Packaging News You Can Use

Now that consumers are really scrutinizing product packaging it seems that two important trends are emerging: consumers either want less or minimal packaging or they want to be able to reuse the packaging that products come in for something else. The name for this is emerging trend is repurposed packaging.

Repurposed packaging can mean a lot of different things and I’ll show some different examples illustrating that. The important factor to remember is that you are taking and existing package and using it for another purpose or secondary (hence repurpose).

In several cases as these examples the packaging and the product are designed to be reused and a self contained unit. One package does it all.

Great packaging innovation. Corrugated chair and packaging all in one self contained unit.

Or this lamp called Flamp a corrugated box than comes with a light bulb and hardware inside. You just plug it in and you are good to go.

This wine packaging turns into a stand to hold the wine after you get it home. Very utilitarian.

This is an excellent example of packaging with a secondary purpose. After the product is shipped you unfold the packaging and reconfigure it into a hangar for the shirt.

This pizza delivery box tears apart and turns into plates from which to eat the pizza saving on washing or using paper plates.

Lastly there is the reuse of old product packaging and turning it into something else entirely. Terracycle has turned this into a very profitable business and partners with companies like Kraft. Look for an upcoming interview with more insights on Terracycle and how it makes money out of your old packaging.

The point is to put on your creative thinking cap when developing new product packaging. Can the packaging you design be reused or repurposed into another product?

Will it save on adding additional packaging into the waste stream? (a consumer hot button)

Or can the package be part of the product itself? If so you have an instant connection to the consumer who wants to buy your product. Also think about your packaging’s second life as a new product as you design the packaging of the future.

One of DJ Stout’s cigarette packages for an exercise in the St. Petersburg Times. Courtesy Pentagram

This packaging is better than the European variety which features actual pictures of diseased lungs on the packaging in an attempt to deter smokers.

When is a box not just a box? Shipping container + the actual product all wrapped up in one.   http://www.davidgraas.com

This really isn’t a single package but a very creative expression of the corrugated box.

This isn’t your fathers Brylcream

New eco friendly packaging with less packaging material.

Eggs one of life’s mainstays (for most of us) now is being branded with new and unusual packaging.

It used to be that you went to the store and picked up a case of eggs usually with what’s on sales without much thought as to where they came from. The basic molded pulp egg carton, now that EPS expanded polystyrene eggs cartons are passé.

Now all that has changed with the advent of branding and marketing for virtually almost every food product, eggs being no exception to what can be branded to induce you to purchase them.

I’m sure you have all seen various TV commercials for Egg-Lands Best. The cartons in these pics are rather nicer than the ones I get at my store but still just your basic egg carton with some nice egg photos.

So have can one build a brand though product packaging if its more than just an egg? What will make your egg carton stand out on the shelf from other brands?

If it’s organic it’s easy to differentiate because consumers will be looking for less and more natural packaging. Words like organic, green, natural all appeal to this market segment. They want to identify the type packaging used with the product inside so brown or kraft paper and the gray of molded pulp are a good complement to this type packaging. It looks natural and it is!

Courtesy of TheDieline.com

But what if you are introducing a new brand such as the licensing of Disney eggs? I’ve seen Disney almost everything in food packaging. Obviously you need the Disney logo and characters counting on the brand to carry the impulse purchase along with some heavy advertising.

So the next time you go to your supermarket to pick up a dozen eggs decide which is more powerful package branding to you? The basic egg carton, Organic Eggs, Green Eggs or Disney Eggs? Companies are counting on their unique and different egg packaging to sway you into purchasing their brand and live up to their great eggspectations.

Waitrose Herbs

Two herb packaging introductions. Two totally different packaging styles both conveying a powerful packaging message. Something as basic as herbs can be packaged in an exciting and dynamic way.Which do you like better?

Uncle Statis Herbs

Launching a new package can be a perilous journey with many checks and balances along the way. But even the best laid plans can run into unforeseen problems.

In an effort to make the packaging unique or different some times the marketing department makes a miscalculation. What appears to be clever packaging design turns into packaging disaster and the worst part of all the error is not discovered until its too late. Once the packaging is “out there” it’s fair game for critics and naysayers.

What companies fail to do is get an outside opinion, they don’t see the fatal flaw because they are just too close to the project. I’ve seen many examples of this in other mediums. The one that stands out clearly in my mind is an annual report with the CEO on the cover with his fly open and his shirt sticking out of it. It was overlooked by everyone too during the proofing process and thousands were printed that had to be recalled.

When your packaging is exposed to a much larger audience a seemingly small error can become a catastrophe. With the growth of social media it can become a tidal wave of unfavorable publicity with thousands of eyes on your packaging in a negative light.

Here are 5 things you should always do before you sign off on your packaging.

1. Be sure and check your packaging over thoroughly;
2. Look carefully at all the images for potential problems or bad images;
3. Check how the type appears on the package;
4. See if any subtle messages might be conveyed through the images or the words in unexpected ways.
5. Think about your verbiage could someone be offended by it?

Because of some many such incidents I recommend you get an outside opinion before you launch even if it’s hiring someone for an hour to give the packaging a quick once over with fresh eyes.

If you really need help make a small investment and get 9 experts to give your product packaging their industry expertise @ http://packaginglaunch.com

So look before you leap with your product packaging to ensure your product packaging debut doesn’t turn out like some of these examples.

Check out the stacked type!

This one is obvious!

If you use stock photos be sure and take it off the picture.