5 Reasons Why Package Design Matters

In the CPG industry especially, you know your competition never rests.

You're constantly trying to beat them to the next big thing, polling your target market to find out how you can improve your products, and rolling out innovative ad campaigns that create powerful emotional responses in your consumers.

But have you thought about how your package design is influencing your market and the kinds of impressions it's making about your brand?

If not, now is absolutely the time to think about the ways in which your package design helps you to grow as a company.

In fact, 70% of consumers say that packaging directly influences their buying decisions.

Throughout this article, we’ll walk you through the benefits of developing strong and innovative package design.

1. Great Packaging Reinforces Your Brand

One of the most important elements of CPG design -- whether it's for your website, your business cards, or of course, your product packaging -- is to ensure that you're constantly reinforcing your brand.

The more often your target market comes into contact with elements like your logo, your company colors, and even your company's slogan, the faster they'll be able to recognize your brand.

It takes an average of 5-7 "impressions" for a customer to recognize and remember your brand. However, a customer forms an impression of a brand in less than one second. So, keeping your branding consistent across both your digital and physical assets is absolutely essential to garnering brand awareness.

Packaging can help you to do just that -- and often, product packaging will be the first impression that people have of your brand.

Your package design also helps to differentiate you from your competitors.

Having a unique design with details like a bespoke font, hand-illustrated designs, and even reusable packaging will help you to stand out on a shelf -- whether your product is at eye-level or online.

2. It Protects Your Products

Yes, following packaging trends like sustainability, retro/vintage-style branding, and minimal packaging design are all great ways to get your products noticed.

But it's also important to remember -- especially in an age where every consumer has the power to write an online review of your products -- that quality, protective packaging is still the top priority.

No one will care how great your last marketing campaign was or how "cute" your packaging looks if it can't protect your products during the shipping process, or even on the ride home from the store.

Good packaging strikes the right balance between form and function -- and shows off your actual product in the process.

Things like a transparent section of a bag or box, or displaying the "actual shade" of a makeup product on the packaging will help to convince ideal consumers to choose your product, without putting the products themselves at risk.

3. It Helps You Stand out on Social Media

Whether you like it or not, we're still living in the age of the social media influencer.

Things like unboxing videos or product hauls give you the chance to show off your package design to potentially thousands of new sets of eyes.

This means that your product packaging is just as important as the product itself -- and you need to make sure that it's in line with the kinds of visuals your target market isn't just drawn to buy for themselves, but also to share with friends and followers.

Good packaging goes a long way towards helping you to increase your own follower count -- and sales.

We suggest that you send out a few free samples of your bestselling products to influencers in your industry. Just make sure your packaging has creative elements, is completely branded, and preferably has your social media account handles printed on it first.

4. Package Design Reflects Product Quality

Your package design is a direct reflection of the product that it contains.

Packaging can help your consumers to make an association about the kind of "experience" that your products offer to people just like them. For example, packaging with sleek black-and-white photographs can create a sense of luxury.

It might sound a bit silly at first, but consumers do look at your packaging design and elements as a reflection of your company's success. If you can only afford to use flimsy and cheap packaging materials, they won't think of you as a leader in your industry.

If it doesn't look like you've put a lot of thought and creativity into your design, they'll move onto your competitors.

Packaging, especially in the CPG industry, gives you the opportunity to be transparent with consumers.

Making the ingredients list easy to find, telling the story of your brand somewhere on the packaging, and even inviting your consumers to get in on the conversation by connecting with your brand in a hashtag will go a long way in showing customers you care -- and that you have high-quality products.

5. It Creates an Emotional Connection with Your Target Market

Finally, don't neglect the role of color psychology in your package design.

Believe it or not, colors can quite easily create an emotional response in your target market. For example, red can create a sense of energy and urgency (great for fitness supplements and foods.) Blues and greens remind consumers of nature, awesome for eco-friendly makeup products.

Certain fonts and even central images on your packaging will also make it much easier for your target market to identify with and "see themselves" in your brand.

It's this kind of an emotional connection that turns consumers into brand ambassadors -- without you even having to ask them to do so.

Plus, over 34% of impulse buys happen because of packaging design alone -- so it also helps you to earn more.

Ready to Upgrade Your Package Design?

We're sure that this post has made you reconsider whether or not your current package design is truly helping you to promote your brand and connect with your customers.

Remember that your packaging absolutely must be a part of your overall marketing process.

Looking to take your design to the next level?

At Harvey, we can help you with that. Take a look at just a few of our past packaging design examples to learn how.

We believe in identifying challenges and creating unique solutions that will have everyone talking about your products.

Reach out to us today to get started on your packaging transformation.