You’re in a supermarket and you want to purchase some roasted peanuts. You go to the aisle and you are met with a vast array of pouches with a variety of packaging and design. Some are bright, colourful and attractive and in good-looking packaging, like our spout pouch, while others are dull and forgettable. What are you more drawn to?
If you’re like most shoppers, you’ll be attracted to the colourful packaging with professional looking fonts and images inviting you to taste its wares. But it’s not just sight, but other senses as well, such as touch, that influence people to purchase.
Packaging is the first physical touchpoint between brand and customer. It’s come a long way from just being a form of protection to being an entire experience itself. Smart packaging influences trust, perception, and buying decisions.
What Is Good Packaging?
Good packaging and design is durable, functional, sustainable, and aesthetically pleasing. Aside from providing protection, it informs the consumer and promotes the brand. Imagine a packet of Lindt chocolate and another non-descript brand at the same price point. Which would you choose? Chances are you’ll choose the Lindt. That’s why we can say that the Lindt packaging is good.
Good packaging is:
Functional – It serves its purpose of properly protecting the product. It also conveys information such as ingredients, certifications, and more.
Visually appealing – Colours, shapes, and images all have an impact on our psyche. Brands that use the right colours and shapes have greater brand recall.
User-Friendly – Packaging that is easy to open, resealable, easy to carry, and easy to use in general is good packaging.
Brand-aligned – Every brand has its own identity and it’s important for them to communicate this through their packaging.
Then comes the materials used, the structure of the packaging, the quality of the print and usability.
Before Good Packaging – The Missed Opportunity
1) Generic or outdated designs
We’ve all seen cheap knock-offs of products or old-fashioned packaging design that scream ‘don’t pick me’.
2) Poor material quality or durability
Packaging that tears easily or isn’t durable is a failure from the get go. This happens when you use poor quality material that isn’t long lasting.
3) Inconsistent Branding
If all your products look different from each other, it’s confusing for the customer to make a purchase decision.
4) Hard To Use Formats
If your packaging requires tearing, resealing, or presents storage issues, it will discourage buyers from repeat purchases. In fact, if it’s too impractical, the entire product line may be called back.
Impact
Low Shelf Visibility – If your packaging falls into any of the above categories, it will have low visibility on the shelf compared to its competitor products. It will blend into the background.
Weak Brand Recall – Even if you have customers who want to purchase your product, weak brand recall would make it tough for them to remember it.
Reduced Perceived Value – No matter how good a product is, if its packaging is poor it will give the impression that its contents are of inferior quality as well.
Missed Repeat Purchases – Poor packaging means customers will not want to make repeat purchases due to poor quality, personal preference or weak brand recall.
After Good Packaging – The Transformation
Key Improvements
1) Thoughtful designs – Good designs that align with brand identity effectively communicate the brand’s values to its intended target audience.
2) High Quality Materials – When people purchase a product, they’re purchasing the packaging that it comes in as well. So use good materials that are of a high quality.
3) Clear Product Information – How you present the information to the viewer on the packaging also makes a difference.
4) Enhanced functionality – Try to make the packaging resealable, lightweight, and protective.
Impact
Strong shelf presence – Now your packaging looks good and attractive. It stands out amongst the clutter and catches attention with ease.
Improved customer experience – The entire experience of the customer has improved, right from the first sight and touch.
Higher perceived product value – The packaging echoes its content and creates a higher perceived product value.
Better brand positioning – Brands can now communicate their brand better thanks to better packaging.
Increased customer loyalty and repeat purchases – Good packaging inspires people to make repeat purchases.
The Business Impact of Good Packaging
Good packaging influences purchase decisions. It creates brand trust. Good packaging design also helps products stand out in the market. It’s also long-term brand equity. Therefore, investing in good packaging and design is exactly that – an investment, not a cost.
AVNFLEX – Helping Brands Get Packaging Right
We at AVNFLEX offer flexible and customisable packaging solutions. We’re innovative and also have quality controls in check. We believe in a collaborative style of working and understand the need of every brand that we work with. We also believe that great products deserve great packaging.
Looking to elevate your product through smarter packaging? AVNFLEX helps brands create packaging that protects, performs, and persuades. So reach out to us today.
