When creating private label products, it’s often all too easy to place all of your focus on the products themselves, meaning that packaging becomes an afterthought. This, however, is a big mistake…
No matter how good your products may be, if your packaging isn’t up to scratch, you’re unlikely to succeed. Packaging is often what entices a potential new customer to try a product for the first time. It showcases your brand identity while communicating what the product within is all about. Get your packaging right and you’ll find it much easier to rake in the sales!
If you’re new to packaging design, don’t worry – FLPL has you covered! Here are seven important things to consider before choosing your private label packaging.
1) Safety and Security
First and foremost, you need to be able to rely on your packaging to be able to get your product from A to B. Your private label packaging has to securely contain and protect your protect, both in transit as well as in storage. The last thing that you want is for your product to break or end up damaged before it reaches your customer’s home. Each time this happens and you receive a returned product, you’ll be eating into your profit.
To ensure this, you’ll need to match your product’s fragility to material durability. For example, if you’re producing a line of beautifully scented body oils encased in heavy glass bottles, delicate cardboard packaging won’t suffice. Instead, you’ll need something much sturdier. You may also require extra materials, like bubble wrap, to save those bottles from being jostled around in transit.
Of course, those glass bottles themselves also count as packaging. Whether you go with glass, plastic, or anything else, make sure that the packaging that holds your actual products prioritizes their safety. When creating beauty products, you have additional factors to consider, such as how certain ingredients interact with various packaging materials. Say, for example, you’re producing a vitamin C serum for the face. In order to keep that solution safe, your packaging needs to be opaque and air-tight as vitamin C quickly deteriorates upon contact with light or oxygen.
Safety and security should always be the primary goal of your private label packaging. Be sure to keep this in mind when considering all of the other factors that come into play too.
2) Brand Image
Packaging is a form of communication. It reflects your brand in a way that makes it almost like an extension of your products themselves. Using your packaging to show customers what your brand is all about will help to build confidence and loyalty in your products.
To do this, think about your brand’s values. Consider what you want your customers to feel when they encounter your private label packaging. Perhaps there’s a way in which you can highlight a particular aspect of your brand through your packaging, such as with certain graphics or material choices. 67% of consumers say that packaging material significantly influences their choice of product, so figure out how to personify your brand while also appealing to your customers through your choice of packaging.
When it comes to graphics, decide whether you want to make a big statement or if you’d prefer to keep things simple and minimal. Both have their pros and cons – it all depends on which best matches your brand image. If you decide to go subtle and elegant but are worried that your packaging won’t stand out, look into making your packaging more tactile. Embossing certain areas of text or adding a glossy finish will draw people in. It will make them want to touch it, enabling even the most simplified designs to influence a customer’s purchasing decision.
If your branding could do with some work before you make a start on packaging, make sure that you’ve teamed up with a private label manufacturer that can help with this. At FLPL, our art and marketing department is more than capable of polishing up and elevating your branding. Work with us and your branding will easily outshine that of your competitors!
3) Sustainability and Reusability
Sustainability now has a big impact on purchasing decisions, especially when it comes to the younger generations. Over 40% of consumers agree that they’re much more likely to purchase a product if the product’s packaging is environmentally friendly. This means that you need to take sustainability into account when creating your private label packaging. If you don’t, you’ll likely miss out on a number of sales.
What steps should you be taking to ensure that your packaging is as sustainable as possible?
Start by using as little of it as possible to cut back on packaging waste. With that said, remember to keep product security in mind too. You’ll need to strike the perfect balance between minimizing waste and keeping your products safe.
In terms of the packaging you do use, recyclable is the way to go. Although you’ll have less choice when it comes to packaging materials, your options will be just as robust as the non-recyclable alternatives.
Using innovative renewable materials can also be a good move. Not only are there plenty of environmentally friendly options out there, but they also showcase your brand’s cutting-edge and forward-thinking nature. Corn starch, for example, can be used instead of plastic. Bagasse, which comes from sugar cane fibers, can work as a paper replacement. Bamboo is another durable material that can easily be reused.
4) User Experience
While it’s important to think about how your private label packaging works for you in terms of functionality and branding, you also need to take the user experience into account. You want this to be absolutely seamless, from when they first open the product to each time they reseal it. Get this right and your packaging will be able to engage your customers in a way that leaves a memorable impression.
Again, safety and security come into play here. If sub-par packaging causes your products to leak or break, this leads to a poor user experience.
The unboxing process needs to be thought about too. This is particularly important when it comes to beauty products, as unboxing videos have become a big trend! These videos show a user opening the box of a product for the first time. They usually then reveal the contents of that box one by one. Think about how your packaging would look in one of these videos. If it isn’t going to impress, tweak it so that it does.
5) Shape and Size
If you’re new to private label packaging, you may be tempted to get a little creative when it comes to the shape and size of the packaging you create. A lot of the packaging out there tends to be quite standard when it comes to these elements. As a result, newbies often think that going for an unexpected shape or size would be an easy way to ensure that their packaging stands out on shelves.
In reality, unusually-sized packaging can often put retailers off. If your packaging doesn’t neatly fit onto store shelves, they probably won’t want to stock it. The same applies to awkwardly shaped packaging. However, not only will this affect your chances of bagging some good retailers, but it will also make shipping and storage more of a hassle. It’s bad enough that you will end up paying more for your custom-shaped packaging to be manufactured, but the logistical nightmare that it will likely cause will also end up costing you.
Unnecessary packaging will also interfere with your sustainability efforts. For this reason, many businesses are now trying to keep their packaging as small and conveniently-shaped as possible.
6) Place of Purchase
We’ve already discussed the importance of ensuring that your private label packaging stands out on store shelves. However, what if you aren’t planning on selling your products in a physical shop? If e-commerce is going to be the only way to purchase your products, then this means that your customers won’t actually see your packaging until it arrives on their doorstep.
This is why the place of purchase is something else that needs to be considered when choosing private label packaging. It will largely dictate the type of packaging that you need, as well as the aspects of your brand image it should portray. Packaging that’s sitting on a crowded shelf, surrounded by competitors, will need to be more attention-grabbing. Meanwhile, if you’re selling online, the focus of your private label packaging should be on securing your products while also making a lasting impression.
7) Laws and Regulations
While it would certainly make life much easier if you could do whatever you wanted in terms of creating your private label packaging, there are always rules and regulations to follow. This can be a pretty complex area, which is one of the benefits of working with a private label manufacturer that will take care of your brand’s packaging needs. At FLPL, we’ll ensure that your private label packaging adheres to both local and international standards.
This includes making sure that the labeling on your packaging is up to scratch too. If your labeling contains any incorrect information whatsoever or doesn’t include even a small portion of the required information, your products will be considered misbranded. This could lead to you facing regulatory actions.
Any mistakes in this area could be fatal for your brand. However, team up with an experienced and reputable private label manufacturer, like FLPL, and you won’t need to worry about this.
Summary
As you can see, there’s plenty to think about when choosing private label packaging. If you’re new to this, it’s very easy to feel overwhelmed! However, find yourself a private label manufacturer who has plenty of experience in creating various types of packaging, and the process becomes so much easier! At FLPL, we’ll be able to guide you in picking the most perfect packaging materials for the products that we manufacture for you, before helping you to customize this in a way that ensures your brand stands out!
Click here to contact FLPL today to find out more about our private label manufacturing services.
