The perfect unboxing experience takes meticulous planning, has an excellent storyline, and offers admirable context. Just look at your favorite products. The chances are that their packaging design influences your consumer experience. It hints at the value and quality of the product inside.
It all starts with the kinds of packaging you choose. After all, your packaging has the potential to make or break your business. With that in mind, here is a complete guide to the different types of packaging, the benefits, and the factors you should consider when choosing the right type of packaging for your business. Let’s dive in.
The Benefits of Packaging
Packaging is meant to protect your products and ensure they arrive at their destination safely. However, transportation exposes your products to factors like physical damage, tampering, and moisture.
The right package can help ensure that products remain fresh and secure. The shelf life for vacuum-sealed food products is about six months, allowing ample time between transit, delivery, and sale.
Choosing the right packaging for your products could improve your delivery time since it reduces the time spent going through open packages to check for missing parts. When your products arrive at your customers with minimal to no damage, it could help minimize the number of returned items.
This, in turn, reduces maintenance costs and increases your overall cash flow. You also get customers who are satisfied with your services. Adding product information on your packages guides your customers through their shopping experience by empowering them to make the right choice.
Do Packaging Materials Matter?
Consumers expect businesses to provide packaging materials that are functional, sustainable, durable, and aesthetically appealing. Your packaging is no longer merely a tool for storing and shipping your products to your customers.
In fact, packaging has become so much more than that.
A well-designed and printed package is an excellent marketing tool for your business because it exposes your company to potential clients. Also, your packaging is an excellent source of information for consumers, and when designed to offer a unique unboxing experience, it helps improve customer satisfaction.
Several packaging materials are recyclable, which include:
- Paper packaging
- Clear plastic packaging
- Poly mailers
- Kraft paper mailers
- Corrugated cardboard
Packaging materials matter because they determine how your customers perceive your product, your business, and whether you provide value. As a result, your decision of social and environmental responsibility is also shown through your packaging materials.
Do Packing Designs Matter?
The more appealing your packaging is, the more attractive your product may be for customers. A recent survey shows that at least 70% of customers say that the design of the packaging influences whether they purchase your products or not.
And if you have more customers looking at your product because it has an interesting design, you may increase the chance of building your audience and getting new customers on board. Additionally, excellent package designs show the uniqueness of your business, making it easier to differentiate your products from those of your competitors.
Create a package design that reinforces your business brand, protects your products, and makes you stand out from the rest. Keep in mind that your product package influences the perception of the quality of your products, so a well-designed and appealing product package could indicate that the products inside are of high quality.
Use psychology to connect your packaging and your consumers, and you turn your target market into your product ambassadors.
How Can Your Products Be Transported?
You must know when to transport and ship your products securely and effectively. Also, consider your customer preferences since most customers expect same-day delivery if your target market is in your local area.
Gather data about the product type, delivery method, and customer location to determine transportation metrics. For instance, your shipping options include air, road, rail, and sea. Air transportation might be advisable for international shipping.
Remember, the goal is to get the products to your customers as soon as possible. Despite the high costs, air transportation might be good for specific products. But if you sell products in small parcels, mailing them becomes cost-effective and efficient.
What May Appeal to Your Desired Customers?
Today, successful brands have mastered the art of building a two-way communication channel between business and the customer. After all, meeting customer needs is vital for businesses.
So, what type of packaging may appeal to your customer’s needs?
This depends on your target market. Suppose your audience is environmentally conscious. In that case, you want to use packaging materials that are either biodegradable or recyclable. The goal is to offer your customers something unique.
Consider demonstrating how your product helps your target market. Engage your customers with an interactive chat box or spark conversations on social media. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, request feedback, and use that information to understand your customers.
Take all this information into consideration to better develop customer personas to enhance the personalization of your packaging options.
What Are the Different Types of Packaging?
Rigid Boxes
Rigid boxes are durable, customizable, and offer a premium appeal. The rigid box is made from highly condensed paperboard, making it four times thicker than the standard paperboard used for making standard folding cartons.
Typically, a rigid box is handmade, requiring expensive or huge machines to make. They are currently the most expensive type of boxes. Because of their rigid nature, these boxes do not collapse during shipping, which means they take up a higher volume in shipping containers, and, in turn, incur a higher cost.
Nonetheless, rigid boxes are your best option to deliver jewelry, cosmetics, high-end luxury items, and technology in perfect condition. And since the box is customizable, including things like domes, compartments, and hinges is an easy option.
Paperboard
Paperboard is a strong, lightweight material created by turning fibrous materials from wood into paper. This is the perfect type of packaging for personalization and customization because it is easily cut and manipulated to make custom package shapes and sizes.
There are different paperboard box packaging grades in the market, with each made suitable for different packaging needs. For instance, cosmetics, milk, medicine, frozen food items, and juices use the solid bleached sulfate (SBS) paperboard packaging.
On the other hand, coated unbleached kraft (CUK) is perfect for environmentally conscious individuals or those that want a natural packaging option for their products. Kraft is also excellent for recycling and is used in various applications.
