Does your main business involve shipping physical goods? Do you want memorable packaging? If not, then your business is missing out on a great opportunity to acquire new customers.
To break through the clutter of the hundreds of other competing products in this day and age, it pays to be different. Innovative and creative input in packaging can make your product stand out, build your brand, and add some personality to your business. Whether you sell offshore or in the local market customers will initially judge your product by its packaging.
So, how do you create memorable packaging? Here are some tips to help your product packaging grab the attention of customers and even delight them:
Focus on the design
Most businesses dealing in physical products think first about the product then packaging, but packaging should not be an afterthought. Some companies think of creative, playful design to give customers a clue to what’s inside the package.
For example, when Apple developed packaging for its iPads, it choose a life-size image of the product inside, and it’s exactly what the customers expect to get their hands on. It’s a simple and a great design on a product box that’s beautiful and customers don’t even have to hide it in the cupboard.
Add a fun, custom aspect
Fun packaging doesn’t just have to be for businesses selling to the kids. A more subtle and custom approach is, however, required when adding this aspect in packaging geared towards adult customers. The fun animals present on wine labels (frogs, swans, and other critters) show how businesses can stand out from more conventional wine labels.
Similarly, cardboard boxes can be customized with logos, artwork and colors in several different options depending on the needs of a business. Fun and creative boxes, combined with high-quality color definition and your firm’s logo printed, can create a memorable and friendly experience for end-customers.
Aim for sustainability and functionality
Make your customers feel good about their purchases by using sustainable material such as recyclable paper; this is also a great way to send an environmentally friendly message about your brand. For products that are themselves organic in nature, it is a must that their packaging should follow suit.
Customers also love packaging that’s functional because of the added value it provides. Boxerchips Co., a chip maker from Dublin, Ireland, makes its package open up to function as a serving bowl. Customers who have used the product inside are able to use these bowls for serving snacks and cereals to their family. This kind of packaging may not only give your product box a new function, but may also encourage repeat purchases.
Try something new
If you’re competing in an industry full of big players, you may need to try a new concept. For example, you can combine two concepts together to come up with a unique, eye-catching packaging. That’s what Anheuser Busch did by combining beer in aluminum cans and glass bottles – they created an aluminum bottle. It was eye-catching and 100 percent recyclable.
You can also look at the nature for inspiration when it comes to creating innovative packaging. Consider the pine cone, pea-pod, banana – nature’s packaging can be elegant and efficient. There are colors, concepts and shapes you can borrow from nature’s example.
