Marketing isn’t just when the brand makes a TVC and makes it public. Marketing is everything that the brand looks like. Whether it’s the basic website design or the billboard near a brand’s physical outlets.
Not until the marketing team owns all the brand’s aspects can it really excel at developing a good and consistent brand image. Now, if you think that consistency has nothing to do with marketing, you’re wrong.
The image a brand builds for itself through the website, the social media handles, each TVC, and even the packaging matters a lot. All of these and more mediums combine to make up the brand identity, and they all deliver a message.
If you own a teenage clothing brand, the taglines, and even the color palette you use in digital or physical marketing would differ from, for instance, a food brand. We talk specifically about food packaging in this article.
Food packaging doesn’t only have to build the identity of the brand but should also make the consumers feel something. Now that means not only should you communicate with the consumers but also make sure they feel what you wish to make them feel.
The tempting image of melting cheese on the front of the cheddar pack isn’t in vain. It lures you into buying some cheese for breakfast!
Importance of Food Packaging Design
Table of Contents
#1) Brand Persona
Now building brand identity is a common prerequisite for every type of business. Whether it’s an insurance company, a famous magazine, packaged food brand, or book publishers, all of them need it. Therefore, we’ll start right from here.
To build a strong brand identity, food brands usually start from the packaging of their products. The packaging says a great amount for your product. Here are some basic functions food packaging designs perform to contribute to brand identity:
- The tone of the tagline
- Look at the food inside
- Raw look versus cooked look
- Font style of the brand name
- Colour scheme that is used
The USP (unique selling point) of the brand should be depicted
#2) The Material Of Packaging Used
The material contributes a great deal to the aesthetic of a food packaging design. Notice how cakes are usually packed in card boxes, but on some special occasions, many brands prefer printing hard plastic boxes.
On the other hand, a paper bag is judged differently than a plastic bag. Many times packaging is related to the environmental and social theme, but often it also has a lot to do with the aesthetic that a product conveys.
Elite brands usually make themselves ‘look’ elite by this very technique. If they use a cheap form of material that does keep the food inside safe but has no good looks, they won’t look good on the shelf.
Now it is very important that your products look good on the shelf. It lures people to buy more.
#3) Remember The Purpose
In today’s marketing era, it is easy to forget the purpose of an advert, and many dollars are wasted on the wrong type of ads as well. It is crucial that while you make the package, you do remember the core purpose of your design.
And your purpose isn’t what you’re selling or the kind of lifestyle your product is promoting. The core purpose is something any brand builds upon. For instance, brands like PediaSure and the Blue band build upon the narrative that children’s health is their priority.
That is why you will see an image of a kid measuring his height on Blue band margarine. These types of pictorial messages convey the core values of a brand.
Now some brands might find it better to carry their food packaging design in line with the TVC ads or social media ads. However, that’s only a valid design option if your brand carries out TVC marketing frequently.
#4) Talk to The Audience
This includes everything from the front of the product name to the taglines you use. Many brands attempt to talk to the audience by offering gifts. For instance, McDonald’s gives toys so that they can promote how they serve families and kids.
If the food packaging design has a bigger picture of the ready-made food, they are promoting its taste and aesthetic of it.
On the other hand, if the image of the raw form of food is the basic design, perhaps the food is more known for hygiene. These are some basic differences that the audience, unwillingly and impulsive, notices very often.
#5) When to Change Packaging
Many brands change their packaging on the basis of offers and seasonal sales. However, there can be many other instances when a food brand changes its packaging.
This is usually done when there is a new flavor, limited edition, or new affiliation in the market. Lay’s has a new color for every flavor, but then whenever they introduce a new ‘set’ of flavors, they change the packaging entirely.
No, it is up to your own product’s versatility and industry dynamics when to change the food packaging design. Some brands even change the material. If the ‘simple’ version was paper, they would make the new and updated (or limited time) version of a harder plastic or some more premium material.
#6) Marketing Through Packaging
Now whether it is a tiny symbol printed by the logo design service UK or the main title of the product, marketing is the goal. If this heading makes you wonder why marketing had to be separately explained, you’ll get to know the reason through these bullets.
Here are the key ways how packaging is a primary form of marketing:
- The logos printed tell the consumer about the various partners
- The package can lure the customer from afar into buying the product
- The Color scheme and ‘vibe’ of the package create an aesthetic
- The taglines act as persuasive marketing ad lines
#7) Cost and Other Limitations
Keep in mind that every design or packaging the company opts for has costs and limitations. While some cheap ones might look attractive, they can significantly impact the sales of the brand. On the other hand, many companies overspend on the packaging, because of which their main marketing budget suffers.
#8) Too Much Fancy
Many clothing brands, especially those of teenagers, love to include all the colors in the world in their logos. However, food brands don’t really follow this formula. We suggest that you keep your food packaging colors contained to a strict palette.
Conclusion:
These are some amazing tips that will surely help you design the best food package for your business.