Seven to eight out of every 10 companies we talk to about packaging solutions face packaging problems. Problems can vary in size, size, severity and urgency.
Key Challenges in Product Packaging
Multiple challenges must be overcome for packaging to ensure that a safe container is created for the product while maintaining customer appeal. The most pressing challenges include:
- Sustainability
- Protection
- Strength
- Operational changes
- Structural changes
- Recognition
- Distribution
- Freshness
- Impression
- E-commerce
- Rising costs
- Labeling
What you can do to overcome these challenges and how do they affect your packaging design?
Sustainability
At the 2020 Packaging Innovation Conference, experts noted the importance of finding the right way to handle plastics to reduce pollution. Packaging is said to need to be “zero-carbon” by 2050. Doing so will require companies to invest in deposit systems and choose packaging that encourages consumer recycling.
With today’s world overwhelmed by pollution, the sustainability of packaging has become even more important. In excess of 80 million tons of trash are disposed of in municipal solid waste landfills each year due to product packaging, says the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Today’s companies must be more aware of how their packaging impacts the environment. In the future, sustainable packaging will use fewer raw materials, generate less waste, and promote recycling.
Keurig, Dr. Pepper, Coca-Cola and Pepsi came together in late 2019 to announce a joint effort to raise awareness of the recyclability of their containers and reduce plastic waste. To inform consumers about their “per-bottle recycling program,” the companies will add messages to their packaging to remind users to recycle their containers after use.
Some of Evian’s 2020 plants have achieved carbon neutral status. The company is using changes in bottle design to reduce package weight and use more recycled plastic. Their changes between 1993 and 2018 reduced the carbon footprint of 1.5-liter bottles by 17%. In addition, choosing recycled plastic can reduce carbon emissions by 50 percent compared to using new plastic in the bottle. By 2025, the company wants to use fully recycled materials instead of producing new plastic for bottled water. Packaging changes like these make Evian’s products more sustainable and less wasteful.
Protection
Sustainability helps the planet, but ultimately, your packaging must also protect the goods inside. Depending on the nature of your product, you may need a stronger container than other items.
Strength
When products are stacked, the packaging will deform. Depending on the product, the packaging varies in softness and hardness, such as for the CBD oil range, the packaging needs to be 10% stronger in durability and strength than packaging for other products.
Operational changes
One of the problems observed during the analysis was that the oil bottles were shrinking. This was happening due to the oxygen that was being absorbed into the oil, thus creating a vacuum.
To solve this problem, the packaging process must be altered. For the oil bottles, the solution was to fill the PET bottles with nitrogen under pressure while packaging.
Structural changes
The problem with rigid packaging is that it is stressed when it comes into contact with external surfaces when stacked or transported. The basic implication here is that the greater the surface area in contact with other external surfaces, the greater the stress on the package.
Recognition
Consumers must be able to tell what your product is based on the packaging alone. Making the package design or graphics too similar to other products may cause confusion. For example, in 2010, the FDA issued a safety announcement regarding Benadryl’s topical skin gel. The bottle and package design of the gel was very similar to Benadryl’s oral medication. Because of the warning, the company changed the packaging of the gel to distinguish it from the oral version.
Brand identification is also important in packaging. Consistent branding can increase the value of a product by 20% compared to items that do not have a recognizable brand.
Distribution
According to industry expert Ken Chrisman, in 2017 companies will need packaging that can be delivered directly to consumers without requiring pallet storage. The rise of e-commerce and the need to ship directly to buyers’ doorsteps rather than sending goods between warehouses means that packaging must withstand movement while keeping products safe.
Distribution considerations also play an important role in designing food packaging. For temperature-sensitive products, failure to consider protecting the food inside could result in spoilage or a recall once it reaches the store.
Freshness
Freshness is critical to the food industry. While some foods are safe to eat for months, they may have a shorter shelf life for optimal flavor and freshness. Packaging must take into account the need to keep goods in optimal condition before purchase.
Lipton, for example, redesigned its 100-count tea bag box so it had four gold foil-wrapped sleeves of 25 tea bags each, but the new design did not support optimal product usage. Once consumers opened one of them, the rest of the tea bags quickly lost their freshness. This story proves that there is no benefit to sacrificing freshness for aesthetics.
