Marketing Through Custom Packaging: 3 Important Considerations

Standing out in a sea of similar products can be challenging for any brand, especially for new and small ones. Businesses need more than just great merchandise to catch consumers’ attention. They have to pay attention to their packaging too. That is because product packaging is also a critical part of marketing. Indeed, it is a brand’s last chance to pitch to the customers browsing shelves for goods before finalizing what to add to their basket or cart.

Moreover, products become memorable to consumers because of their packaging. And that may be enough to convince them to purchase that again. Pretty packaging may sound costly, but it drives returns. After all, 72 percent of US consumers make purchasing decisions based on a product’s packaging design.

What Is Product Packaging?

In a nutshell, the packaging is the material used to wrap or contain a product. It is used to identify or describe the product, and it offers protection to the product within. Moreover, packaging can serve as a display and promotional material and keep products clean and hygienic.

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Important Packaging Considerations

When deciding the packaging for products, there are important factors to consider, such as labeling, opening, the durability of the packaging, and the design relative to the size. There are other considerations as well, which we touch on below.

Sustainability

Consumer attitudes are constantly shifting, affecting how consumers see products or brands. The trends also affect consumers’ sensitivity regarding prices, the types of goods they invest in, and their concern for the environment.

While US consumers still consider price, brand, quality, and convenience as the primary factors affecting their buying decision, sustainability is also part of the equation. Over half of survey respondents expressed concern regarding the environmental impact of the products they use or think of purchasing. To that end, consumers are willing to shell out more bucks for green products.

Thus, what consumers want to see from brands are recyclable materials. In that case, businesses can look at recycled plastic packaging and more environmentally-friendly options such as biodegradable packaging.

Using sustainable packaging materials assures consumers of the brand’s commitment to helping the environment. This adds tremendous value to your brand, as it lets consumers know you care and are taking action to switch to green alternatives.

Hygiene and Safety

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers have become more conscious of the safety of brand packaging. Specifically, they are more critical of the hygiene of the packaging. They are equally keen on the safety of food products on the market too.

In that regard, consumers look forward to films around their food products. In particular, they want to see recyclable or compostable films. They expect to see more paper- and board-based packaging materials as well.

These preferences vary depending on the product category, though. Thus, businesses must stay in tune with the sentiments of their target market in this regard. Once they have identified the factors influencing their target consumers’ purchasing decisions concerning packaging, they can select from a wide variety of environmentally friendly, hygienic, custom packaging materials that showcase their product and brand story.

Color

When you browse store shelves for products, do you find yourself reaching for products with colors that pop? You are not alone because 75 percent of consumers make snap purchasing decisions based on color. It can be the packaging, or it can be the product itself.

Choosing the right color for packaging enables buyers to recognize brands easily, differentiating them from each other. In that case, businesses need to select a color palette that allows customers to identify them with ease and set them apart from the competition. Moreover, the right mix of colors helps create an identity unique to the brand.

It is also important to note that businesses need to be mindful of the emotions they want to evoke when selecting colors—and, of course, the preferences of their target market. For example, males tend to lean toward bold hues while females pick out products with colors on the softer side.

To give you an idea, red, yellow, green, and pink have been identified as the most catchy colors. However, that does not mean that you should only stick to those colors. After all, for a brand to stand out, a great mix of colors is necessary.

Other Things to Remember

Apart from those listed above, there are other packaging considerations that businesses need to take into account. One of them is the ease of storage. While it is a great idea to have unique product packaging shapes, it can also be difficult for consumers (and even distributors) to store them. Therefore, businesses need to consider how well their products can be stored or stacked despite having unique packaging.

Another is the text. As in business correspondences, there are certain font styles to veer away from lest one is perceived to be unprofessional. The same principle applies to packaging design; crowded text may turn off customers. Instead, businesses can consider displaying their logos prominently and choose only essential information to print on the packaging. If there is a need, they can include an insert to provide more information to consumers. Printing QR codes on the packaging is a great way to make information accessible without crowding text too.

One more thing to consider is the security of the product. Brands need to think about how to ensure their products are not easy to tamper with. And in the case of tampering, there should be safeguards that indicate it. With the right packaging, you are doing more than just containing your product. You are giving your products a greater shot at getting selected and bought.