However, kraft is not an excellent food packaging material because it is less resistant to moisture. Nonetheless, the right design gives paperboard packaging a high-value appeal without adding the costs of making packaging materials.
Paperboard is also made from recycling waste paper by turning it into a pulp and bleaching it.
Chipboard Boxes
Industries in the food, beverage, medical, electronics, and cosmetic fields use chipboard packaging. It is cost-effective, easily manipulated into different shapes and sizes, and comes in different densities. These features provide versatility in terms of packaging solutions for various products.
For instance, certain chipboard boxes have lower density and strength, making them easier to fold, cut, and form into any shape. However, this is not the type of packaging to use if your products are heavy because the chipboard material is very lightweight.
Instead, this is your ultimate food packaging option because it is well suited for lightweight grocery items like crackers, cereals, and tissue boxes. But do keep in mind that moisture weakens the chipboard and causes it to expand and discolor.
When making the chipboard, treat it with Solid Bleached Sulfate (SBS) and Clay Coated News Back (CCNB) to have a packaging material to print on as part of your business branding strategy. CCNB has the added advantage of making your packaging material more durable.
Corrugated Cardboard Boxes
Commonly known as cardboard boxes, this packaging is commonly used for shipping and storage. In most cases, recycled paper is used to construct the corrugated board using a corrugator machine.
As a result, these packaging materials are highly recyclable since they are recycled repeatedly as a source of pulp fiber. Corrugated materials usually have three paper layers: an inner, outer, and medium layer.
The corrugated medium, or fluting, gives the cardboard box strength and durability. Additionally, there are different types of corrugated cardboard boxes depending on the strength and durability of the box.
Identify the different corrugated boxes by determining the type of corrugated material used to make the packaging. These include single faces, twin wall, double-faced, and triple wall corrugated boards.
Remember, the type you choose also determines the packaging style to design since each has a different strength, characteristic, and performance ability.
This type of packaging is also highly applicable in small consumer goods packages, food delivery packaging like delivering pizza, and retail packaging.
Aluminum
Aluminum is another versatile packaging material common globally because of its many uses and benefits. It can form any shape, has protective qualities that make it excellent for food storage, and is environmentally friendly.
Aluminum is a thin packaging material that is also strong, making it ideal for just about anything. Reusable and recyclable, aluminum even offers n against substances like bacteria, light, and liquid.
Packaging made from aluminum is mainly used in the food industry, construction, or transport. The material is especially ideal for beverages, pastries, dairy products, and other types of food because it protects these products from sunlight damage.
Aluminum packaging material is made by pulling an aluminum sheet under pressure between two rotating rollers. The result is a thin sheet of foil cut and designed for specific packaging uses.
Rigid Plastics
This type of plastic is rigid, and you can mold it into any shape you want. It is important to note that it can deform if bent to a certain point. Therefore, it is best used as part of the packaging material for products that have accessories.
For instance, a cordless drill set uses rigid plastic to place the pieces inside the packaging. The plastic also provides regular protection from factors like moisture. Rigid plastic is recyclable, customizable, lightweight, and affordable.
But it is made from thermoformed molded polypropylene, a non-renewable material.
Flexible Packaging
This is packaging made from flexible materials that can be sealed and packed without affecting the contents inside the packaging. As a result, you can mold flexible packaging into many different shapes and sizes.
This makes flexible packaging the most popular food packaging option in the market. The material also helps keep food products fresh for an extended period when stored correctly. Additionally, the flexible material is eco-friendly, helping to reduce waste.
Flexible packaging is one of the most sustainable packaging options for consumer goods because it produces less waste for landfills, energy, and water consumption, while remaining affordable and valuable to businesses.
What Are the Different Package Styles?
Straight Tuck End
The straight tuck end is the most common style of packaging products because you can use it on almost any item. Not only is it durable and affordable, but the design displays the product from the packing using a transparent front display panel.
This gives the design a unique style and look while offering damage protection. The straight tuck end package is made from corrugated fibreboard and paperboard.
Reverse Tuck End
This package is folded from the front to the back. The other sides are folded from the back to the front. Unlike the straight tuck end, the reverse tuck end doesn’t show your product from the front.
Instead, the focus of the packaging style is safety, meaning everything can be well covered and not exposed. You can use this package style for different products like food, cosmetics, beverage, and pharmaceuticals. These packages are available in different shapes and sizes since the reverse tuck end package is made from rigid stock, cardboard stock, and kraft stock.
Display Box
These corrugated display boxes are primarily used in the food, cosmetics, electronics, and beverage industry because of their display versatility. Display boxes present beautiful ways for businesses to brand and market their products.
Since display boxes come in different sizes and are durable, they are perfect for packaging consumer goods. These are the boxes you see at supermarkets, trade shows, and other retail shops.
Gable Bags and Box
If you are looking for the perfect boxes or packaging to promote your products, use the gable bags and boxes. These packages are versatile since you use them as a bag or a box.
