Packaging, whether it is a food packaging, cosmetics packaging, electronics packaging or packaging of a piece of clothing, it has a purpose why it is there.
Take a moment to memorize the last item you bought. Was it something to eat, to drink, to apply or to wear?
Now that you have the item in your mind, could you tell what impression its packaging brings to you? What image comes first to your mind? Do you think about its safety, design or looks? Or maybe its temporary role as a protector of its contents?
What is similar with different everyday products is that inevitably they come in some sort of packaging. Packaging has many different roles. These include providing protection, safety, enhanced usability, attractive looks, optimal design and specific customer requirements, to name a few. However, what is often perceived with packaging, is single-use purpose. Packaging is there to fulfill its mission – one time only. Either it is pulled off in order to start using the product it holds inside, or it is thrown away as soon as the packaging content runs out. The result is the same. It is there just temporarily.
There is no doubt why packaging waste has become a big global problem. Our single-use culture has radically increased the amount of packaging waste we create by person on a daily, weekly, monthly and annually basis. Plastic, as a packaging material, causes harm to the environment by polluting the natural landscapes, decomposing into tiny microplastics and ending up to the oceans and marine biodiversity. Growing number of businesses, organisations and academy are trying to find renewable and more sustainable replacements for conventional packaging materials that can be fully and safely reused, recycled and decomposed.
Today, the everyday products have short lives but long-lasting impacts. Increasing materials circularity will decrease the amount of single-use packaging and increase the materials’ life cycle.
Next, I list the five most important reasons why packaging is important. Once you have read them, let me know in comments what do you think?
The primary purpose of packaging is to protect its contents from any damage that could happen during transport, handling and storage. Packaging retains the product intact throughout its logistics chain from manufacturer to the end user. It protects the product from humidity, light, heat and other external factors. This is the most important purpose of packaging. Because of that it is not unusual to end up with far more packaging than the actual product. Especially when ordering items from online stores. The amount of packaging waste the product leaves behind can be really staggering. All in all, packaging’s purpose is to protect, but there is a difference between an intelligent and well-designed packaging and a packaging with no fit-to-purpose design.
Above all, packaging has an important role in keeping its contents and consumers safe. Packaging should contain important information of the product and its safety. For example, for food products the packing date, best before date and a list of ingredients must be clearly visible on the packaging. No harmful chemical, smell, or taste should transfer from packaging materials to the food whether it is produced from virgin material or recycled material. Moreover, it must become clear from the packaging if it contains toxic substances. All these pieces of information add the product safety for the consumer. Too much information is always better than no information at all.
Packaging counts an important part of the product brand and marketing. A unique packaging can increase the product attractiveness and thus affect to the willingness to buy the product. Packaging is as important as the product itself. Its purpose is to stand out from the shelf or website, enhance sales, provide relevant information on the product and augment interest. Two thirds of people say that the packaging has an effect on their buying decisions. A packaging can also tell a whole story about the business behind the product and the product’s environmental, social and economical impacts. It is a tool to communicate company’s values and great benefits that the product brings to the consumer.
Consumers are looking for fit-for-purpose packaging. They demand a functional, “life-saver” packaging that is incredibly user-friendly. The usability of the packaging is judged by the consumers only. A packaging which is simple to open and close, easy to fold and sort after usage, and which can be reused or recycled will satisfy some of the consumers’ requirements. In addition, optimal design enhances usability. Today’s trend in packaging usability has been seen to change direction from single-use culture back to buying products in bulk, in reusable packaging and own containers like before 1960s. Environmentally conscious consumers already bring their own empty jars, bags and containers to go to grocery shopping. Thus one big challenge remains in packaging usability. How many times the packaging can be recycled and is it made as simple as the consumer require?
More and more consumers are paying attention to the packaging materials’ carbon footprint, re-usability and recyclability before making their buying decision. In fact how sustainable packaging is perceived, the more positive impact it has to the sales numbers. The packaging design has a crucial role in defining how easy it is to separate the materials from each other and thus how easy the packaging is to reuse and recycle. Making more with less not only saves resources but also leaves less material for the consumer to handle properly.
Consumers are increasingly conscious about the environmental impacts of their actions. They evaluate the carbon footprint of the packaging before buying a product. The labeling on the packaging which gives clear information on the product’s and packaging’s environmental impacts and recyclability, will definitely catch consumer’s eye positively.
A good packaging is fit-for-purpose, protects its content, saves resources and minimizes its carbon footprint by using energy efficient mode of production and sustainably sourced raw materials. In order to achieve this criteria, we cannot forget the importance of the optimal design, user-friendliness and effective materials cycle to reach the perfect environmentally friendly packaging.
Product packaging has many important functionalities. Now, is all packaging problematic? The answer is pretty clear. No. Packaging is a necessity for a range of different everyday products. Consequently, more innovative, reusable and sustainable packaging are being created every day. That is the current direction. Another direction is bringing your own bags and containers, in other words, reusing what you already have, and buying more products in bulk.
