Packaging

The Importance of Being Earnestly Packaged

Without due consideration given to packaging, some products will inevitably fall flat in consumers’ eyes.  Certainly the product’s contents have to be worthy of consumption but if the packaging doesn’t appeal to the eyes, there’s very little chance of them getting the opportunity to appeal to the tastebuds.  Consumer buying decisions are made within ten seconds of laying eyes on a product. You have precious little time to sell your delicious, lovingly-crafted gourmet food product. 

How can you do things differently?

Think of Pringles.  Chips have forever been sold in bags, and then here was a product that was sold in a cylinder, and all the chips were uniformly sized and shaped.  Packaging innovation is rarely lost on consumers.  The novelty factor alone can prompt a purchase; square packs when round packs are most common, bottles instead of cans and boxes instead of packets all stand out from the crowd on store shelves.

Appeal to the sustainability audience

British supermarket chain Tesco recently conducted a six-week experiment in which they invited customers to discard any packaging that they deemed to be excessive, into special ‘bins’ near the checkouts.  Your efforts to reduce packaging, and to use recycled or recyclable materials will not go unnoticed by supporters of the sustainability movement, and will likely score you major brownie points with these consumers.  Others, however, will prefer their packaging to feature plenty of product information and a legible list of ingredients and allergens, so a considered balance is advised. 

Entice, surprise and delight

So you have a new product to introduce to the market. What can you do to make a big splash of a first impression?  Aside from publicity stunts and taste tests, your packaging has to stand alone. It has to attract the eye, compel the consumer to examine it, and deliver your brand message. That’s a big ask. Aim to entice, surprise and delight and you’ll win over the consumer.

·       Use an unexpected colour combination.

·       Integrate a transparent window in a box, through which the food is visible.

·       Use minimalist or zero wording on the front-facing panel. 

The ‘bigger’ picture for your retailers

Amongst the range of ideas to pursue in your shelf-ready packaging, you’ll also need to consider bulk packaging so that your products are delivered, stored and unpacked from pallets, cases or cartons that are practical and compact.  Naturally, the wholesale end of the packaging considerations needn’t be quite so aesthetically-oriented, since practicality is far more important.  Before making any final decisions on individual pack shape and size, plan how it will fit as a consignment of bulk units, and how convenient it will be for your retailer to store and access. 

Satisfying the needs of end users serving consumers

And there’s one other vital consideration when designing your packaging; a third element that will need to be entirely different.  If you plan to pitch your every day or gourmet food products to hotels, restaurants and other food service businesses, you need packaging that will be almost entirely focused on the practical, rather than the aesthetic.  Chefs and kitchen hands will be far less interested in how pretty and well-designed your labelling is, and far more intent on being able to easily open a jar to scoop out the contents, or slice open a bulk box to unload the contents on to a work surface.

The packaging of your food product is as important as the ingredients it contains.  There is a lot to contemplate, but executed correctly, packaging can be the make or break of your entire range.

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