The packaging you choose for your products can be just as crucial to your company as the branding and logos you design. Many customers are as drawn to the containers on the shelves as to the best price, especially if they have favorite brands with distinct package designs. To get the most return on this investment, consider which types will best serve the product, customer and delivery method.
For the Product
The best packaging for your product will not only fit the size and shape of your items, but it will also be made of materials that will not react with the product. For instance, a cardboard box would not hold a liquid well, where a plastic bottle or glass jar will. If your product is acidic, such as soft drinks, metal cans will need a liner to prevent the metal from pitting and contaminating the drink. You can find plastic bottle packaging suppliers online to help you find the right size, shape and material for your product while helping you choose lids and labels to fit your needs.
For the Customer
Another criteria you will need to address with your packaging is the customer. People are more likely to buy a product if the packaging meets brand expectations and seems geared towards the target audience. For instance, soaps for children tend to have brighter packages with animated characters on the labels, whereas similar products for adults have muted colors or clear packages with informative labels. Matching your container design with your target audience means finding luxurious feeling materials for some items and utilitarian color palates for others.
For the Delivery Method
You want your items easily opened by the customer but not coming open or leaking during shipping. This desire means that you will be considering how your products get from your manufacturing space to the end customer and how the packaging will need to function for that customer. For instance, adhesives with nozzles will have a seal for safe shipping that must be cut off before use and a cap to reduce spills between uses. Some delivery methods, such as air freight, will have specific requirements for shipping liquids, potentially reactive substances and fragile items.
Choosing the proper packaging for items you sell is about more than just what will hold the product between your business and the end customer. By considering the product, the buyer and the delivery method each package will need to be optimized for, you can design suitable containers for your product lines.