Source: https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/315040936419415700/

With tight competition in the retail industry, businesses need to find a way for their products to stand out on the shelves. The key influencing factor in driving sales is to have a successful packaging. Take food product packaging for example.

Food packaging can help your consumers easily identify your products. This principle is also referred to as package graphics design. Most often, this will include the product’s nutritional labeling.

Moreover, the rising popularity of shopping groceries online is forcing many brands to reassess how they design their food product packaging. This is to maximize the impact of their products’ appearance on the small screens of their consumers’ gadgets.

So to help packagers on how to create a successful food packaging, we have listed 5 things to consider in the design process. Let us start off with why food packaging is important in the next section.

Purposes of Food Packaging

Aside from consumers identifying your products, food packaging is also designed for the following:

• To extend your products’ shelf lives.
• To protect the food and drinks from the outside environment.
• To enhance your consumers’ convenience in consuming your products.
• To help in promoting your products.
• To help in persuading consumers to purchase your products.

Let us now proceed with the things you need to consider when designing a food or drink product packaging.

#1 Shelf Impact

Brands and designers are not the only people who think about the design of food packaging. Food retailers, such as grocery stores, always think about it too. They even pay close attention to how they display the products on the shelves. This is known as shelf impact. 

Grocers who consider the placement of products will look at how various packaging designs will look together. Not only this, but they will also notice the patterns the product placement creates. When retailers place specific products side-by-side, the packaging’s appearance can change. 

Also, rows of product labels can make different packaging blend with each other. This can make many details crowded on the product’s other side unnoticeable. But, it is different if your product’s packaging design has its own way of standing out from the other products. It can catch your consumers’ attention and they are more likely to pick your product up and read the label.

#2 Authenticity

When designing your product’s packaging, always make sure to keep the consistency of your design with your brand. For instance, vibrant colors will feel fake and inappropriate for brands that are more sensible and natural.

Meanwhile, always watch what your competitors are up to. If you notice that you are not the only one whos brand is earthy and natural, you can add other colors to your design. This can help your products stand out from that of your competitors.

Uniqueness within your brand’s context is among the best methods to make your consumers feel as if they are specifically buying from you.

#3 Clarity

Consumers will always buy the things they need when buying food. So unless your product’s packaging catches their attention, they will just choose the products they really need. But, the majority of packaging designs often makes the selection process difficult.

For instance, there are many varieties of juices – kid’s juices, healthy juices, sugary juices, etc. And all of these are usually displayed on a single shelf. So if you sell kid’s juices, you need to vary your product’s design from the other types of juices. If not, consumers can become frustrated because of the blended packaging.

The main point is, when your consumers understand your product and brand, then you have a successful product packaging design.

#4 Integrity

Consumers will only buy products from a brand they trust. The majority of this trust keeps your product’s integrity intact. Whilst most brands edit their product’s images for the sake of packaging, other brands dramatically alter how their products actually look.

This is problematic for various reasons. Worst is, it can create a misleading expectation that the products are never going to meet. Consumers can get upset when your products do not look the same as in the promised picture on the packaging. This will make them turn to other brands that sell similar products.

But, this does not mean that you should not edit the images of your products. What we are trying to say is to be careful of false advertisements on your product’s packaging.

#5 Versatility

It is also important that your food products’ packaging designs are versatile. The reason why many products on the shelves have grown rapidly is that brands continue expanding their lines of products. You can easily do this with food and drink products by adding new flavors.

But, many expansions will also call for different label designs for each of your products which is challenging and confusing. So you need to make your packaging designs adaptable to various products before you can say that you created a successful packaging.

Conclusion

You can only create successful packaging designs when you have a defined formula. The best food packaging designs can serve as templates in keeping consistency within your product lines. May it be in the colors or layout you use.

But, do note that not only the packaging design affects your brand’s effectiveness. The way your products are packaged in the production stage will also have an impact on the overall appearance of your packaging. This is crucial especially in filling beverages. So if you are looking for a reliable filling machine manufacturer, feel free to check out LPE’s can fillers.

______________________________________________________________________________

This is a guest post by Melissa