5 dos and don’ts when designing a food package
The food retail industry accounts for almost $ 600 billion in the US alone If we take into account the size of the market in countries like India and China, the numbers will grow at least 3-5 times. Getting the right packaging for products is essential for all companies. After all, it is the packaging that serves as the best form of visual in-store communication for consumers that can help retain old customers and convert new ones. So the dos and don’ts of food packaging design that can make a difference for a brand? Let’s find out.
Simplicity is never overrated
The average shopper has an attention span of about 4 seconds while browsing the products on the store shelf. Can your product packaging grab your attention in that short amount of time? If you do it right, yes, you can.
In a store, when your consumer is likely to be bombarded with multiple options from your competitors, use a label that offers both form and function, and provides the right amount of product detail for consumers to make an informed decision in favor of your product becomes critical to the success of your product.
Don’t go overboard with graphics, fonts, or even minimalism on your packaging. Remember, the main goal is to attract consumers to your product and help them make an informed decision, and not to make a style statement on the store shelf.
Honesty and reliability
When you sell processed fruit juices loaded with preservatives, sugar, and some percentage of fruit pulp, and your product packaging says it is fresh fruit juice, that misleads consumers into thinking that they are buying something that is in reality is not.
While this is an extreme case, being honest with consumers can go a long way toward earning their respect and brand loyalty. Your product packaging is the medium that communicates this honesty to them. Honest product packaging gives product reliability and functions as a key differentiator on store shelves.
Visual impact
The in-store experience is all about visual communication with consumers. However, inside a store, your product will not be alone on the shelves. It has to compete with other products to get the consumer’s attention. Products on store shelves are always arranged in rows and columns, to which is added the distance from the shelves and the relevance of the package design.
Test your product packaging by placing it on a shelf with other similar products to verify the visual impact it has on consumers. The results will surprise you. It is often seen that the more intricate designs get lost on the shelf while the simpler ones emerge. This simple test can help you overcome this hurdle and ensure that your product is recording sales to your expectations.
Scalability
Always be on the lookout for the future. You may not have immediate plans to introduce a new variation to your product line, but that doesn’t mean your plans won’t change in the future.
Product packaging design should leave future options open and allow you to scale your product line without having to invest heavily in new packaging design. If you sell jams and decide to add a few more flavors to your product line, you shouldn’t have to reinvent your brand again. Additionally, this will allow you to maintain consistency in your brand presence across your entire product line and increase the visual impact on store shelves for your brand.
Practicality and sustainability in packaging
In the rush to look distinctive with design elements like patterns, graphics, and fonts on product packaging, don’t forget that the most critical function of packaging is to preserve food. Perishable items, in particular, should be shipped and stored in containers that allow for a longer shelf life of the product. Tried and tested design elements are always the safest bet for any product category. However, “tried and tested” leaves no room for innovation, and the fact is that there is a lot of room for innovation considering the practicality of product packaging.
Milk, for example, has been distributed to consumers in glass bottles for many decades with a limited shelf life and shelf life. But the tetra packs changed that, giving dairy farmers the opportunity to keep their product longer and distribute it to consumers in a wider market.
Plus, advances in packaging materials mean you have more options than ever before in selecting the right components for use in packaging design, in addition to traditional plastics, glass, aluminum, and cardboard. Sustainable packaging materials are no longer just industry buzzwords. Not only do they offer an improved shelf life of products, but they also guarantee a better return on investment, eliminate the possibility of toxicity and help reduce your carbon footprint.
In conclusion
Product packaging is the closest interaction between your brand and your consumers. It is the last line of communication with the consumer, your last chance to convince them to choose your product over the competition. Therefore, it would not be wrong to say that any product packaging design must be carefully executed with the target audience in mind. When your packaging can clearly communicate with consumers, you will have a winning product in your portfolio.