Think about the purchase you made recently. What prompted you to buy that particular brand? Was it a spur-of-the-moment purchase or something you truly needed? You most likely bought it because the packaging design piqued your curiosity.
Now think about that from the standpoint of a business owner. If you yourself are looking for a “wow” factor when it comes to your purchasing behaviour, then it stands to reason that your own customers are looking for the same thing. And more often than not, the first “wow” comes from product packaging.
In fact, you and your competitor might be selling the same item or product, but it’s the one who offers product packaging that is both stylish and functional that will eventually seal the deal.
What is Product Packaging?
At its core, product packaging serves to secure the product inside. The packaging must protect the goods during transit between the manufacturing plant and the retailer, as well as during its shelf life. As a result, product packaging must be durable and strong.
Many businesses use seals and locks to prevent tampering and assure the product's safety. Consumers expect their products to work exactly as they should. The best way to ensure that is through secure, reliable product packaging.
But nowadays, most buyers will value a product more if it is wrapped and put in an attractively designed box or container. Putting out the effort to give a fantastic unboxing experience will help improve a customer's purchase experience.
Why Is Product Packaging So Important?
Shoppers can get a sneak peek at what they can expect from your product by looking at the packaging. They catch people's attention and persuade them to buy things.
Creative or incredible packaging is any packaging design that makes a product stand out from the competitors. According to a recent study by Fast Co. Design, consumers look for four types of highly appealing content in a product or brand: informative, funny, inspiring, and beautiful.
If you can include these characteristics into your packaging design ideas, you'll be well on your way to establishing an impression that will entice customers to buy your product.
Now, to stand out among the hundreds of other competing items on the market today, it needs to be unique. Examine what your competitors are doing and ensure that you have an innovative and unique look.
Incredible packaging will bring attention to your products, help your brand expand, and give it uniqueness. Whether you like it or not, your product will be judged on its packaging first.
Do you want to know how to make package design that stands out? Duplo International has compiled a list of incredible product packaging ideas that you can use to inspire packaging creativity for your own products.
5 Inspiring Packaging Ideas to Stand Out From the Competition
Idea #1: Make the Unboxing Special
The unboxing experience is becoming increasingly popular among retail and e-commerce companies.
Unboxing videos are among the most popular on YouTube. According to the recent data, over 90,000 individuals search "unboxing" into YouTube every month.
It seems strange at first — individuals filming themselves opening a package. But that is precisely where its value lies. Do you remember what it was like to be a kid during your birthday? As you were about to open your gifts, you were bubbling with excitement and anticipation.
As an adult, you could still feel the same sense of anticipation and thrill - the only difference is that people nowadays have different concepts of opening a gift. And unboxing videos, whether for retail or e-commerce, help capture the thrill of discovering something new for the first time.
Given the importance of unboxing videos in brand awareness and marketing, it's easy to see why putting your product in a basic box with a sticker and some bubble wrap can be useless.
Instead, try making your own packaging with various shapes and colours. Play around with different ideas such as incorporating your brand colours on the box or creating different labels and stickers to show your brand’s advocacies.
Check out our PFi Blade digital cutting table, which is 100% digital and ideal for quick, targeted, or customised jobs. It is capable of producing short-run packaging, custom-shaped cards and labels without the use of physical dies. It's a cost-effective and adaptable option for prototypes and small-scale production.
Idea #2: Go for Sustainable Packaging
According to studies, approximately 74% of consumers are willing to pay a higher price for recyclable packaging. This means that not only will your brand do good by using environmentally friendly packaging, but it will also appeal to a larger and more eco-conscious market.
Sustainable packaging such as paper-based packaging is a type of packaging that has a lower environmental impact than less sustainable alternatives. The use of sustainable materials in creating new packaging choices is expected to have a positive impact on the environment.
Over time, companies will recognise the long-term benefits of investing in sustainable packaging, both for themselves and the environment. This trend will continue to be successful, but it will take effort and cooperation from businesses like yours to ensure that their product packaging can be recycled.
Idea #3: Personalise Your Products
It's a no-no to package your products in an unintentional, unconsidered box. Remember what we said about the popularity of unboxing videos? YouTube isn’t the only one raking in the views. Social media influencers are also contributing to this by doing livestream product reviews and, often, they include comments about the packaging it came in.
Thus, you don't want to make the mistake of using substandard, uninteresting packaging. The packaging itself is your product. So, it’s important to pick packaging design ideas that match your business and appeal to your target audience. Make the logo memorable by incorporating it into a creative way, for example.
Depending on your niche, you can use a strong box or wrap things in handcrafted or custom-made paper. Another item to consider is optimizing the box's front, rear, and sides. This space can be customised with designs to make it more personalised for the customer.
Idea #4: Attractive Labels & Cardboard Boxes
Before you begin the design process, it's a good idea to conduct some design research. Begin collecting packaging that appeals to you. When you're at the store, take pictures. Make a Pinterest board for your ideas.
Remember that design inspiration can be found everywhere. Sometimes it’s in a place you didn’t expect to find it. For example, you find it in the colour of a particular shoe, the pattern on someone’s skirt, or the font on a grocery shop sign.
Keep in mind that you're not curating design ideas for yourself, but rather for your ideal customer. Suppose you're selling baby clothing to chic parents, for example. In that case, rock n’ roll style is probably not the greatest look for your packaging.
Another thing to consider when you're just getting started with your design is materials. You don't need to make any decisions right now, but you should begin to notice the various possibilities available to assist you in obtaining your attractive packaging. You may also want to experiment with different shapes and sizes instead of the typical squares or rectangles.
For jobs like these, look into our PFi DI-CUT 310 as your adaptable and highly productive die cutting system for quick work turnaround and the widest range of completely customisable finishing tasks. On both digital and offset-printed sheets, this handy machine lets you kiss cut, die cut, perforate, crease, slit, cut round corners, and hole punch, all in one process.
Idea #5: Thoughtfulness
What is absolutely free and only requires a small amount of effort? Thoughtfulness.
A handwritten letter thanking your customers for their support could be the best form of ‘packaging' you could do if you can't think of anything better. Your time spent writing a simple note and your care in sincerely thanking them will have a greater impact than any flashy gift could.
In this way, you can make a genuine and personal connection with your customers. So, for nothing more than a few minutes of your time, write a thank you note with every order placed in your store.
However, if you are doing this in bulk, it may take some time that could affect your productivity. You can make thank you notes in a more creative and presentable way.
You may turn a personal handwritten design into something digital with our Digital Duplicators, allowing you to generate high-quality prints while maintaining total control and cost management. It's a dependable on-demand printing option.
You may use postcard thank-you notes to make writing even simpler but still presentable. Consider using our Duplo booklet-making system or DC-range, which has the most possibilities for folding and stapling, to cutting and creasing. It will help your business grow without using hours of your time or those of your employees to write notes.
Designing Your Own Product Packaging
You will be more profitable if you concentrate on your packaging and design something unique to your business. Remember that your packaging serves as a container for your product and a final marketing message to your customers. You can look at what your competitors are doing and make sure your packaging sends a more powerful message.
If you’d like to see more about how consumers’ behaviour is influenced by packaging and how we can help you, visit Duplo International blogs. Check out our collection of efficient machines perfect for your company.
