Tang, the orange-like drink mix that will not die, continues to defy the odds in a saturated beverage market. It has even gotten a recent packaging overhaul to reintroduce the brand in North America.

Design firm Streng, explains the design criteria for the redo:

• Product use must engage sensory experiences through a means that creates positive associations with the use of the product and brand.
• Product presence must evoke an anticipatory response in consumers.
• Product should impart a sense of comfort in a new experience at the point of sale.
• Product should be visually iconic in form, color and graphic elements.
• Product solutions are expected to leverage additional opportunities related to manufacturing, distribution, retail presentation or process that offer positive market benefits.

Agency speak to English translation:

• Squeeze the last remaining drops from Tang’s tie-in to the once mystical concept of space travel — the one thing that saved Tang from disappearing completely after it originally bombed as a breakfast drink.
• Further reinforce that Tang was once the U.S. astronaut’s drink of choice by stamping each lid with Neil Armstrong’s footprint. This is also to remind consumers that man once stepped foot on a soundstage resembling the moon.

Don’t get me wrong… The new design is pretty sweet, and a giant leap for packaging design. Tang however, is still a small step for beverage kind.

[via Lovely Package]