Packaging Design Influence

Always make sure your architecture works with your pack. If you have a wide and varied product range, it’s important to create a packaging architecture that allows for consistent and optimised placement of every element. Your brand logo, product descriptor, key messaging and imagery should each have their own space and be allowed to breathe. No element should be fighting with another. And the placement of one element shouldn’t compromise everything else around it. This Birds Eye pack is a good example of exactly that issue. The food photography feels cramped into the bottom of the pack, while a large amount of empty space sits around the logo at the top. The result is an architecture that feels uncomfortable and slightly forced. The issue seems to come from the need for the brand icon to sit above the wave containing the product information. That wave also creates a very confined space were longer product descriptors need to opt for a much smaller font While this might work in principle, across different pack formats and products it can create areas of dead space. And that’s valuable space. Space that could be used to better showcase the product, communicate its benefits and, ultimately, make the pack work harder on shelf. A strong packaging architecture isn’t just about consistency. It’s about creating a flexible system that can adapt across your entire range without forcing individual packs into a layout that doesn’t suit them. #Marketing, #Design, #BrandDesign, #Packaging —————————————— If you like this post then subscribe to my monthly newsletter. The aim of this is to give advice to brand owners and marketeers who are looking to make their branding & packaging design more relevant. 👉 https://lnkd.in/ep3uG9kv —————————————— Click the 🔔 on my profile to stay up to date and/or share with your network. ——————————————

Water in milk cartons, olive oil in squeeze bottles, sunscreen in whip cream cans, moonshine in motor oil containers. While most companies can't afford to invest significant sums into custom packaging like Califia, Welly, Olly and Method, many have still found ways to punch above their weight, disrupt categories and build brand equity by appropriating stock packaging options from other categories. The key is knowing which structures to hijack and why, as simply being different for difference-sake isn't enough. Here are 5 approaches and principles to use when selecting a stock structure: 💥 Disrupt the Matrix  Stillhouse disrupted bottled spirits with a stainless steel can. Forty Ounce Wines broke the wine bottle mold with the infamous malt liquor bottle. Vacation's whip cream can turns heads in sunscreen. The more common a particular packaging format is, the greater the opportunity to standout. The key to success is blending novelty with functionality to both fit in and stand out. 🧲 Attract New Audiences Local Weather connected with Gen-Z by ditching traditional plastic bottles and becoming the first sports drink to use an infinitely recyclable bottle. Underwood spoke to consumers tired of wine's stuffy image by canning high-quality wine. Liquid Death needs no explanation. Category codes are meant to be broken, particularly as each new generation of consumers arises, which makes packaging a powerful tool to subvert entrenched norms. 🥛 Leverage Associations Paper board cartons trigger thoughts of milk, so Blue Bottle ingeniously used a milk pint for its first iced coffee product with dairy. Smart Home Farm's granola in a carton reinforces eating it with milk and enjoying for breakfast. Flo uses an ice cream pint for their tampons to cheekily hint at period-cravings. The more common a structure is in a category, the more associations is accrues, which can then be leveraged to subconsciously communicate information, so long as consumers can intuit the meaning. 🎉 Create Occasion Graza famously launched olive oil in plastic squeeze bottles to make in-home use fun, easy and fresh after recognizing this use in restaurants. Fred Water’s plastic flask bottle fit easily into the back pockets of bicycling urbanites on-the-go in cities like NYC, on top of giving it an edgy vibe. Underwood’s canned wine opened up pools, beaches and places where glass is prohibited. Novel packaging in a given category can encourage new usage occasions and consumer opportunities to great success. 🗣️ Communicate Values  Culina yogurt used terracotta pots to reinforce it's plant-based ideals. Boxed Water fights for more sustainable futures. Underwood and Forty Ounce Wines knows quality doesn't have to come in a bottle. Packaging, used wisely, can reinforce strong company beliefs amidst competitors. So while custom structural design can create immense value, so too can the appropriation of stock packaging with the right strategy and insight.

