Choosing the right packaging for your product is a crucial decision that can significantly impact your business’s success. I interviewed Jeff Jacobs, VP of Marketing for ePac on the Startup to Scale Podcast and shared my key takeaways from the conversation. He shares valuable insights into the factors that businesses need to consider when selecting the right packaging for their products.

Consider the Product Requirements

It’s important to understand and document all the requirements your product needs to make it safely from your manufacturing facility to your consumer in the best possible condition. The packaging should be designed to protect the product from moisture, light, and air, and should be compatible with your product’s shelf life. For example, if you are selling a food product, you need to ensure that your packaging provides an adequate barrier against oxygen, which can cause the product to spoil. Additionally, the packaging should be designed to protect the product during transport and handling.

Consumer Perception of the Product

Consumer perception of your product is another critical factor to consider when choosing the right packaging. Consumers shopping at a grocery store (or online shelf) typically take 3 seconds to decide if your product is what they’re looking for. Make sure your packaging format and text is easily scannable. As I always say, people should be able to understand exactly what your product is within 3 seconds, and then decide if it’s something they’re interested in or not.

The packaging should also reflect the quality of your product and your brand’s values. For example, if you are selling an eco-friendly product, you should use sustainable packaging to reflect your commitment to the environment. Alternatively, if you are selling a luxury product, you should use premium packaging to reflect the quality of your product.

Manufacturing Ability

You need to ensure that your packaging can be manufactured efficiently and cost-effectively. For example, if you are using a co-packer, you need to ensure that the packaging is compatible with their equipment. Additionally, you need to ensure that your packaging can be efficiently printed and labeled. If you’re making a beverage, canning lines are incompatible with glass bottling lines and vice versa, so changing formats will mean changing manufacturers.

Sustainability

Sustainability is another factor to consider when choosing the right packaging for your product. Consumers are becoming increasingly concerned about the environmental impact of packaging, and businesses need to take this into account. Determine if your product needs to be single use or multi-use, and choose sustainable materials that can be recycled or biodegraded.

Innovation vs. Standard Packaging

When choosing the right packaging for your product, you need to decide whether to use innovative or standard packaging. Innovative packaging can help your product stand out on the shelf and attract attention. However, it can also be risky, as customers may not understand your product and packaging. Standard packaging may be less risky, but it may not help your product stand out.

Educating Consumers

If you choose to use innovative packaging, you need to educate your customers about your product and packaging. For example, ePac worked with a company that manufactures dry ice cream products, and they decided to package it in an ice cream pint container that’s merchandised in the baking aisle of the store. While disruptive, they are focused on educating potential customers on what the product is and helping retail buyers to understand that the product wasn’t frozen. At the same time, the product definitely stands out as something unique on the shelf and gets customers to stop and consider.

Minimum Order Quantity for First Orders

Every founder will make changes to their first packaging design, so always order the lowest quantity to test initial product market fit. Don’t worry about optimizing the cost per unit at this stage, as you’ll likely need to make big changes anyway. With TeaSquares, we had to recycle 10,000 units of packaging because of a change, which was a pretty big loss.

Wrap Up

Choosing the right packaging for your product is a critical decision that can significantly impact your business’s success. By considering the product requirements, consumer perception, manufacturing ability, sustainability, innovation, and educating your customers, you can make an informed decision about your packaging. With the right packaging, you can attract attention and stand out on the shelf, while also ensuring that your product is protected, maintains its quality, and reflects your brand’s values.