Steps to make your packaging process a full pack consumer driven-solution based brand practice.
Steps to make your packaging process a full pack consumer driven-solution based brand practice.
66% of consumers switch to new products because of packaging.
One of the most challenging aspects of branding is packaging design. Brands can find it challenging with changing consumer behavior, complex steps, techniques, and sustainability. Packaging design has evolved and has become a crucial element of your product; in fact, creative packaging design can influence consumers’ decisions. Growing concerns about environmental and health impacts have pushed packaging toward sustainable packaging.
Poor packaging, however, can hurt sales and result in lower quality products at higher costs.
It is not enough for packaging to look good; it must also protect products and influence consumers. Here are eight problems with your packaging process-
Sustainability is one of the top priorities for consumers. With the Covid-19, more awareness of the environment among the consumers, brands, and government.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board Report, out of 660,787 tonnes of plastic waste produced in 2019, 43% is packaging waste, and most are single-use plastic. Another report for Shopify shows that 77% of consumers are concerned about the environmental impact.
Today, brands act upon this, and many have clear KPIs to switch to sustainable packaging material. But, what are the issues with sustainable packaging?
Sustainable reusing and recycling packaging requires extensive research, testing, and money. In contrast, some packaging is easy to recycle but is not as durable as others. On the other hand, you might not easily recycle your durable packaging.
Here are some issues with the sustainable packaging-
In short, obtaining the proper packaging quality, durability, and sustainability is hard without adequate research.
The vast expansion of e-commerce presents new challenges in designing durable packaging to protect products as they travel further, more comprehensive, and longer.
With the rise in ecommerce shopping, the number of shipping products traveling through cross-border logistics networks has also increased. As they pass through several touchpoints, the risk of damaging the products and packaging also significantly rises.
1 out of 10 boxes becomes damaged during shipping, and 20% of ecommerce returns are because of damaged packages.
In the case of traditional retailers, a product travels from the manufacturing unit to the warehouse, then to the retailer and the consumer, which reduces the risk of packaging damage. But, for the ecommerce process, the journey is too long. The market requires protection without traditional packagings, such as air bubbles, pillows, and kraft papers. They cause heavy carbon footprints and environmental concerns.
For example, to protect your electronic goods, Aluminium barrier foil provides the required protection from the moisture and oxygen ingress when traveling. Similarly, fragile products like baked bread may require sturdy packaging to prevent crushing.
When consumers order something online, the product arrives in a giant box with unnecessary plastic wastage. There was a time when consumers would accept that, but today consumers are more environmentally conscious than before.
Unnecessary and excess packaging is a big turn-off for a lot of consumers. The challenge for brands is to design packaging that minimizes wastage and ensures protection.
A report from Clouder shows that 62% of respondents feel positive about a brand if it consciously cuts down the amount of unnecessary packaging.
Ideally, the box should be slightly larger than the item in the right-sized box. Brands can invest in designing and developing an attractive but minimalistic packaging design that doesn’t use much space.
It improves the end-user experience, and custom-sized packaging can reduce transit costs through more efficient use of space.
Transportation cost is based on either the size or weight of your packaging materials. So, reducing the size and weight is saving your back pocket.
Less weight means more delivery savings, and small size means more products on your shelves. For example, you can use a mailing bag for textiles and dry goods instead of a thick corrugated box.
Often, brands pack smaller products in large boxes, unnecessarily increasing space and shipping costs. Here are a few tips to minimize cost-
Shipping comes with unavoidable costs, and some changes in your packaging details can significantly reduce your shipping expenses.
Steve Jobs said, “Packaging can be a theatre, it can create a story.”
That simply means packaging should communicate your brand story that is clear, relevant, and understandable. Graphics that are unclear and don’t match a brand can be detrimental to sales, and customers might notice your brand product. The color, fonts, images, and words on your packaging can communicate with your customer. In contrast, a lack of clear fonts for the product name and the main description can cost money in lost sales and returns.
“There is an emotional element customers relate with the unboxing experience.” In recent years, unboxing has gone from a seasonal pleasure to a powerful ecommerce marketing tool.
Does a bad unboxing experience hurt your brand? The answer is pretty simple, Yes!
Suppose you were a customer and ordered something from an ecommerce store. What makes you feel more valuable: the parcel arrived in a generic cardboard box or attractive customized packaging.
The product is the same, but the packaging makes it different and apart. Research from Google shows that 62% of customers watch unboxing videos when they want to purchase.
Here are a few tips to enhance the unboxing experience:
New and inspiring ways to create an unboxing experience are essential to improve sales and branding.
With the unstable economic situation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the prices are high, and the packaging industry is not exempted.
But why are packaging prices rising?
The rise in online shopping pushed corrugate demand; on the other hand, the supply of packaging material is rising. This complex scenario of higher demand, capacity, and supply chain issues, together with the transportation cost, is boosting the uncertainty in the market.
Here are a few reasons that might affect the cost-
But, the question arises of how brands can address the rise in prices?
Here are some ways to address the rising price of packaging-
The prices might continue to increase; planning and following guidelines are more effortless ways to know how to address them.
The quality of a product’s packaging is often seen as an afterthought. However, this mistake can cost companies dearly, especially regarding food and beverage products. Often ecommerce sellers take the most cost-effective approach and buy packaging material in bulk. These materials are often low-quality and can be proved a costly mistake in the long run.
Low-quality packaging material is not only damaging to the environment, but it can also be dangerous to your products. Moreover, the quality of supplementary packaging items such as tape, foam rollers, and others can result in inadequate protection of your products. The consequences of low-quality material can help you save money and gain more profound profit for a short time, but it can hurt your brand's name and customer experience.
Therefore, brands need to use high-quality packaging materials to reduce the risk of returning a damaged product, reducing customer experience, and lowering the brand image.
Packaging challenges can come in many forms. And consumers pay attention to visual appearance, quality, and unboxing experience. Keep your labeling, fonts, and colors simple and informative that match your brand and avoid confusing your customers. Finding personalized and custom packaging for all your products can be tricky, especially when overcoming challenges.
Bizongo can help you with all the package designing problems that are cost-effective.
We are Desworks, the design arm of Bizongo. We design brands, packaging, products and have delivered 85+ successful projects in the last 5 years of our existence.
Our winning formula for brands, packaging has a mix of aesthetics, functionality, and experience.
We Bizongo Desworks are here to make your (brand, product & packaging) design work.