The top three considerations.
This question will split a room of designers and has prompted hundreds of articles online, so we decided to bring it down to our top 3 considerations.
In answering customers’ asking about requirements for effective food packaging, we very often break the answer down into the following three categories:
- Form
- Function
- Features/Feel
Form
We will park the debates about how Form follows function for now and explain why Form is essential for effective food packaging.
The size, shape, colour, and texture of your packaging are what will make it stand out and grab your customer’s attention. All other considerations are moot if a customer is unaware of or unengaged with your packaging.
Being able to stand out, gain attention and retain interest enough to pick your packaging from the shelf is of utmost importance. An innovative change of shape or material can set your product apart from the competition, where carefully applied branding combined with innovative use of imagery, sector-specific colours and fonts can influence consumers to purchase.
A great example we recently created is this frozen baby food branding and packaging for Tom Pom Food.
Function
Once a customer has engaged with the packaging, its functional features can be considered and appreciated.
The best functional food packaging design is one that clearly demonstrates the ability to protect the product whilst highlighting its features and benefits, whether through cut-outs to show the product, providing greater convenience, or other features that improve usability.
One of the most prevalent added-value functions is the ability to reclose, allowing the packaging to offer a more practical solution for products that need to be accessed several times, e.g., Wipes, snacks, etc.
Other functional features can include smart labels and QR codes to span the gap between print and online.
Retail Ready Packaging needs to consider retailer needs for both storage, stacking, and shelf promotion.
If these are not considered, then valuable shelf space could be lost, and the opportunity to add value is gone. If barcodes are hard to read or difficult to find, you might find your products returned or not promoted in the store correctly
Features/Feel
Sustainability is no longer a ‘nice to have’ feature anymore, it is essential. We could have included the fabric of the packaging in the Function above, but it is so important it warranted its own section. Recycling is not new, but it is constantly being challenged to adapt and improve, whether that is to make packaging from recycled materials or to ensure they can be recycled again.
If packaging appears wasteful or contains unnecessary materials, it can negatively impact your product’s success. A point clearly demonstrated in the packaging design work we did for an innovative food start-up the Wonky Food Co.
In Conclusion
Keeping up to date with current expectations is not enough; brands that anticipate future changes and embrace sustainability can achieve significant recognition and be seen as market leaders.
