Date marking
A best-before date, unless the shelf life is two years or more. Use by applies where eating the food after the date would be a safety risk.
Allergens, PEAL format
Bold allergens in the ingredient list and a separate Contains statement. Ready meals often carry several, so the block needs room.
Nutrition and Health Star Rating
A nutrition information panel per serve and per 100 g. The HSR is voluntary today, but FSANZ's draft mandate would require the stars on the front, and on a freezer door that means it must read through frost.
Country of origin
Frozen meals and vegetables are priority foods: the standard mark with the kangaroo and bar chart, or the imported-food text where it applies.
04Pricing
What it costs.
Simple, honest pricing with no surprises. A written proposal within five working days of a first conversation.
$150/hr
One rate, every project
Every project is calculated at $150 an hour + GST. The rate reflects the time it takes to deliver strategically sound, expertly crafted work, and the quote is fixed against a written scope before anything starts.
From $3,500
Existing brand: packaging
You have a brand and need the pack. Most single-pack projects start here: concepts, refinement and print-ready artwork. Ranges are scoped to the number of SKUs.
$5k–$10k
Start-ups and new brands: branding and identity
Branding comes first. The packaging is built on it, so the two go hand in hand. Start-up branding typically sits at $5k to $10k: strategy up front, category analysis and audits, and three to five concepts, each with a clear purpose, exploring every opportunity to launch on a sound, winning formula. Includes all logo files and a mini style guide. Packaging is then scoped on top.
Have a budget?
Tell us and we'll work to it
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05Client words
In their own words.
“I've worked with Morice for over 10 years. He combines strategic thinking with outstanding design craft, understands the brief, the brand and the business goal, and delivers work that is polished, on-brand and effective.”
Nathan Caston, Marketing Manager · NKA
“Morice is simply elite. If you're looking for a designer who actually gets your brand, not someone who makes things look pretty, he's your guy. Sharp, clean work delivered without the usual back-and-forth drama.”
Beau London, Founder · frasé skin