What a diversity of purposes a packaging can have. If you are interested to read more about recycling and waste management, check out my recent blog post here. In addition, if you want to have a good sense of what circular economy is and what opportunities circular business model provides, read my blog post Circular Economy – a Trillion-Euro Opportunity.
After all the packaging and especially plastic waste is an issue. The more you buy, the more you waste. So simple is that. Let’s choose to buy less and embrace the sustainable lifestyle together!
The output of designing and manufacturing a material that will keep a product secure and identifiable throughout transport is packaging.
There can be hundreds of points of interaction with your product's packaging before it gets from the point of manufacture to the final consumer.
Furthermore, the path from manufacturer to final consumption may extend around the globe and take several months, or it may be a few meters and span no more than a minute.
This makes eco-friendly packaging even more important
Your packaging needs to be designed to fulfil all these functions in that process, no matter how long it is.
Using packaging supplies that fit all these functions is crucial for saving money on packaging and getting products where they need to be prompt.
Packhelp is a packaging supplier that can help you source quality product packaging that saves you money.
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There are several roles that packaging needs to fulfil to successfully do its job. These functions are presented in no particular order.
Packaging's first and foremost function is protection.
The most important function of packaging is to keep the product safe and secure from the outside environment, but also the other way around, packaging needs to keep the product away from the external environment, too.
See how Aleks Ko used multiple products to fulfil multiple functions of packaging.
In doing so, your product is protected from damage in the form of being dropped, but also the weather, like rain, sun, dirt and dust.
This is where products like polymailer bags are used alongside traditional cardboard packaging.
Protective packaging also has to stand up to both static and dynamic forces during the shipping and delivery process.
It has to keep the product safe while other items are being stacked on it to save space - both in shipping and in storage.
Packaging is often paired with the product within the manufacturing process, especially in the form of liquids and foods.
It's from this point that the packaging must start fulfilling its role.
The next function of packaging is to keep the packaging contents safe during storage. This storage time may be a matter of years or minutes - possibly even seconds.
Click here to design and order custom shipping boxes, ideal for storage
In this function, the packaging needs to ensure that the product is safe from dust, debris and other environmental hazards for the amount of time that it will be stored.
Packaging has a massive effect on the efficiency and speed of transportation.
Being able to physically handle a product and get it from point A to point B is the most often associated function of packaging.
In this role, packaging needs to be easy and efficient to lifted, held, moved and stored easily.
Secondary layers of packaging may be needed to make it easier to handle smaller units of grouped products - for example, a large shipping box that contains multiple six-packs of beer.
Transport packaging needs to be designed in a way that it can be easily handled and moved by both man and machine, on a larger and a smaller scale.
For transport reasons, your packaging supplies may need to be of a certain size to meet set delivery guidelines, such as royal mail package dimensions.
Sales as a function of packaging enable the product to be promoted. It's at this point where visual identification of the product beings, as the buyer needs to recognise what the product is.
See how Coco & Eve work sales into their packaging design.
This is also where visual packaging design starts to play a role in the functions of packaging.
Sales and promotions work hand in hand as the first point of physical contact with your customer and your packaging bundle.
Promoting the product on its packaging is an integral function of packaging.
It's at this point where the final customer will first see the product for sale, therefore the packaging needs to have a positive influence on the buyer's decision.
Especially in industries like cosmetics or wellbeing supplements, the overall packaging aesthetic might encourage you to buy one product over the other.
See how Yope uses sales as a function of their packaging design.
From this point, transport of the product is still important, but only on a single-unit level.
This function of packaging involves placing various information and specific details about the product on the packaging.
This includes ingredients and nutritional information if talking about food, as well as dangerous and hazardous materials.
Note: One promotional aspect of packaging may be that storing the product in its packaging is simple for the end-user.
This means that another level of storage needs to be considered when designing packaging.
This function of packaging is to ensure the consumer that the product of the intended quality.
The structural integrity of the packaging means that the product inside, for the most part, is undamaged and ready to use as it was intended.
Providing this assurance with packaging is a decision that's made when picking the right type of packaging for your product.
Use packaging tape and packaging paper to assure your customer that your product is in the same condition it left the manufacturer in.
The final function of packaging is to inform the user how to dispose of it.
If the packaging is sustainable, this may mean disposing of it in compost or recycling it, rather than traditional waste.
Packhelp works with One Tree Planted to help regenerate forests for each packaging order placed. Click here and learn more.
The disposal function may also mean telling the user that the packaging can be reused for another intended purpose.
Packaging is an all-encompassing element of every brand. The function of packaging often begins before the product itself is made, and continues well after the product is consumed.
Packhelp's range of packaging supplies can help you create a complete packaging solution that fulfils all roles you've just read, as well as many many more.
Click here to explore our range or get a quote on your personalised packaging supplies!