How Mr. Beast realized he needed a Packaging Engineer

If you have a kid between the ages of 5 and 18 or you’ve spent any time on YouTube, you’ve likely heard of Jimmy Donaldson, a.k.a. Mr. Beast. Known for his extravagant, larger-than-life videos and philanthropic efforts—like the time he helped 1,000 blind people see for the first time—Mr. Beast has more subscribers on YouTube than anyone in the world, racking up 368 million subscribers since he first launched his channel in 2012.

Aside from his infamous stunts and challenges, Mr. Beast also launched Feastables in 2022—a chocolate and snack brand known for its ethical sourcing and GenZ-styled branding. Despite Donaldson’s success on YouTube, he has been transparent about the challenges associated with launching a successful food and snack brand, speaking to those challenges on a recent Diary of a CEO Podcast episode.

About his difficulty with the packaging for the Mr. Beast Bar and other products, Mr. Beast stated:

“I also didn’t know there’s a thing called a ‘Package Engineer.’ One thing that was BRUTAL, like the worst thing I ever did in my life, is my original chocolate box. If this was sitting on a shelf, when you grab this one (the first bar), the rest would all slide forward, and they would fall out of the box. Or the box would fall off the shelf because of the weight, because there wasn't a right balance at the bottom. And the flaps here didn’t used to be a thing, these were open and so they would fall out. And then the bars, because we didn’t have the natural breakpoints, would shatter like glass.”

Take a look at this video to gain a full understanding of the dilemma Mr. Beast faced with his first attempt at on-shelf packaging for his product.

And here’s a picture of his chocolate bars on the shelf:

As you can see, the Mr. Beast Bars on the left are falling forward in the way Donaldson describes in the quote. After reassessing the packaging design and expanding his packaging team, Mr. Beast changed the display packaging to function in a completely different way. The picture below shows how the bars are no longer falling forward to shatter on the ground below, and they look appealing on the shelf as intended.

The new packaging contains flaps that prevent the bars from falling forward, ensuring that the primary packaging is visible to consumers regardless of how many bars have been grabbed from the shelves.

Along with the changes to the display (secondary) packaging, Feastables also changed the design of the primary packaging for Mr. Beast Bars in February of 2024. Below is a before and after picture of the change:

Once Mr. Beast realized the importance of ergonomic, shelf-friendly packaging, Feastable’s uploaded a job posting to LinkedIn for a Packaging Engineer based out of Chicago.

In the job posting, Feastables states:

“As a Packaging Engineer at Feastables, you will play a crucial role in the development and implementation of innovative and sustainable packaging solutions that align with our brand values and meet our product requirements. You’ll work closely with cross-functional teams, including Marketing, Operations, and Supply Chain to ensure seamless integration of packaging solutions into our product launches and supply chain processes. We’re looking for an expert with strong technical skills, a deep understanding of packaging materials and processes, and a passion for design and creativity.”

Packaging is powerful. We love how transparent Mr. Beast has been about not knowing that packaging engineering exists and is a field of study. But he experienced firsthand the importance of designing packaging to serve as “the silent salesperson” on store shelves, as packaging is often the last chance to make an impression on consumers and influence a sale. Packaging is such a broad field and there’s so much to learn. It’s one of the main reasons Packaging School exists!

Learn more about packaging design

Just as Mr. Beast is known for his challenges . . . we here at the Packaging School challenge YOU to reassess your packaging designs and head into the retail environments your products are sold in to assess your packaging’s effectiveness. You might be surprised! 

Interested in designing ergonomic, shelf-ready packaging that drives sales and protects your products? Check out our online micro-learning courses here!