How to choose the right packaging for your products? 5 criteria
2019-05-17
We say “yes” to packaging if it is:
1. Convenient
There are some true work–of-art jars worth creating a special cosmetic brand just for them, but the algorithm mostly works in a different sequence. So the first requirement for packaging is still not design, but convenience for the manufacturer, the seller, if it is an individual, and the final consumer of cosmetics. The rule is simple: it must be easy to put given product into it during production and then easily give it away to use; it has to fit to the line, the box, the shelf of the warehouse and the store, the bag and the dressing-table. In a perfect world, it should also be re-usable. If a liquid soap bottle can be re-filled from a stand-up pouch or a bigger bottle with more modest design – then it’s a good liquid soap bottle.
There are some true work–of-art jars worth creating a special cosmetic brand just for them, but the algorithm mostly works in a different sequence. So the first requirement for packaging is still not design, but convenience for the manufacturer, the seller, if it is an individual, and the final consumer of cosmetics. The rule is simple: it must be easy to put given product into it during production and then easily give it away to use; it has to fit to the line, the box, the shelf of the warehouse and the store, the bag and the dressing-table. In a perfect world, it should also be re-usable. If a liquid soap bottle can be re-filled from a stand-up pouch or a bigger bottle with more modest design – then it’s a good liquid soap bottle.
2. Aesthetically pleasing
You don’t actually need a catalogue to define whether your product needs a bottle, a jar or a tube – that’s just a matter of common sense and engineering. When it goes to aesthetics, well, it’s time when eyes make the choice. Shape, color, matt or glossy surface, décor possibilities – all this is a base to attract attention, boost desire, and retain demand and social media engagement. And here is a simple rule to follow: when choosing among design options, let the eyes and fingers choose, but make sure that it’s consumers’ choice.
3. Cost effective
It is crucial to keep balance between design of the dream dispenser and the price that consumers are ready to pay for the product. It’s not just about the nominal cost of the packaging, but also the following expenses coming from transportation and warehousing. For brand existing mainly in the e-commerce dimension, there are also potential losses caused by delivery issues. Especially when choosing more sophisticated packaging design.
4. Protective
Even the most refined bottle of the world won’t assure a sustainable sales growth if it doesn’t preserve the content. This is what packaging is made for – to save and transport goods. If it doesn’t protect given product from the air, dust, humidity, germs, leakages and drying out, it’s not performing its initial function. It’s not always a matter of poor quality or the manufacturer’s shortcoming – in many cases the problem is in a mismatch between packaging and content. So, when thinking about reliability of the packaging, your main bother is whether the formula’s density, volatility or oiliness is compatible with the bottle or the jar.
5. Communicative.
There are two levels on which packaging communicates with consumers: factual and sensual. Factual is general information about the product’s physical features (ingredients, body, intended use etc.). The other level is more subtle and is all about brand communication: positioning, traditions, mission and values of the brand. In a nut shell, just the fact that the product goes in an amber-glass pharmaceutical bottle may tell half of the story to a customer passing by the shelf several meters away and not even descrying the text and image on the bottle’s label.
The whole algorithm is just an approach that has proven itself many times. These 5 “filters” work best when following each other in the order suggested in this article.There are two levels on which packaging communicates with consumers: factual and sensual. Factual is general information about the product’s physical features (ingredients, body, intended use etc.). The other level is more subtle and is all about brand communication: positioning, traditions, mission and values of the brand. In a nut shell, just the fact that the product goes in an amber-glass pharmaceutical bottle may tell half of the story to a customer passing by the shelf several meters away and not even descrying the text and image on the bottle’s label.
