Category Specific Packaging

By: Becky Dahl

There are a lot of general rules when designing packaging — making sure consumers recognize the brand, what the product is and how it can benefit the consumer. 

That being said, there are nuances to every category that we think are worthy of conversation. We’ve listed categories that we think are some of the most challenging, along with some tips on how to better communicate through packaging for that category.

Beverage — Juni

Environment: Sometimes poorly lit & behind glass. 
Format: Bottles, Cans, TetraPaks. Many times the front panel display is a skew
Consumer Mindset: Quick, impulsive purchasing based on need state 
Pro tips: 
• Keep it simple! Get focused on your core offering & lean in big! If this is a beverage for function, make sure it’s incredibly obvious. If it’s flavor, make that loud & clear. Refreshment? You get the idea.
• Make sure you have a clear primary display panel with clear space on either side, so secondary communications on the sides don’t creep into your front display, which can distract consumers.

Supplement — Om

Environment: Busy! Large quantities of product on shelves 
Format: Usually small & are generally littered with a lot of health claims
Consumer Mindset: Generally in ailment or looking to improve health. This consumer usually takes a little bit more time reading labels to ensure efficacy and quality.  
Pro tips:
• Provide transparency by communicating consumer benefits quickly and providing secondary information for consumers to dive deeper if they choose. 
• Gain trust through stable layouts and easy to read type. 
• Maintain a generous amount of negative space on the front of pack to make communications easy to digest.
• Consider adding some weight to your packaging structures if budget permits. It’s a subconscious indicator of quality. 

Frozen Desserts — Coolhaus

Environment: Behind glass with sometimes dim fluorescent lighting
Format: Pouches and plastics can produce a lot of glare, resulting in blind spots. Boxes provide good real estate and are generally preferred, but also expensive. Ice cream pints are a whole other beast! Lids can put communications near the lid in shadow. The tapering on the body of the pint can also be challenging. 
Consumer Mindset: Looking for decadence, indulgence. Sometimes with a health angle.
Pro tips:
• High contrast graphics. The lighting can be super unforgiving and certain materials can produce a lot of glare.
• Be aware of format or shelving that may hide communications. Design elements too close to the top of product can get hidden in shadows.
• Great photography! No words can capture eyes in this area better than a great photo. Sara Remington, Julia Stotz, Mark Weinberg, and Maren Caruso are some photographers we admire

Personal Care — Seaweed Bath Co

Environment: Cluttered and depending upon the display, products could be in shadow. 
Format: Extremely small, Silkscreen printing and foil stamping can cause legibility issues. Claims can be confusing.
Mindset of Consumer: Self care. Sometimes this is a short escape from reality. These are not as impulsive as many food or drink categories. 
Pro tips:
• Is there budget to create customized structures to help create a memorable experience? A foil stamp or a coating to alter the textural quality of the package? Even a customized cap can add value perception to the consumer.  
• If products are sold on shelf (versus behind a counter) make sure the consumer can easily navigate product benefits to address their concerns. 
• If your primary package requires boxing, consider how you can use that to your advantage, using your box to help consumers understand benefits and usage and let your primary package be simple and elegant in the consumers home/gym/bag.

Chips — Barnana

Environment: Loud & vibrant
Format: Large bags & pouches
Mindset of Consumer: Impulse purchases that lean into craveworthy textures & flavors
Pro tips: 
• So many chip brands lean into flavor but forget about texture! Kettle does a great job of articulating texture with their logotype. This can also be done with backgrounds, imagery, or even spelling it out in words. 
• A lot of your bag will be in shadow from the shelf above and a lot will be hidden as product settles to the bottom of the bag. Make sure you’ve tested your packaging on shelf to ensure all important information can be seen once it’s full & on shelf.