With the emergence of packaging technologies in the 19th century, more companies were enabled to produce, pack, and forward their merchandise with a hint of creativity. Certainly, this spike in the trend resulted in a new frontier of competition, where the concepts and creativity of companies were put to test. The attractive packaging system started to take the trade by storm and a slight shift of focus towards packaging resulted in better sales.
In this article, we will discuss how custom packaging is helping millions of businesses and how companies are using custom packaging as a marketing tool.
From the early days of its emergence, packaging has served as a useful and functional factor from product presentation to its sales; providing protection and easier carriage. They serve these basic purposes to this day, although the trade and products might have changed. Even the alterations and improvements in the delivery of goods came to pass, yet the role of packaging remains as essential as ever since the products need to be delivered without harm and sit on those shelves as immaculate as they were made.
In his book “Packaging Source Book (1991)” Robert Opie states the importance of packaging and the changes that it has brought about; from removing the provision merchant to the birth of self-service retail. The packaging was no more mere protection for products, but a new way of marketing the goods it contained. With the sophistication of advertising techniques, a new gateway was opened for using packaging for brand recognition.
Over time packaging has made it evident that plays an enormous role in the crowd feeling the presence of your product, selling a product not to the visual pleasure only but to the point of purchase. As branding started growing, so did the prominence of packaging and the role it played in defining a certain brand. These packaging options are the embodiment of the time and effort they have consumed and a true means of communication between the seller and the client through visualization.
The designs of packages make an image of the product in the mind of the consumers through which the producer itself is perceived. When a consumer is buying a product they are paying not only for the good but the brand itself as well.
It has always been a pivotal role of packaging to differentiate two brands from each other. This procedure of setting apart a brand starts primarily with the label or logo that sits prominently on the packaging. Initially, graphics played the sole role in the empowerment of these packaging, however now the structural and functional properties have also entered the game. At times this is accomplished through shape, like the prominent square shape of the Jack Daniel’s, but it can also be associated with color, finish, or material of the packaging.
Keeping up with the changing world and life of consumers is the key to the survival of manufacturers. As people have started living more on the move and travels are more frequent than ever, the packaging of products need to fit into this avenue and be efficient in easy to carry criterion. This challenge led to the travel size packaging of products and opened a whole new revenue of competition with many brands falling in the market every day.