Fold the boxes into flat shapes to give more storage for your items, or stretch out the bottom to make a bag for storage of items. As a result, these eye-catching packaging designs are perfect for packaging gifts and takeaway food items.
Four Corners
Enhance the quality of your beer, beverages, and medical boxes without compromising their quality with four corner packaging. The four corner box is practical and suitable for various types of uses, whether you want to package breakable bottles, jars, or beer cans.
You also can custom print the boxes to fit your company brand message. And if you need a lid, easily include it in the design. This is an excellent packaging option for displaying your products.
Sleeve
This is a unique package made of two parts: the bottom part is the part of the package that holds the product, and the upper lid of the sleeve covers your product.
An excellent example is a simple matchstick box or a jewelry box. These boxes are perfect for luxury packaging because they are affordable, customizable, and give your business the appeal of uniqueness. You may also find specific options that are eco-friendly.
Pillow Box
This modern but cost-effective option is a package glued to one flap and designed to look like a pillow. Many soap companies package their products in pillow boxes when there is a need to add beauty and value.
The pillow box package is also used for other products like jewelry, cosmetics, and give-away items because of its practical and unusual yet appealing design.
Foot Lock
This is the best packaging option if you want maximum security for your product inside. Foot lock packaging comes with lock parts that join to form a secure system when your packaging is shut.
The package is preferred for apparel, cosmetics, and pastries. Transporting these packages is simple. Usually, the size of a foot lock package is the same as the size of the product inside, but you can customize it to your liking.
1-2-3 Bottom (Aka Snap-Lock)
Also known as the Snap-Lock, this packaging style is mainly used as a bottom closure with a tuck top closure. The package is assembled and sealed using your manual hands. Therefore, you can customize the package by creating a tube-style counter, shallow depth, or display carton package.
Stand-Up Pouch (Doyen Seal)
The Doyen seal is the most common type of stand-up pouch packaging. It has a round bottom with a corner that has a welded edge. This gives it the support to stand on its own on your shelf. The sealing area of the package also determines the weight of the objects you place inside the box.
As such, the stand-up Doyen pouch is best suited for lightweight items, preferably those that are less than one pound.
Stand-Up Pouch (K-Seal)
If your product weighs more than one pound but less than five pounds, this is the bag to choose. The K-Seal bottom pouch package has a bottom that looks like the letter “k,” which adds to the bag’s stability and aesthetic appeal.
However, this bag is most suited for granular and powder products since they expand less and require no die when making.
Stand-Up Pouch (Plow)
The stand-up plow pouch bag is also known as the folded bottom or the corner bottom pouch, even though the bottom part of the package is not sealed. The seals are on the side of the pouch.
Suitable for products that are heavier than five pounds, the product in the bag lies flat on the bottom part of the package.
3 Side Seal Pouch
As the name suggests, these bags are sealed on three sides of the package, leaving one side open. The last part is only sealed with heat after the product is secured inside the package.
This is one of the products to consider child-resistant significantly. Its nature also makes it perfect for nutritional supplements and foods like dry mixes or instant soup. The last seal is also resealable if you want a reusable bag.
Factors To Consider
Your products must be protected by the packaging you choose. But how do you know which packaging is right for your products? After all, you have a slew of options. You also need to consider the best type of packaging that attracts your customers and maintains the authenticity of your products throughout the shipping process.
Here are the most important factors to consider when choosing the best type of packaging for your business:
Are You Using the Right Type of Packing?
The cost-effectiveness of your business is affected by the type of packaging you choose for your product. The right packaging option enhances your shipments, helps minimize damage, and improves the overall customer experience – which can help increase your sales.
Consider the type of products you sell and your packaging needs. Then, choose the suitable packaging for your products. For example, rigid packaging is excellent for products that need physical protection like electronics, jewelry, and fragile items, while flexible packaging options are best for food and beverage items.
Packaging Supplier Selection
Be meticulous about the supplier you choose for your packaging materials and boxes.
Do they stock what you need? Do they have options? Are they keen on reducing waste and minimizing environmental impact? What are their prices? Do you get after-service support or any additional services you might need, like fast delivery or product knowledge support?
Answers to these questions can help you narrow down your supplier selection to one that fits your business needs.
Quality Management
Product quality is not something you should negotiate. Ensure that the quality you get from your supplier is consistent with your business standards. Even though you have multiple suppliers, each should offer the same quality of products. Check the compliance requirements and make sure your supplier meets them.
Conclusion
The type of packaging your business uses contributes significantly to your success. Therefore, you should figure out what packaging means to your brand and brand message and how you can translate that into the package you choose.
Consider additional functions like security, reliability, and durability, so you can deliver your product to the customer without any damage. Your packaging possibilities are endless. But whatever you do, make sure the packaging style and type you choose appeals to your target market.
Ready to get started? Reach out to Dymapak for distinctive packaging for your products and see your sales soar.
Sources:
The Role of Packaging in Brand Communication | IJSER
New framework helps companies make the right decisions to increase packaging sustainability | WBCSD
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