Food packaging helps protect food, keep it safe for the consumer and grab their interest so they purchase it in the first place. The food industry is a highly competitive landscape. If consumers do not trust the product to be safe, delicious and consistent, they will move on to a competitor.
Designing bright, colorful packages seems intuitive. You know you want to grab user attention. However, much more goes into excellent food packaging design than color theory. You must look at these factors to gain an edge and find a place in shoppers’ hearts.
1. Speak to Your Current Customers
Every business has some customer loss as people try your item and do not like it or prefer something else. The goal is to gain more customers than you lose each year. Know your industry’s average churn rate and strive to meet those standards at the minimum. CustomerGauge estimates a 60% churn rate for consumer packaged goods.
Talk to your loyal customers about what they enjoy about your packaging and what they would like to see change. Adding the details or changes they indicate they would like can also help you reach new buyers. It makes sense that if current customers like something, others in your target audience will, too.
2. Consider Competition and Colors
When creating food packaging, think about how your item will look on a store shelf surrounded by competitors. If you sell cheese and most other bags are blue, yellow and red, choose a hue that grabs interest.
Simultaneously, use some common sense and avoid hues users might associate with something negative. For example, green would not be a good color for a package of shredded cheese as it might make people think about mold.
How does the package design look from a distance? As the person approaches the shelf, your product should pop and draw their gaze.
3. Promote Safety
Recent recalls and concerns with food safety have consumers more aware of issues with packaged items. One area of anxiety can be potential tampering.
Tamper-evident labels provide some peace of mind for customers. They also help with loss prevention, such as someone grabbing a Twinkie out of a box and feeding their kid but not buying the item. You might not notice a small hole or missing Twinkie until you get home. If the brand creates a tamper-resistant and evident package, the consumer will likely spot any issues before buying.
4. Choose a Shape and Size
Your food packaging should be consistent and easy to find on store shelves. Companies sometimes rebrand, but you should stick to what customers are familiar with even as you make changes. If you change things up too much, the consumer may not be able to find your product or think it is something different.
If you have always offered your snack cakes in a rectangular box, do not move to a triangle. If the item stands taller than others surrounding it, do not make a short, wide box.
Think about the changes through the eyes of shoppers. You worked all day and stopped by the store for a quick shopping trip before heading home to cook a meal and then run the kids to soccer practice. If the person has to stop and think about where the item is, you lost the momentum of a consistent experience — and perhaps the customer.
5. Go Green
Experts estimate the packaging industry is worth around $1 trillion. All the plastic, paper and other materials tend to wind up in landfills, but consumers are becoming worried about the humans’ impact on the environment. They want to do their part to keep the planet lovely for future generations.
Choosing packaging made from recycled and biodegradable materials works for some food products better than others. When using renewable sources, make sure you put a green pledge on the outside so consumers know what they are getting. Those more aware of green products will be attracted and stick with you, as you share values.
6. Make Opening Convenient
Have you ever stopped at a gas station, bought a snack and found it impossible to open? People do not always have access to scissors or knives while traveling. Think about how someone without any tools can open your product. The last thing you want to do is create frustration for your target audience and risk losing them to a competitor over something as simple as adding a notch or scored section where the package can easily rip open.
Test all your packing to ensure people of all abilities can open it easily. Enlist the help of different age groups, those with sore joints and people with challenges, and see how the process goes. You can easily make adjustments before releasing the product to stores.
7. Include Place of Origin
As foods become more global, many consumers worry about where the ingredients in their processed foods originate. Recent food recalls on baby formula and various other products make people more aware of what entities control food safety.
You can ramp up your marketing through your packaging by including a full list of ingredients and where they are sourced from. People are savvy to wording such as “manufactured” or “packaged in.” They know that means the items are sourced from outside the country and put together elsewhere.
Even if you source from somewhere you think might concern consumers, be honest and upfront. Explain why it is quality and how you ensure their safety. They are much more likely to trust you if you remain transparent.
Track Results of Food Packaging Changes
As you change your food packaging materials, wording, colors and other options, track the return on investment. Do you see an increase in sales when you add another color or some new language? Although it takes time to get feedback from stores and see how well adjustments work, it is worth it to stay on top of sales and see how to improve over time.
Pay attention to packaging, as it is consumers’ first impression of your product. Attend to thelittle details to ensure you meet regulations and answer any questions shoppers have.
Eleanor is editor of Designerly Magazine. Eleanor was the creative director and occasional blog writer at a prominent digital marketing agency before becoming her own boss in 2018. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and dog, Bear.
