Step 7 – Maximising your package effectiveness

Branding and packaging is more than just the creative stuff

The Development Phase

We wish that branding and packaging was all about the creative stuff but unfortunately the best-looking brands can get left behind if practical criteria are not fulfilled.

Optimising your packaging ensures that your margins are still high despite the cost of palletisation. Stackable packaging can be loaded more tightly into a container so that higher volumes can make their way overseas. No one wants to be paying to ship air halfway across the world. This is particularly relevant since an effective shipping strategy will reduce your brand’s carbon footprint. Cutting carbon emissions is increasingly becoming a global priority so if you want to avoid high shipping charges make sure your process is efficient and environmentally friendly.

Luckily, endless options are out there, from bespoke packaging to stock options. When choosing, balance the practicalities against your brand DNA. A premium brand will not survive without a refined bottle but many brands are ingenious with their choices. Choosing stock packaging which is not directly associated with your product can help you differentiate without spending extra.

‘Pain is good’ is an independent sauce brand from Louisiana with quirky packaging. To create a bespoke feel on a small budget, they opted for a stock whiskey bottle for their sauce. As a fiery sauce with a ‘dare-devil’ brand feel, the whisky bottle compliments their brand image. This is a brilliant example of the stock bottle being taken out of context and cleverly re-purposed, giving this brand an edge on the shelf without putting them out of pocket.

Opting for a smaller bespoke package is another way of keeping on the right side of the price-quality equilibrium.