Five reasons why
By Veritiv Corporation
Design & Innovation Design design Innovation packaging Veritiv CorporationKnowing when the time is right to consider a package redesign
A brand manager may consider redesigning the brand’s current packaging for many reasons: to improve protection, brand perception, speed of assembly, cost containment, revenue, and customer experience.
Brands often face new packaging challenges during each stage of the product lifecycle.
Whenever a brand manager sees key product metrics plateau or decline, it’s important to consider whether a packaging redesign would help reignite consumer interest.
Here are five key signs that it may be time for a packaging redesign.
1. RELEVANCE
Maintaining relevant branding and messaging is becoming much more difficult than it used to be.
“Brands need to be refreshed, changed, modified and revamped on a much more regular basis,” explains Jay Tapp, retail packaging specialist with leading packaging supplies and services provider Veritiv Corporation.
“If you haven’t revamped your brand in five years or longer, there’s a good chance you may be losing synchronicity with the merchandising channels,” Tapp advises, “because they’re changing so quickly and new channels are emerging all the time.”
2. COMPETITION
Existing competitors are constantly innovating, and new competitors are emerging every day.
“It’s not only about traditional competitors, but also about disruptive technology,” Tapp says. “Consider at-home meal delivery kits, which have grown in popularity thanks to new cold chain packaging options.”
3. RETAILER DEMANDS
Retailers are trying to stay relevant, avoid losing market share to e-commerce, and maintain packaging compliance with all the different retail outlet requirements.
As a result, retailers are demanding increased pace of change from their wholesalers, according to Tapp.
“The traditional retailers want to create an experience that is intriguing enough to get consumers to shop in person instead of going online,” Tapp explains.
“This thought process is driving an increased need for retail-ready and shelf-ready packaging.”
4. SEASONALITY
As Tapp explains, “Retailers are always looking forward to the next key buying day and trying to create new seasonal opportunities beyond Christmas, such as the Super Bowl in the U.S. and Singles Day in China.”
Launching new packaging in time to take advantage of holidays and seasonal shopping can give brands a much needed boost for the entire year, according to Tapp.
Working with a packaging partner with in-house design, testing, and a national distribution network can also help ensure successful deployment.
5. SLOWING SALES
If a company is seeing declines in product, category, or channel sales, a packaging redesign is one strategy that could reverse this trend.
As brands begin discussing a redesign, Jim Ollmann, packaging design director with Veritiv, recommends considering the total cost of the packaging.
“Step back from focusing on the individual product,” Ollmann suggests.
“Think about all the elements that contribute to the total cost, such as inventory, carrying costs, assembly costs, cube utilization, sustainability, and so on,” says Ollmann.
“That way, you can develop a total cost solution that delivers optimal packaging efficiency, while also contributing to higher sales.”
While redesigning packaging can help alleviate these challenges in the short term, it’s equally important to consider the long-term effects of disruptive technology and product distribution channel changes.
By working with an experienced team of packaging designers who can address specific problems while looking at the big picture—and bringing those designers into the process early—your brand can develop a cohesive total packaging solution that can help generate growth in the near term, while sustaining it in the future.
This article first appeared in the Packaging Unwrapped in-house magazine of Veritiv Corporation, a leading distributor of packaging, printing and facility supplies headquartered in Atlanta, Ga.
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