Developing the ideal product can be a lengthy and challenging process. Conforming your concept into a physical product demands substantial time and effort. However, the lack of suitable custom packaging could undermine all your hard work once you have a product ready for the market. Given the significant investment of time you’ve already committed, it’s crucial not to make critical errors in haste.
Approximately 70% of consumers claim that a product’s packaging design plays a role in buying decisions. If a consumer purchases a product and finds the packaging wasteful or difficult to open, it deters them from repurchasing. So, how can you ensure your product design is effective?
Read more to uncover the biggest mistakes in product packaging and how to avoid making them.
Generic Designs
Not only do generic designs lack appeal and struggle to stand out from the competition, but they also often miss the mark in encapsulating your unique brand.
A primary function of packaging is to create a captivating platform that instantly sets your products apart from your competitors. Without a distinctive packaging design that aligns with your brand’s image, it’s hard to realize the desired impact from your packaging.
A lack of depth in a brand’s packaging can create a negative first impression. Errors in branding and packaging like this can deter many potential customers if they sense a deficiency in effort and creativity.
Text that is Difficult to Read
If the text on your packaging or labels is not easily readable, its inclusion serves no purpose. Text is crucial in conveying essential details and benefits to your customers. Sharing information like ingredients, expiration dates, and allergen warnings is vital for establishing your brand’s credibility and reliability.
If crucial instructions and information are presented in tiny print or in difficult-to-read typefaces, it could render your product unusable, thereby making your brand less trustworthy.
When planning your packaging design, consider the printing technique, weights, typefaces and sizes to ensure all text is readable. For printing on dark backgrounds, use contrasting colors such as white to guarantee your text is sharp and easily discernible, and vice versa.
Wasteful Design
Society has become significantly more conscious of environmental issues. There’s a growing trend of individuals seeking to decrease waste production and increase the use of recyclable products.
This perception is reciprocal. If your packaging employs excessive materials and isn’t recyclable, it could lead to customers avoiding your brand to remain consistent with their aim of reducing their carbon footprint.
The eco-friendliness of your packaging becomes crucial in influencing a consumer’s buying decision. It can then provide you with a competitive edge. TDI Packsys offers a gravity-fed metal detector with an auto-reject flap designed to separate contaminants from the product flow, thus minimizing waste.
The Box Size is Unsuitable
A significant blunder that e-commerce businesses often make is utilizing boxes of an unsuitable size for their product packaging. Employing standard-sized boxes for all products can lead to small items being packed in oversized boxes or vice versa. This could necessitate excessive tape or additional wrapping to secure a small item in a large box, which can complicate the unpacking process for your customers.
Excessive or Insufficient Packaging
Mishandling packaging can result in significant losses for a retailer. Statistics show that customers have little patience for blunders, with 30-50% likely to switch to a different retailer if they receive a damaged item. Retailers must balance excessive and insufficient packaging to ensure their products are delivered without damage.
The key is to prevent unnecessary material expenditure by employing the optimum padding to safeguard your fragile product. All products meant for shipment must undergo rigorous testing under diverse conditions to guarantee that they reach the customer intact.
Endnote
Errors in retail food packaging can be simple to make, yet difficult to fix once the product is on the market. It’s highly recommended to seek professional guidance during your packaging development phase. This approach will minimize potential errors, result in cost savings, and improve the level of trust consumers place in your brand.
