How can I make my packaging unique?

In today’s marketplace, unless you create one-of-a-kind products, you’ve got competition. If you sell your products online, you’ve got a lot of competition. When your customers are shopping online, they may land on your product but most e-commerce sites also recommend other similar items right on your sales page. You’ll see this below your product and sometimes in the sidebar. What’s more, if a potential customer leaves the website where your product is featured, they often are shepherded into a retargeting marketing funnel where they will receive ads about products like yours. All of this can make it very challenging to grow and sustain a business.

It’s not too much different if you sell your products in retail stores. Depending on the product you sell, your competitor’s products are most likely lined up right beside yours. Your potential customers are shifting back and forth between your product and your competitors trying to decide which one to buy.

In both of these scenarios, custom packaging can step in as a powerful tool for grabbing your customer’s attention and showing why your product is the one to buy.  Here are three ways to use custom packaging to differentiate your product from your competitor’s product.

1. Choose packaging that is reusable

Have you ever saved a box that a product came in because you just love the design on the box? Maybe you stored precious keepsakes in it. Or, maybe you stored office supplies in it and kept the box on your desk.

This is most often seen with branded gift boxes.  Your company information can be added to the sides, inside, or bottom of the box. Include a clever call-to-action reminding your customer to visit your website or join your online community.

Reusable packaging keeps your brand and messaging in front of your customers for a long time. When developing your custom packaging design ideas, keep this little secret in mind and see if it will work with your product packaging.

2. Try maximalism designs with your packaging

There is something to be said about a minimalist simple design concept. For example, some packaging includes only the company logo and possibly a website or other information on the website.  You will see this with highly recognizable brands like McDonald’s or Starbucks. Their logos are so recognizable that loyal fans don’t need much more to be convinced the product is good.

The opposite of minimalism design is maximalism. It’s the bold, catchy, look-over-hear design that we all know and love. If you are still developing brand recognition, consider a more outspoken design for your custom packaging. Try a design with bold colors and cool graphics that will grab your audience’s attention.

3. Use packaging space wisely with messages and graphics

Both small and large packaging can serve as an attractive billboard for your products. In a recent post, we shared 24 elements you can feature on a custom box. We covered everything from directions for using the product to cute cutouts that show you a peek inside the packaging. When deciding what to put on your packaging, create a list of your product differentiators. What makes your product different from and better than the competition? How can you communicate those differences right on the product packaging?

Look at the clever messaging below from Warby Parker, a popular eyewear company.

So what’s stopping you from creating unique packaging?  Want to brainstorm some ideas for your product and marketplace? Talk to one of our packaging design experts today. We can share a few examples and lots of ideas with you.