Tag: packages

Front Line of Decision Making

Written on by frain-sales

Shoppers may have a list in mind when heading to the store, but research suggests that approximately 82% of in-store purchasing decisions are made at the actual point of purchase when the consumer does not specifically have a preset brand in mind.

With an undecided consumer standing front of your product, your packaging needs to stand out.  Here are six considerations to make in standing out from your competition:

Sustainable

According to Mintel’s 2017 Global Packaging Trends Report, 21% of Canadian consumers are interested in a resealable or re-closeable packaging in order to reduce waste – in addition to delivering on known consumer desire for portion control.

Usable

Innovating and testing new packaging formats that stand out from the competition can include the way you make it easier or more convenient to consume.  Squeezable sour creams and apple sauces revolutionized the ease of use of their product taking them from traditional packages that relied on spooning out the product to squeezable formats which could be simply used by anyone.  By bucking the trend alone, you will stand out on the shelf and create space between you and your competition.

Transparent

Sometimes being different is as simple as being clear with your packaging and labeling.  By clearly showing what’s inside your package, you gain trust and purchases with consumers. People are more interested in what’s in their food, how it’s made and from where the ingredients originate.  Sometimes less noise in packaging is more.  And, what can be more simple then clear packaging?

Refreshed Look

Speaking of less is more, it’s been proven time and again that packaging can outmatch quantity for the same price.  For example, Libby’s refreshed their sweet corn packaging with a new flexible stand-up pouch and line priced it against their can package.  While both were available at $1.19, the new stand-up pouch offered two ounces less product, but still outperformed the canned corn.

Premium Feel

Appealing to the consumer’s senses goes beyond taste and sight.  Aloha bars are a great example of a product with a branded sense of touch or premium feel.  From the box to the actual individually-wrapped protein bars and powder pack, you get a high-touch premium feel to this vegan-friendly product for which consumers are paying extra.

Eye Catching

Shoppers are in a hurry, but once they find the section of ketchup, soft drinks, etc. that they’re looking for – you may have a fraction of their tunneled, peripheral vision whereby you need to catch their attention.  Aside from shape, message, new packaging and feel – you may also throw in an eye-catching element within your packaging, much like Tito’s Handmade Vodka and its copper cap.

You’re Already Late!

Written on by John Henry

Congratulations! This morning you got tapped to buy the hot new packaging line. Condolences too. You’re probably behind schedule already and have a huge target on your back. Here are 5 ways meet your date and shrink the target.

1. What is the product and the package? Insist on actual samples of both. In this age of rapid prototyping, there is no reason you can’t have them. You need the bill-of-materials specifications and drawings too, but it is hard to beat physical samples.

2. Figure out what needs to be done. This means asking lots of questions and getting as much detail as possible. How much capacity is required? When is it required? Future brand extensions? Where does the line go? What utilities are required? What are available? Perhaps most important is “You want it WHEN?” You’ll come up with 10 more questions for every one I’ve mentioned. You may not get answers right now but unless you start asking now, you’ll never get them.

3. The vendor promised 16 week delivery. This clock doesn’t start until they get the actual purchase order. And the down payment check. And the required samples. And project details and perhaps more. The vendor will sit on their hands until they have everything. Getting it to them is up to you.

4. If the vendor gets another order before you get yours in, you go to the back of the line. Your promised 16 weeks may become 24. Don’t need the equipment for 20 weeks? Fine, but get your order in now anyway to lock your place in the schedule.

5. Once the vendor does get started, they are going to prepare shop drawings. They won’t cut any metal or buy any materials until they get these back, approved.

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Some vendors, like Frain, are better than others at meeting delivery promises. No vendor, not even Frain, is able to meet your schedule unless you do your part. This timeline shows typical schedules based on thousands of projects. Only about a third of any project schedule is under vendor control.

Completing your project on time is up to you.