How do I: Choose Packaging?

Got a great product, just need some packaging to get into the marketplace? Packaging can add unique value to your product so it is worth considering all your options. This guide will outline the various factors to be considered in developing packaging, which can really add value. It wont give you an instant solution, just a simple summary to help you manage a successful packaging development programme. Packaging is often the last impression the consumer or customer will have of your product before that final purchase decision is made. Therefore, it is worth ensuring that your packaging is working as hard as possible to secure that sale. This may be in the form of imagery, brand values, product functionality or pure innovation. There are many ways in which packaging can add value. This guide will outline some of the things you should consider in order to make your packaging support your brand positioning, build competitive advantage, maintain innovation or increase your price premium.

BENEFITS
Packaging development can provide a number of business benefits, including: A tangible representation of your brand or company values. Significant enhancement of product delivery, experience or enjoyment. Increase impact at point of purchase. New distribution channels or opportunities.

GETTING STARTED
Before developing the packaging brief it is important to have some key strategic elements in place. These include: Positioning: has the product got a clear positioning in the marketplace? Its positioning should be clearly different from its competitors and represent a motivational benefit to the consumer. Product: does the product deliver the function to support the positioning benefit? The How do I: Develop a New Product? guide will give you a more detailed summary of the key elements at this stage. In addition, consider if packaging has a role to play in terms of product delivery. Marketing: ensure you have a clear understanding of the key marketing elements e.g. Price, Promotion, Distribution, as these should inform your packaging decisions. Packaging will reflect the price positioning e.g. a premium product should look different from a value line. In addition, distribution will effect packaging e.g. store layout, catering space limitations or specialist store needs. Target Market: you need to be clear about who you are targeting to buy or consume your product. The better you can define your target market, the more effective your subsequent strategies will be. Definition should include demographics (e.g. age, sex, marital status), lifestyle profile (e.g. high earner), current purchasing habits (e.g. heavy own label buyer, high foodservice user) and consumption habits (e.g. likes healthy foods). In general, the better you know your target audience, the better you can develop packaging which appeals to them.

Project team: the development of the packaging will involve a number of disciplines (e.g. technical, production, purchasing, sales, design agency and suppliers). Be clear about who needs to be involved and their responsibilities. The project leader should develop a critical path, which includes key milestones in the development process, timing and responsibilities. This will then be used as the template to manage the project. This will allow you to take a planned approach from the start and inform both the business and trade of the planned in-market launch date. This will be particularly important if the packaging has to complement other marketing activity planned for the same time period.

In addition, during your product development work you will have gathered a lot of information and understanding of how the product should operate in the marketplace (possibly including research). This information should be used to inform your packaging briefs both for the physical and graphic design development.

PHYSICAL DESIGN
This focuses on all the elements that dictate the physical design of the packaging. The first thing to determine is the design objectives i.e. what the physical packaging is aiming to do. As you will see below, there are a number of factors to consider when developing physical packaging. The objectives will help prioritise the most important packaging elements. For example, the objective may be to support the Just Cooked Taste of your product. In this case, the physical packaging would focus on elements which will prolong the taste profile and enhance freshness e.g. foil packaging in the crisps sector. From the overall objectives, there are then a number of areas which need to be considered, including: Consumer requirements: review how the consumer will purchase and consume your product. Think about what is important to them e.g. will they want to see the product before buying it and so some form of window may have to be included in the packaging. Other elements to consider are value for money and price positioning. Physical packaging can help position your product. For example, expensive packaging with additional elements will command a more premium price should this be the position you are seeking for your product. Think also of the ideal quantities, size and weight. Is it for a single person, a family, etc.? Build up a picture of how the consumer will interact with your product from the shelf to the bin. Then think how the physical design could enhance the consumer experience. This might include: Resealability - if the consumer will be using your product over a period of time. Portability - if your product will be consumed out of home. Childproof packaging. Measuring capability or portion control. Environmental considerations especially minimising packaging and recyclability.

Trade and Distribution: think about how the product will be distributed and consider any particular trade requirements. For example, space management in retail will probably limit the size of your packaging. Consider the trade merchandising policy; develop packaging that will improve your chances of a listing by complementing the trade merchandising strategy. Physical packaging can also be used to enter new trade channels; good examples would be the cereal-to-go combinations, which can now be found in garage forecourts and convenience outlets and self heating soup cartons. Product attrition (i.e. whether the product will be damaged in transit) should be considered here also; if your product is fragile, then packaging has to protect it throughout the distribution chain. Think also of pallet configuration, as most key distributors will have guidance on their requirements. Product requirements: have to be accommodated within the physical packaging. This will include shelf life, size and weight. There may be additional elements against which the product has to be protected, e.g. light, moisture or microbiological contamination. Think about product and packaging material compatibility what suits the consumer may not be ideal for the product. There may also be legal or technical requirements, which need to be accommodated (for more information on this see the How do I: Comply with packaging regulations? guide). Cost: the cost of physical packaging has to be borne within the product profitability. To avoid wasting time and effort, cost guidance should be specified at the outset. Thereafter, the development process should identify where options are in-line or over budget. Where an option is over budget, the decision should be made as to whether this packaging option could demand a higher price premium and therefore bear the additional packaging costs or whether or not the product profitability could bear the extra cost. Production requirements: an understanding of the production process must be considered throughout the development process. Can production pack this material, shape or size of packaging? Will additional capital kit be required and, if so, at what cost? Will labour costs increase to be able to pack this material? All these elements need to be considered to avoid any unforeseen surprises. Timing: the initial briefing process should include a timing plan in-line with the overall project plan. The development process may include some compromise where aspirations and reality have to be managed. A good team approach, including all the key participants will give the best chance of achieving as many aspirations within the bounds of delivery to develop the best product package to the consumer.