Point-of-Sale Impressions
Consumers’ impressions at the point of sale significantly influence whether they will buy a product. For 60 percent of shoppers, the packaging encourages them to make a purchase. In addition, 41% of consumers would repurchase the product if they had a positive experience with the packaging during their first purchase.
When evaluating packaging, what consumers look for most includes the following.
- Convenience
- Interactivity or the use of intelligent systems such as QR codes
- Easy to use
- Ergonomics
- Information provided
Changing package design to make it more attractive to consumers has valuable benefits. Taking advantage of the redesign, Unilever sought to update the packaging for its UK brand of fabric softener Comfort. The formula became a more concentrated version, turning into Comfort Intense, which required less packaging. To make the product stand out on the shelf, the designers chose a bold color scheme and message that indicated its highly concentrated status.
The company recognized the success of the brightly colored teardrop-shaped bottle because it sold for 32 percent more compared to the standard Comfort. Consumers purchased Comfort Intense despite its smaller size and higher price because the packaging effectively communicated the premium strength of the product. Within eight weeks of opening, Comfort Intense sales were strong, with a 9 percent market share.
Consumers liked the use of color on the packaging
For 85% of shoppers, color is the driving force behind their purchase.
For 93% of customers, the visual appearance of the product is the focus of their attention.
While bold colors draw the eye to the packaging, don’t overwhelm consumers with information. Nestlé industry expert and veteran Lars Wallentin recommends keeping packaging simple and providing only enough information for consumers to absorb in 10 seconds.
Ease of use of packaging is another key factor for consumers to quickly check when shopping. In a packaging survey, 55% of consumer respondents were annoyed by packaging that was difficult to open. Replacing products with easy-to-open lids or containers that consumers can easily grip may increase sales.
Health claims and other wording on packaging need to be bold and simple in stating consumer expectations. When Sun-Maid redesigned its raisin and dried fruit packaging to appeal to millennials, it added health claims such as 0 grams of added sugar and whole fruit. The company said it would keep the red boxes for raisins but would move to pouches for other dried fruit products. Consumers prefer the pouches because the resealable containers are more convenient when it comes to snacking. The redesign has not damaged brand recognition among consumers and has received positive feedback from shoppers.
E-commerce
Focusing on corporate social responsibility means that companies are committed to improving the environment and society, rather than contributing to its destruction. Walmart, one of the world’s largest retailers with more than 11,300 stores in 27 countries and e-commerce sites in 10 countries, recognizes its impact and has taken steps to take a leadership role in sustainable packaging.
In Walmart’s 2018 Global Responsibility Report, its CEO Doug McMillon said one of Walmart’s goals is to be a trustworthy company that creates value for society.
Walmart has a chief sustainability officer, a position that has grown in popularity since 2010, with more than 120,000 new CSO jobs, according to Recruiter.com. Walmart’s CSO, Kathleen McLaughlin, said Walmart’s goal is to take a decisive approach to transform retail to achieve sustainability. By 2025, Walmart aims to achieve 100 percent recyclable, reusable or compostable packaging.
Rising costs
Packaging solution costs, especially for paper-based solutions, increased in 2017 due to higher paperboard prices. Your business can address price increases in several ways.
Omni-channel packaging: You can choose a single design for multiple sales channels to reduce costs.
Reduce packaging: You can redesign to use less packaging. By reducing the amount of packaging, you spend less on materials.
Redesigned packaging: Some packaging may cost more due to special features such as 3D textures, but the increase in sales may help recoup the additional investment compared to less attractive items.
Sustainable packaging: Sustainability helps reduce rising costs through the use of more affordable recycled materials and lighter-weight products.
Lighter weight packaging: Lower product packaging weight helps reduce shipping costs, which are often closely related to the volume or weight of the product being sold.
While costs may continue to rise, you can overcome this obstacle by careful planning and following quality container guidelines.
Labeling
Packaging challenges come in many forms. Consumers pay close attention to the visual appearance of your package design. Keep your labels informative, colorful and simple to avoid overwhelming your potential customers. Also, try not to make the packaging so different that it changes your brand recognition or makes the product difficult to use.
Conclusion.
Packaging should be attractive because the purchase decision is made by viewing the product online. In addition, an attractive design will help make unboxing a pleasant experience for your customers. The benefit of developing sustainable packaging is that you can choose any part of the value chain and find ways to optimize costs.
