Packaging is the process of preparing products for storage, transport, and sale. Packaging includes:
- Enclosing the product in a protective wrapping or boxing.
- Labelling.
- Branding.
- Information on the product.
Proper and effective packaging includes elements like:
- Protective elements like paper, bubble wrap, etc.
- Warning and instruction on handling the package.
- Decoration and branding.
- Aesthetic elements.
- Manuals, instructions, brochures, cards, etc.
What Is the Purpose of Packaging?
Packaging Prevents Tampering and Fraud
Tampering products and committing fraud are widespread malpractices among competitors. It is always frowned upon and illegal but the practice continues to some extent. Not just competitors, but often distributors and logistics personnel tamper with products. Common motivations include duplicating the products or causing defamation to the brand.
Brands must ensure proper packaging so that it doesn’t happen. Many precautionary steps should be adopted during packaging to prevent this from happening. For instance, special tapes with holographs are unique to the brand.
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Packaging Offers Protection
One of the primary reasons for packaging is to protect the products. When any product is packaged, protecting the product is the first plan on the list. The better the material of the packaging, the safer the product is. So usually, sturdy materials should be used for packaging. Moreover, things like foam, peanut foam, tissue, and plastic frames should also be included in the packaging to protect the products further.
Poor packaging often results in a bad customer experience. Due to insufficient packaging, products often get damaged before even reaching the shelves of stores or your customers’ homes. Furthermore, customers always consider poorly packaged products; inferior and of lower quality.
Packaging Represents the Brand
Product packaging almost always contains brand details. For example
- Brand logos.
- Brand motto and tag lines.
- Advertisements.
- Information on the brand.
These elements reinforce the brand in the minds of the consumers and customers. It gives the products an identity and helps separate them from similar products of other brands and companies.
Packaging Makes Transportation Easier
An adequately packaged product is aesthetically pleasing and convenient to carry around. Manufacturers and producers should make sure their packaging is attractive and, at the same time, optimized and efficient.
For example, manufacturers should avoid making the packaging unnecessarily big; they should avoid adding elements to the packaging that makes it harder to stack and store the products.
To learn more about transporting goods, click here.
Packaging Extends Shelflife
Perfectly packing a product automatically extends its shelflife. For example, when packing perishable products, manufacturers should focus on ensuring that the packaging helps the product remain unharmed.
Packaging Offers Information
Packaging often contains important information regarding the products. This information includes things like:
- Manufacturing info.
- Production and expiration dates.
- Contents of the package.
- Details about the product like nutrition, specs, etc.
- Handling instructions.
- Warnings.
These bits of information are often crucial and necessary both for convenience and a better consumer experience.
Packaging Attracts Customers
It is no secret that good packaging attracts customers. Any product with attractive packaging increases its shelf presence and makes it more noticeable than other products.
When planning packaging designs, the targeted customers determine the theme. For instance, if the targetted consumers are children or young teens, the packaging tends to be more colorful.
Packaging Improves Customer Experience
A positive and enjoyable customer experience is crucial in business. A good customer experience could be a deciding factor for a customer when choosing to buy a product. It creates brand loyalty and gives you an advantage over competitors.
All customers and consumers want to feel special. They want to feel cared for and, more importantly, privileged. Good packaging ensures that. For example, convenient packaging improves the unboxing or unpacking experience.
Packaging Offers Indirect Marketing
The marketing game has changed drastically in today’s world of influencers and bloggers. Statistically, consumers and customers are 79% more likely to check out a product that is well packaged than poorly packaged products.
Manufacturers and producers often send products to influencers and bloggers to review and discuss on their platforms. So if their product is well packaged, they don’t need to do much additional marketing as the product does it by itself.
What Are the Benefits of Proper Packaging?
The benefits of proper packaging are:
- It creates brand awareness.
- It enhances the consumer’s experience.
- It makes shipping the product more convenient.
- It increases sales.
- It protects the product.
- It can be an effective marketing strategy.
- It makes the product more attractive.
- It reinforces branding.
- It dramatically increases the product’s shelf presence.
One might argue that these are strictly beneficial to the business only. Still, in reality, there are other benefits of proper packaging that are not just beneficial to the business but also to the environment as well. For example:
It Reduces Pollution
Surveys and research have found that a massive portion of waste in landfills is from the packaging of various products. Packaging isn’t well planned, and optimized results in a lot of garbage. Often the substances used in packaging are such that they take a long time to be recycled naturally.
To learn more about the benefits of reducing packaging wastes, click here.
It Encourages Recycling
Minimal and effective packaging promotes recycling. Packaging should be reusable. Nowadays, sustainable packaging is highly appreciated.
In today’s world, brands take pride in using recycled material for their packaging, and customers and consumers often opt for brands that use sustainable packaging.
Final Words
Packaging may seem insignificant but in reality, it can make or break a business. Now that you know more about packaging and the importance and purpose of proper packaging, we hope you’ll be able to step up your packaging game and come up with efficient yet aesthetically pleasing packaging that your customers will love. Remember first impressions are always important and so never compromise on the packaging!
