What sets quality, memorable packaging apart from run-of-the-mill alternatives? Read on as we share 6 unique facets of topnotch product packaging.
In a space cluttered with products in virtually every imaginable category, what sets things apart for customers is custom product packaging.
Packaging is really a customer’s first introduction to items that may have been previously unnoticed.
Given the critical importance of packaging, it is only appropriate that we look at 6 of its vital characteristics which render it remarkable and impressive.
Great packaging is invariably one which is attractive in nature.
There is no one single factor that makes packaging attractive. Rather, it is an amalgamation of aspects such as:
The key here is eye-catching and unique packaging which stands out, even at a cursory glance.
When you imagine shelf space in department stores – where items jostle among themselves to be noticed by customers, the one thing that will catch their attention would be the items’ well designed retail packaging.
It is invaluable for packaging to be informative in nature. In many places, it is mandatory by law for certain items to clearly depict requisite information. The harm and/or risk carried by smoking is one such glaring instance, mandated in most places around the world, on cigarette packaging.
Similarly, there are other items, food products for example. Besides essential information such as manufacturing and expiry dates, in many places, they are required to clearly inform customers about the number of calories they contain, the amount of sugar in them, and so on.
On this front, customer preferences have also played a huge part in the extent to which information made available on product packaging has evolved over time.
An attractive or informative package design should not come in the way of convenience.
Whether it is from the factory onto wholesalers, and then to distributors and retailers, and finally to end customers, packaging must be convenient, every step of the way.
Convenience on this front involves the ease with which items are moved around, from one location to another, as indicated above. It also entails the ease with which items are stored in the interim. This includes the comfort with which items are displayed on retail shelves.
All items require at least some amount of protection, as they move from one location to another. In some cases – think glass items, consumer durables, and so on, that requirement is incrementally higher.
Great packaging is unequivocally meant to protect the items contained in it. So, if it is a big, flat-screen television for example, its packaging must be such that the TV remains protected, right from the moment it leaves the factory – till the time it reaches its end customer’s premises.
By now, you have figured out that great packaging must be attractive, informative, convenient, and protective.
This is effortlessly achieved by implementing best business practices, already being followed diligently by others in the fray.
Essentially, while packaging needs to be looked at as a “cost of doing business”, savvy enterprises always look at intuitive ways to add the cost of packaging to the final retail price paid by end customers, such that it does not hurt their bottom line.
No, this is not a passing fad where environmental consciousness is the “in thing”.
Rather, it is very clearly the need of the hour. If you look at environmental pollution around you, chances are particularly good that product packaging forms an integral part of it. Take the plastic trash plaguing our oceans as an apt example; much of it is product packaging that has ended up in the seas.
From manufacturer’s perspective, it is about the extent to which they can come up with eco-friendly packaging. It is also about the steps they take to inform and educate customers about recycling packaging in the most environmentally friendly way possible.
Kirsten Crisostomo is a freelance copy and content writer based in Vancouver, BC.
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