Packaging Design - The Key Factors
Although it is meant to be 'just' for product protection, transport and storage, packaging is really so much more than that. Packaging plays a key role for any product, offering a method of communication with the consumer, contributing to the final purchasing decision and protecting the product itself. It is also important that it matches the product identity and is appealing to the target audience.
Packaging: A key brand bearer
Did you know that about 75% of purchasing decisions happen in front of the supermarket shelf? In addition to being a well-established branding tool, this is where the impact of packaging really comes to the fore. Appealing packaging contributes to a product standing out from the crowd, making it more visible to consumers. Many brand manufacturers agree that folding cartons are the most effective approach to achieving these goals. For these reasons, packaging is one of the most effective means of advertising. It is often the first thing customers connect with the product. It communicates the brand image, making it the most important brand bearer and an indispensable brand building tool.
Luxury in a box
High-quality products such as perfumes, spirits and cosmetics are often packaged in folding cartons. Folding cartons have always been associated with luxury and premium quality; they provide strong shelf impulse and are very popular with consumers. This is why attractive packaging design is important. An attractive package:
1. Sparks emotions:
Emotions are responsible for impulsive actions, including the impulse to buy. It is therefore important that packaging stirs an emotion in the customer, an emotion that will be automatically transferred to the product. Thanks to the wide range of finishing techniques and special effects available for enhancing folding cartons, they are the perfect packaging solution to stir consumer emotions. Their surface and shape can create favourable emotions with the potential buyer.
2. Stimulates the senses
Closely connected with emotion is the stimulation of the consumer's senses through packaging: he or she will be more likely to buy the product if it appeals to the senses. The more senses that are impacted, the stronger the effect. A package can be appealing beyond the visual effect alone. For instance, the surface of a folding carton can be altered through embossing, special printing techniques or varnishing. Such finishing techniques can quite literally be felt. The sense of smell can be stimulated by applying the scent of a perfume onto the box, for example. It is important to remember that all sensual impressions must be well-coordinated in order to form a single entity.
3. Appeals to the target audience
In order to target a specific group with a particular product, the product packaging must also be geared towards that group. The desire for sustainability is growing in our society, and that also includes packaging. Folding cartons have a clear advantage here, thanks to being made from a renewable resource, stemming largely from sustainable forestry. Emissions during the production of paper and carton are closely monitored and have been decreasing for years. In addition, paper-based packaging is, for the most part, recyclable and biodegradable. The other consideration is that for many people, packaging is not just about the visual design, but also its convenience. Folding cartons are familiar and easy to handle.
An indispensable tool for brand success
Packaging is the link between a product and its target audience and must be perfectly matched to both. Thanks to the diversity of possible finishing techniques, folding cartons are perfect for making a product stand out. The combination of familiarity, innovation and sustainability make folding cartons the perfect packaging solution and advertising medium for long-term brand success.
