Know Your Market: Leveraging Package Design to Influence Buyers

When you think about product packaging, it’s hard not to consider design. What your package looks like is often the first impression you’re making on your customer. And as we know, first impressions are everything. In fact, you have approximately 3 seconds to capture a consumer’s attention.

Let’s say you’ve got a great product that you know consumers will love. The next step is to create the perfect package that will practically leap off the shelf into consumers’ carts. But, how? What are the design elements to consider when creating the right package design? And is design that important?

At ePac, we specialize in digital printing and flexible packaging, and while our team is extremely talented, we aren’t designers. But, what we know for a fact is that high-quality design (including the elements discussed in this post) paired with state of the art packaging drives more sales for your brand. In this post, we’ll discuss the different elements of successful packaging design and how they impact your business.

The Importance of Packaging Design

According to Nielsen, package design is one of the most effective marketing levers, reaching 100% of in-store shoppers at the critical moment of purchase.

The package itself does a lot to capture attention, and ultimately, drive purchase. Nielsen reported that 64% of consumers try a new product because the package catches their eye, and 41% will continue to purchase a product because they prefer its packaging.

So, what design elements should you consider to ensure that it is your package that is catching their eye?

Packaging Design Elements That Sell

First thing is first, you must take the time to really know your consumer and know what your consumer wants.

Consider the target market and all the traits of your consumer. Where do they live? How old are they? What’s important to them? What are their daily struggles? What do they like? Dislike? How do they want to feel? What do they enjoy doing? We recommend doing a quick Google search for ‘Customer Avatar Questions’ to really dial down your target market if you haven’t done so already.

Maybe your ideal customers are busy moms that are looking for products for healthy and easy meal prep. Or maybe it’s the guy that loves the outdoors and needs a perfect on-the-go snack. Maybe it’s a product geared toward Millennials, who love to talk about their favorite brands on social media. A great design should be tailored to your target market(s) and what’s important to them.

When creating the package design, also consider where the consumer will purchase your product; at the grocery store, convenience store, or online, and consider the story your package will tell in that environment.

Another consideration in today’s market is how your package will look on social media and on online retailers. Design in person is very different than design that lives primarily on an ecommerce platform. Focus on how your product looks on the shelf and on a screen if you plan to sell in multiple channels. If you hope to see your packaging being shared on social media platforms, consider if your packaging is“Instagram-worthy”. Will your consumers be photographing themselves using it?

Photo credit: Sarah’s Snacks

Use the colors and design that best fit your consumer base and how they will engage with your package.

Understanding Color Psychology

The use of color can be more powerful than you think. According to Empowered By Color, “the colors you choose should send the right subliminal messages to inspire any potential customer to buy your product.”

Different colors stand for different things and encourage different feelings. For example, green evokes a feeling of nature and well-being and because of this is commonly used for natural, healthy and organic foods. Consider the color red, which means energy, action, passion, and excitement. Red helps you to make a bold statement. Purple packaging implies luxury and uniqueness. It is also the color for imagination and spirituality. Blue signals trust, honesty and strength, and the color blue are generally liked by both male and female.

The brightness, dullness, and tone of a color can also elicit different emotions in consumers.

A simple Google search can reveal the psychological meanings of just about every color you can imagine.

When looking at color, consider the target market’s age, sex, economic status, and culture. Keep in mind that different cultures respond differently to color, so have a firm grasp of your target market before choosing the color for your package.

In other words, do your research! We encourage you to partner with a branding agency or designer when deciding on your packaging colors and design to ensure you’re communicating with your target market(s) effectively.

Design and Graphics Speak Louder Than Words

According to a study from WePack, color and imagery are what most catches the attention of consumers. We already covered the importance of color; now consider what sort of design or imagery you can use to quickly tell the brand story.

Maybe it’s an image of the key ingredient of the food, like whole grains, to promote the healthfulness of the product. Or, maybe it’s a picture of how to use the product, such as a bathtub for bubble bath. This is when the design experts really come in — how can you quickly communicate who you are as a brand in a couple of seconds?

Photo credit: Evolve Brands

Choose an image that will resonate with your consumer, and don’t forget to have fun with your package design. This is your chance to share with consumers what’s important to your brand, and relay who your brand is. A good package design should make consumers feel something, whether it’s calm, happy, empowered, nostalgic, empowered, or even just hungry.

Digital Printing for High Definition Design

Whether you opt for fun and playful images, bright or pastel colors, or a more serious design, high-impact graphics go a long way to capture consumer attention and keep them engaged. With digital printing, bright, vibrant, and precise graphics are a standard. The quality of graphics exceeds that of conventional printing methods, is capable of matching existing product lines, and registers perfectly for every image printed.

At ePac, our wide-web digital printing technology gives you the freedom of personalization for customized packaging and messaging for your brand to reach various markets. Shorter runs mean more opportunity to create various flavors and customization to meet consumer demand in target markets.