GRAPHIC DESIGN
The graphic design is a key expression of your brand values. Often it is the most public expression of your company and the last point of communication before a consumer makes that final buy or not decision. As such, it needs to work hard for you. This is a specialist area and it is advisable to engage the services of a design agency. Start by writing and agreeing the design brief. This will give you the opportunity to gather your thoughts, all the key information and secure any necessary approval internally before briefing the agency. The design brief should include the following areas: Product and company background: this section is meant to familiarise the agency with your business and should include all the influential data pertinent to your product and sector. Include any product research you may have e.g. market trend data or your own customer research. By this stage you will have specific product objectives of which the packaging design project should form a part. These will be in the marketing plan or product launch strategy and should be provided in this brief as a context for the design agency (for more information on these areas see How do I: Write a marketing plan? and Write a product launch strategy? guides). Design Objectives: these are the specific things you want the design to achieve. For example, this might include: Increase quality values of the product. Re-position the product as a modern, convenient food-on-the-go. Build on-shelf impact. Appeal to a younger target audience. Integrate a range of products. Develop a premium tier of products from the existing core range.

You should develop objectives, which the design can reasonably achieve. For example, increasing brand share by 10% may be the overall marketing objective but it cannot be solely and directly attributed to design. The design objective in this case may be to appeal to younger users and so help gain entry into new consumers who will ultimately drive market share gains. When developing the objectives, prioritise what needs to be done. A shopping list of objectives is not ideal. In general, it is better to focus on two, maximum three, key objectives all of which must be clear and achievable. It may be useful to include direction on the hierarchy of communication i.e. what you want the customer to read first, second etc. Target Customer: in general, the better the understanding of the customer, the better the chance of effective design. Include as much detail as you can about the target customer e.g. consumption and purchasing habits, current relationship with your product (if there is one), likes, dislikes, any seasonality, etc. Also expand on how you think the customer will view, use, or buy, your product (you may have research on this which should also be included). Market, Competitors and Trade: you are the expert in your market; your brief should help the design agency fully understand the market, its dynamics, competitor products and the trade channels of distribution. At that final point of purchase, the design agency needs to know what else will be competing for customer attention and in what kind of environment. Differentiating your product from and trying to out-shout the competitors should be at the forefront of the creative teams mind as they develop the design. Moreover, trade environments vary. For example, the design requirements to compete in a noisy, dimly lit pub may be quite different from a large, brightly lit supermarket shelf. Executional elements: specify the executional mandatories from the start e.g. inclusion of ingredient panel, barcode, company address, etc. This should avoid the disappointment of that initial, clean design turning into a clutter when the technical department reminds you of the legal and regulatory requirements. Production requirements: again, deal with the practicalities at the start to avoid any time wasting. Be clear about any production limitations e.g. cannot use pre-printed film or are limited to a certain print area size. Also, check in case there are any production limitations on the packaging e.g. need to work to a six colour print process or cannot use metallic inks. In the design development process, there may be good reason to go back and challenge some of these limitations; however, it is best to be clear of the potential areas of issue from the start. Cost: there are a number of cost elements, which should be agreed. If there are cost limitations on the packaging itself e.g. Xp per label, then guidance should be given in the initial brief. You should also include a budget for the design development process. You may not have a set budget at the initial stage and in which case it is reasonable to give an indication and ask the agency to respond to the brief with an initial cost proposal for agreement before progressing further. Finally, allow budget for the artwork

development, reproduction and any photography as these elements can often add up and cause problems if not covered within the budget. The agency or your purchasing department should be able to provide guidance on what may be required for this. Timing: include an outline timing plan for the project. This will include design development time. In general, allow a couple of weeks for initial response, then a further three to four weeks for development and approvals. Allow more time if you want to research the designs or if you envisage a particularly onerous approval process. Tender or not? If your company has no prior agency experience, then tendering can be a very efficient way of quickly kick-starting a project. If new to a particular area of marketing, it is also an informative process, which allows you to benchmark responses to help inform your judgement. However, for agencies, it can be a time consuming and costly experience. Therefore, a certain degree of prudency should be exercised e.g. tenders should be limited to three or four agencies and, where possible, limited to outline approach, timing plan, budget and agency credentials as opposed to completed creative work. For more information on this area see the How do I: Select a marketing agency? guide.

HOW DO I? SUMMARY
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Ensure you have the key strategic elements agreed and approved. Agree the project team and develop a critical path for the packaging development. Develop the design briefs and get the necessary internal approval before briefing the project team and design agency. Consider all aspects of physical and graphic design. Keep the necessary departments involved and informed as the development process progresses.

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