Any business will want its products to sell well, and many different strategies exist, from marketing campaigns like online ad space or billboards all the way to signs promoting special deals and discounts. Smaller businesses may even rely on word of mouth or other grassroots advertising campaigns. For any business, another critical component of getting a product to see is its packaging, and the designs on that packaging. Spice packages, coffee bean bags, packaging for tea, dog food packaging, and many other products rely on eye-catching, appealing packaging to draw a customer’s eye and show them why this package is the right one to buy. How does this work?
The Power of Packaging
Spice packages, food packaging labels, and others have proven themselves effective time and again. Businesses who pay close attention to the details and style of their products’ packaging can, on average, expect a 30% boost in consumer interest, and shoppers think the same way. It has been determined that 85% of shoppers have reported that their purchasing decisions were informed by what they read on packaging labels and similar text, so good packaging is nearly always a good investment for spice packages and more. Two in three Americans read food labels, and 40% of American consumers have shared photos of products on social media accounts if they like the packaging. On a final note, the 2016 West Rock Consumer Insights Study found out that 66% of consumers will try out a new product because its packaging was appealing enough. It is clear, then, that good packaging means good business. How can this be done?
Packaging Design
Often, graphic artists, either in-house or outsourced, will be tasked with designing the packaging for spices, cat or dog food, and more, and many of these artists may have educational backgrounds in art and graphic design. These packages may often make use of warm colors such as red, yellow, bright green, and light blue, which are often most appealing to people (the logos of most fast food restaurants can act as evidence of this). Appealing patterns such as curves, swirls, and others can make a package stand out, along with a prominent logo or high quality photographs that either show the product inside or what using the product will seem like. A bag of cat food may show a cat and its attractive owner together, a bag of coffee beans will show a happy person about to sip that coffee in a photograph on the package’s rear. Packaging is also a great opportunity for short, informative text about the product’s nature, origins, and purpose, and it can use exciting language to show just how happy and satisfied the consumer will be after using this product. Food items may have lists of wholesome ingredients on the back, and coffee bag or tea bag packages may have brewing directions of flavor recommendations on the back, as well as the coffee beans’ or tea leaves’ origins and how they were grown.
The power of packaging can expand beyond commercial spice packages or coffee bags. A person hosting a party can also use fun packaging ideas for party favors for a birthday party, a New Year’s Eve party, a bridal shower, or any similar event. Since a profit is not on the line, and the items are being given to friends and family, the packaging for party favors and gifts can be personalized and have no need to advertise the product with text or stand out on a store shelf. These gifts can often be homemade, and themes such as lunch boxes, polka dots, silver, Chinese takeout boxes, animals, and much more. Personal notes can also be added to the favors if so desired.