There will be plenty of Expo West posts about ingredients and trends this week. But for me the most interesting thing this year wasn’t an ingredient trend. It was how hard packaging is working. Something that stood out walking the show this year: Packaging is no longer the last step in launching a brand. For many founders… it is the strategy. Retail discovery is harder than ever. Shelves are crowded. Buyers are overwhelmed. Consumers are scanning faster. (and soooo much smarter) So the package has to do a ton more work. I walk Expo the same way every year. Head on a swivel. Scanning quickly. Letting the things that grab my attention pull me in. And you can see which brands are built for that moment. A few examples that jumped out at me: Joolies Dates Sours — bright sour candy color palettes and playful graphics that scream from the shelf. Dates… but packaged like candy. (Oh and dates were everywhere! It was neat to see all the different iterations) Little Latke — bold oversized typography and simple punchy color blocking that stopped me mid-walk. Darn tasty too! Mamame Whole Foods Tempeh Chips — strong illustrated mascots and personality forward graphics that makes the bag feel like a character. Circ Protein Bites — minimal but extremely confident. Big typography doing most of the talking. And the creative "reseal" diecut window is a nice touch! Meurisse Chocolate — a masterclass in shelf architecture. The packaging plus the display system creates a full retail moment. Hard to see here but there'slittle touches of gold foil which made my print heart sing. Kuli Kuli Foods — incredibly bold color systems and instantly recognizable shelf presence. These were just a few of the packages that pulled me across the aisle. Brands are not just designing a bag or a box anymore. They are designing how the product shows up in that moment. I’m not the first person to say it, but packaging being a brand’s first salesperson rings truer than ever. It has to carry a ton of weight. All in about 1.5 - 3 seconds, from about six feet away. (YIKES) Which, not surprisingly, is about how long it takes to walk past a booth at Expo. (Unless its clogged with mid aisle bro meetings or Gary Vee in a booth) That is a tall order for a bag, box, or can. But the brands that understand this are treating packaging less like decoration and more like infrastructure. CRITICAL infrasctruture. And walking Expo West this year… You could really feel that arms race in full effect. Curious what others noticed walking the floor. Which packages pulled you in this year?

Packaging accounts for 140M+ tons of waste each year. Here are actionable strategies my team has explored with clients to optimize packaging and save costs: First, we start with a Lifecycle Assessment (LCA) to identify the environmental hotspots and the most relevant actions to take. That analysis may lead us to many of the actions below. 1. Reduce Material Usage • Lightweight Materials: Use thinner and lighter materials that still provide adequate protection. • Minimal Packaging: Evaluate packaging design to eliminate unnecessary layers and excess space. 2. Use Sustainable Materials • Recycled Content: Opt for materials that are made from post-consumer or post-industrial recycled content. • Compostable/Biodegradable Options: Use materials like paper, cornstarch, or bioplastics that decompose naturally. • Renewable Resources: Incorporate plant-based materials like bamboo or hemp. 3. Design for Reuse and Recycling • Single-Material Packaging: Avoid mixing materials (e.g., plastic and metal) to make recycling easier. • Clear Labels: Mark packaging with recycling symbols and instructions to guide consumers. 4. Adopt Circular Economy Principles • Take-Back Programs: Offer incentives for customers to return used packaging for reuse or recycling. • Closed-Loop Systems: Work with suppliers to reclaim and reuse packaging. 5. Choose Responsible Suppliers • Source materials from suppliers that practice sustainable harvesting and manufacturing processes. • Ask suppliers to supply carbon and waste data associated with the packaging they provide. 6. Monitor and Adapt • Conduct Audits: Regularly analyze the environmental impact of your packaging. • Gather Feedback: Engage customers for suggestions on improving packaging. • Stay Updated: Keep abreast of advancements in sustainable packaging materials and technologies. https://lnkd.in/gTbkH_HM

