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When running a business, something to not be overlooked is your packaging. The branding and style of your products, the colors used, all of this will help to keep your brand cohesive and professional looking. This comes into your product packaging too. It helps to promote your brand’s identity, sell your products and to draw customers in. For example, when you are selling food you want your food packaging to be both attractive and efficient in keeping your products fresh! This guide should help you figure out where to start and what kinds of packaging might work best for you and your products.

Practicality & Purpose

The packaging of your product serves several purposes. One purpose is protection, to keep your product from breaking during transportation and handling, as well as keeping it clean and fresh. Depending on the type of product you are selling, you will need to consider the practicality of your packaging. Does the packaging need to be airtight? Protect fragile items? Waterproof? Environmentally friendly, i.e. compostable, biodegradable or recyclable? With materials in mind, your budget also comes into consideration, as some materials are more expensive than others. There are printing, manufacturing and shipping costs that may all affect your product manufacturing budget. Packaging is a very important part of your overall budget and production costs, so don’t leave it as an afterthought. You might also be selling a product that is potentially dangerous, so you need to ensure that the packaging has safety in mind. For example, marijuana packaging needs to be child-proof to prevent a child from accidentally ingesting something not intended for them. The same goes for things like medicines and cleaning products, and anything sharp like scissors.

Design & Appearance

Whilst the practicality of your packaging is important, the appearance makes a big difference when it comes to whether or not people choose to buy your product, especially on a shelf alongside other products that may claim to do the same thing. Simple can often be better, with a clean a timeless look that attracts people, and makes important information clear and easy to understand. You want to make sure your product follows your company’s ‘style guide’, keeping to the same fonts, colours and logos for a consistent and cohesive look. Brand recognition is important too, so consider the message you want your product to give, as well as the target audience you are appealing to. You can learn a lot from your competitors so do some research, but don’t forget the invaluable feedback you can get from your friends and family too.

Different Types of Packaging

One of the easiest packaging and branding methods to use is labels. You will find many companies offer affordable, customizable, pressure-sensitive and roll-fed labels that can be used on a variety of products. You have a lot of customization choices and they are one of the most affordable options that will suit most products and meet your requirements.

Flexible packaging is another option, coming in a variety of forms, shapes and sizes to suit your product. Ideal for many products and offering reduced packaging weight, convenience, durability, and re-closures for product freshness.

If you want your packaging and labelling to cover your product completely, especially if your product has an unusual shape, then a great option is shrink sleeve labels. For a seamless, 360 coverage, printed shrink sleeves are a great choice. Shrink sleeves are durable, tamper-proof, and can be made recyclable too.

Conclusion

With all of this in mind, you are well on your way to creating and packaging products that you can be proud of. Moreover, packaging can extend your current business by generating more revenue for you. Packaging helps your products sell, so if your product is worth buying, the packaging needs to reflect its worth and attract customers. However, you might need the help of professionals for creating attractive packaging. If you are interested, then you might want to take a look at Duplo International‘s packaging solutions. Besides being quite popular in the packaging sector, they are also known to help developing businesses. And who knows, at the end of the day, you might end up with plenty of packaging choices!

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