How Important is Packaging: The Honest Truth

With states decriminalizing and legalizing cannabis, the competitiveness within the industry is at an all time high. With the flood of new brands coming into both the legal and black markets, brands need to work even harder to stand out to consumers. Now every brand is at a crossroads of trying to figure out the best route to convince their target audience that their brand is the one they should spend their money with. 

One of the biggest tools that many in the cannabis industry sleep on is packaging, as packaging itself has evolved from being just a container to hold products to a powerful marketing strategy for brands. So much so that 72% of Americans believe that product packaging design plays a crucial role in personal purchasing decisions, with 81% citing packaging as an important factor when purchasing gifts.

Mark Speece of Asian Institute of technology and Grad School, Bangkok University, provides empirical evidence in his study, “Packaging and purchase decisions: An exploratory study on the impact of involvement level and time pressure,” that proves the role played by various elements of packaging in a consumer’s purchase decision. Speece concluded that color, size, design and content, alongside innovation are crucial elements of packaging that play a very significant role in engaging the consumer’s attention.

Color:

Research shows that 62-90% of consumer’s evaluation of a product is based on colors alone. When looking at colors in regards to packaging and catching your consumers attention, a bold color or a color that stands out among other packages are difficult to ignore. So colors like red for instance, are the choice of option for something that should not escape the eye of consumers combing through different brands. You can also see colors that are associated with product categories, like green has an association with organic products, and blue has an association with menthol or mint products. Other colors that can be seen to have associations with different types of products:

-Black, silver, and gold are often used for luxury products

-White has an association with cleaning products

-Lavender has been noted to create the feeling of spiritualism to attract buyers of

new-age products.

All in all, consumers develop associations between colors and brands. If a brand's design bears a color that is associated with a particular brand that is well known, and/or has a loyal following, consumers will gravitate towards it.

Design and Content:

An attractive layout and clear typography is a huge must to have once the consumer has been drawn into your product from the color of the packaging. What does an attractive layout entail, you ask? Well let’s fill you in on what isn’t attractive packaging:

• Cluttered layout
• Lousy fonts
• Excess content

Non attractive layouts end up doing more harm than good, dissuading consumers from exploring the products further. This can all be avoided however! If the package presents crucial information, benefits, and method of use, briefly with clarity and precision, the consumer is influenced in a more positive manner.

Effective graphics are also a huge key in the effectiveness of packaging on the consumer’s overall impression and likelihood to purchase a product. Icons that symbolize the product's characteristics in place of text enable a less cluttered layout, while also conveying information faster. The more appealing the graphics are, the more effective you’ll be as a brand in attracting your target consumer.

Size and Shape

     Do not listen to your girl, size does in fact matter. Research has shown that larger packs attract the consumer faster due to perception; the larger the size the greater the value. Speece’s study bears out the fact that larger package sizes get more attention compared to smaller packaging. Shape is another aspect of packaging that is important as well! Elongated packages have been found to attract attention faster than conventional shapes. If the package is unusual and eye catching, you’ll see a spike within the interest of your target consumer with your product.

At the end of the day you’re selling a product, yes, but what good is having an amazing product if your target consumer never walks through the door? At the end of the day as society has evolved and changed, so have the methods and practices for getting your product out there. Gone are the days of clear plastic baggies, people want official, clean packaging that not only catches their eye, but makes them trust your brand as well. At Beast Coast Packaging we strive and take pride in helping to bring the best possible packaging for your product, thus opening the door for consumers so once they are in the door you and your product can speak for themselves!