A retail brand redesigned their packaging last month. Same product. Same price point. Same distribution channels. Sales increased 340% within six weeks. What changed? Visual storytelling that connected with customer needs. I understand how overwhelming packaging redesign feels when balancing aesthetic appeal with functional requirements. Your brand identity matters deeply, and effective packaging communicates value before customers read a single word. The breakthrough came from understanding customer decision-making at the shelf. Four design principles that transform packaging into sales drivers: First, establish clear product hierarchy through visual weight. Bold graphics highlight premium offerings. Lighter designs signal entry-level options. Weight distribution guides customers toward products matching their budget expectations. Second, use texture patterns that communicate product benefits. Smooth surfaces suggest refined formulations. Textured elements indicate strength or durability. Tactile cues reinforce product positioning through physical interaction. Third, position key information within the customer's natural scanning pattern. Eyes move left-to-right across packages. Place critical benefits in high-visibility zones. Information placement determines what customers notice first. Fourth, create unboxing sequences that build anticipation. Layer reveals generate emotional engagement. Progressive disclosure maintains interest throughout the opening experience. Structured unboxing transforms routine purchases into memorable moments. The brand applied these principles to redesign their entire product line. Customer retention improved 85% alongside the sales increase. Design choices directly influenced purchasing behavior and brand loyalty. Your packaging speaks before your product performs. From my perspective, successful packaging design requires understanding customer psychology at the point of purchase. What packaging element most influences your buying decisions when comparing similar products?

Packaging is everything in retail. Every week we review inventory opportunities where the product is fine - but the packaging holds it back. A plain brown box may save money upfront, but the ROI on smart packaging is often far greater. The right packaging can: ✅ Win retailers - Buyers think about shelf presentation. A decent product in great packaging often outsells a great product in weak packaging. If packaging doesn’t clearly explain value, it risks sitting on shelves and being marked down. ✅ Support higher pricing - It’s not just about cost, it’s about velocity. If investing 10% more in packaging helped you sell through 50% more units, wouldn’t that tradeoff be worth it? ✅ Increase liquidation value - Retail-ready packaging can swing resale offers by 50–100%. In some cases, bad packaging makes inventory almost completely unsellable. And it’s not just about looks, it’s about planning: ✅ Always include UPCs. They’re free to add if designed into the artwork (outside of the minimal cost of the UPC), but often essential for retail and liquidation. ✅ Keep case packs manageable. Retailers don’t want to send more than 24 units of an item to a store - often it’s closer to 6-12. If your master case holds 30+ units, most buyers won’t even consider it, or they’re going to ask you to repack into smaller cases. Oversized cases limit flexibility and make the product less attractive. Shippable inner packs aligned to store needs help solve this. ✅ Triple-check your artwork. Typos, unclear instructions, or mismatched contents erode trust. Have someone unfamiliar with the product review it - if they can’t understand it from the packaging, consumers won’t either. Bottom line: Packaging is a cost, but it’s one that directly impacts sell-through, pricing power, and liquidation value. Cutting corners usually costs more in the long run. And while not every e-commerce product ends up in brick & mortar, many do - so designing packaging with multiple channels (including liquidation) in mind protects your ROI. #Packaging #Retail #Closeouts #Wholesale #Manufacturing #Design

Bad packaging costs you twice. Returns spike. Repurchases die. Customers form opinions before opening the box. Damaged packaging signals low quality regardless of what's inside. Oversized packaging costs money twice. Higher dimensional weight fees on shipping. Increased FBA storage fees because your product takes up more space than necessary. Right-sizing boxes reduces costs per unit and improves your carbon footprint metrics. Amazon now tracks this for Climate Pledge Friendly badges. Packaging that's difficult to open frustrates customers immediately. Excessive tape, clamshell plastic, or sealed boxes requiring tools create negative first impressions before they see your product. Functional packaging adds value beyond protection. Resealable bags. Compartments for organization. Reusable containers. These increase perceived value and encourage repeat purchases. Your packaging should match your brand identity across every product. Inconsistent packaging makes your brand look disorganized. Reduces trust. Product inserts work when they add value. QR codes to setup guides. Discount codes for next purchase. Simple thank you notes build connection. Generic insert cards begging for five-star reviews get thrown away. Sustainability matters to Amazon's algorithm and your customers. Excessive plastic or non-recyclable materials hurt listing visibility. They hurt appeal to eco-conscious buyers. Prohibited claims on packaging get your listing suspended. Health claims. Therapeutic benefits. Unsubstantiated performance statements. All violate Amazon policy regardless of whether they're true. Clear communication of product features on packaging improves your main image click-through rate. Customers need to understand what they're buying from the package shot in your listing photos. Test packaging variations the same way you test listing images. Customer feedback reveals which designs reduce returns and increase satisfaction scores. Flimsy packaging that arrives damaged creates one-star reviews focused entirely on presentation rather than product performance. Those reviews tank conversion rates for months. Packaging is part of your product experience. Not an afterthought.