Companies invest a lot in keeping their products up to date and in line with what consumers desire. Adjustments to materials, designs, and manufacturing processes are routinely implemented to respond to disruptive trends and customer feedback. This sense of reinvention should also apply to the packaging used by a company.
Internal data or shifts in demand could cause a company to reevaluate its existing packaging and plan for future options. Here are four possible incentives for packaging changes or redesigns and how companies can facilitate a smooth transition:
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1. Overhauling the Brand
The decision to change a brand’s packaging can be tricky. While businesses should respond to information that demands change, any alteration could alienate consumers who’ve grown familiar with a particular product.
The Coca-Cola Company hopes to profit from innovation and familiarly with a new global packaging redesign, according to Advertising Week. The brand offers a variety of products, but in the past, not every package included the company’s recognizable red coloring. Every beverage with the new packaging will offer a red disc, iconic white lettering, and additional color-coded information to identify variations.
Companies must use information systems featuring data collection solutions to track audience reactions to product and packaging options. With accurate insight into business practices, brand redesigns can highlight what worked in the past and new ideas that appeal to audiences.
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2. Changing Regulations
A company doesn’t always get to decide when to change business practices. Federal regulators that act in the best interest of consumers may ask for manufacturing or packaging adjustments to protect the public or provide customers with more information.
Packaging for food products often includes important nutrition information so consumers can make smart dietary choices when shopping. Think Progress suggested the U.S. Food and Drug Administration faces increasing pressure to change its labeling laws about what is healthy. Certain products in the past had to change packaging because they made health claims the FDA could not substantiate.
If companies include information on their packaging, it’s crucial that the data is correct. This could mean changing terminology based on regulations or updating labels to reflect data collected from current manufacturing processes and warehouse management.
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3. Going Green
Changes don’t always involve the colors or text printed on the packaging. Sometimes companies make alterations to the material used to manufacture containers and labels. This is becoming increasingly popular as more companies try to go green.
Your Renewable News shared Transparency Market Research predictions that said the green packaging market should see a compound annual growth rate of over 6 percent between 2015 and 2021. This investment in renewable solutions for packaging and labels is prompted by consumer demand for socially conscious companies and the availability of eco-friendly materials.
While manufacturing and warehouse management procedures may prioritize green processes and energy conservation, organizations need to limit waste in packaging if they truly want to show audiences they care about complete commitment to renewable solutions. Information captured through mobile data collection devices can communicate how a company acts with social conscience in every phase of its operations.
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4. Trying Something Different
Businesses around the world compete with e-commerce by offering consumers reasons to visit stores. One of these tactics is unique store displays, and many companies assist retail spaces by offering packaging changes that really draw attention. The Synergy TWD marketing blog shared examples of packages shaped like glaciers and watermelon slices, battery packs made to look like condiments, and wine containers that forgo the traditional glass bottle.
These designs may catch a consumer’s eye, but ignoring former best practices to implement extreme options means companies may need to break new ground with supply chain and inventory management. For example, shelves designed to hold square boxes may not hold as many triangular packages. Warehouse workers may need to find new ways to stack inventory to get the most out of spaces.
The supply chain is a substantial part of any business. When marketing asks for new packaging designs, it’s important plans are made with 360-degree visibility of how the company will be able to manufacture, store, and ship products in packages the warehouse has never seen before.
