It’s been said before, and it’s still true now: the right product packaging can make a world of difference when it comes to the success of your product. Even if you think you may have the best product, it won’t make much of a difference if your product’s packaging doesn’t grab the attention of consumers. The right product packaging can essentially make or break your product. Are you in the process of creating packaging for your product? Here are some essential pointers you should remember for brilliant product packaging.
Make it clear and simple
When you visit a supermarket, take a closer look at the products on the shelves. Look at the packaging and try to determine what the product is for and what its brand is. You may be surprised to learn that finding out what a product is for and determining its brand is not as easy as you may think. The average consumer will only glance at a product for 4 seconds before they make a choice whether to buy it or put it back on the shelf. Make your product packaging clear and simple – make the product easily identifiable and appropriate to its packaging. Think, for instance, of laundry detergent similar in look and packaging to kids’ fruit juice drinks, and you get the point.
Be honest
It’s important to be honest. Whilst it’s only normal to want to make sure that your product looks good, your packaging should not mislead consumers. If you try to depict your product on the packaging in an attractive way and the actual product doesn’t live up to the picture, you will end up disappointing your customers. Of course, the packaging doesn’t always conform to the actual product’s look – but try not to make it too different to the point that the customer doesn’t recognise your product anymore.
Focus on being unique
Being different from the rest is easier said than done, but it can be done. The best way you can be different when it comes to product packaging is to assess your competitors’ packaging. If you have to compete with a good number of other brands, look at what everyone else is doing. If everyone else uses photographs, why not make use of an illustration? If everyone else is taking advantage of a layout that’s horizontal, why not go vertical? What’s important is to stand out and be unique; be different from the rest.
You can also find out what the rest of the industry is doing; the packaging industry has evolved a lot over the years, and trends come and go. To gain an edge, do your own research – or rely on research from professionals, such as NOA, which produces packaging industry analyses and reports for markets in the UK, Europe, and the rest of the world.
Image attributed to Pixabay.com