Designing Effective Packaging

1
Designing Effective Packaging

• Presented by Peter Addington
• Principal Consultant
• Addington Hendley

2
Before We Start - What Are We Trying To Achieve?

• Good Food Packaging should
• Contain
• Preserve
• Protect
• Promote
• Inform
• Transport
• Dispense
• - At an acceptable overall cost

3
What Do We Need To Consider?

• Your own company requirements
• (and your packers requirements)
• The market
• The retailer
• The consumer
• The legislation
• The environment
• The overall cost (direct and indirect)

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The Market

• National markets are different
• France uses more glass
• Holland dislikes multi-packs and any excess
  packaging
• Germany has a large returnable bottle system for
  drinks and needs mono-material packs
• UK has a highly developed RTP system

5
The Retailers

• Supermarket shelves are full and space is
  expensive
• To claim your place your product must be seen as
  being more profitable than its rival for the
  shelf space
• Consider where your product is likely to be
  displayed
• Effective pack design should use the available
  space efficiently and promote sales

6
The Consumer

• Consumer groups have different requirements so
  identify your target group
• Opening and dispensing are the major areas of
  concern amongst consumers
• The pack needs to sell the product to the
  consumer, particularly for the all important
  initial sale - it needs shelf appeal
• And does it fit the fridge!

7
Legislation and the Environment

• European Directive on Packaging and Packaging
  Waste (94/62/EC)
• The UK Producer Responsibility Obligations
  (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997
• The UK Essential Requirements Regulations 1998
• National legislation within the EU members and
  other markets

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The Overall Cost

• Material Costs
• Line efficiency
• Transport and storage costs
• Retailers direct product costs
• distribution to stores
• shelf loading
• shelf space utilisation

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Design for Overall Efficiency
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Structural Design Summary

• Successful structural design covers the important
  aspects of
• Contain, Preserve, Protect, Transport, and
  Dispense
• And begins to address the other aspects of
• Promote and Inform
• Graphic design completes the picture!

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Graphic Design

• Critically important
• Often the only way to differentiate your product
  if standard pack forms are used such as cartons,
  cans, Tetra Paks etc.
• Consider your target market, likely display
  position, your competition etc.
• Credibility and trust are vital

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Graphic Design

• Pack hierarchy - your consumer must understand
  what they are buying.
• Impact and shelf appeal - your pack normally has
  limited time to make an impression.
• Colour can significantly affect your customers
  choice at a subliminal level.

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Necessary Information

• Food Labelling Regulations stipulate the minimum
  information requirements
• Name, description, business name and address,
  weight, date mark, ingredients, storage and use
  instructions, etc.
• Bar code
• Nutritional data
• Allergy statement

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Getting The Graphics Right

• A creative design agency will present a multitude
  of concepts designed to create different
  personalities for the same brand.
• Clearly define your target market and communicate
  this to your designers.
• Consider if your brand name is appropriate for
  your target market.

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Getting The Graphics Right
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Improved Graphics Improved Sales
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The Silent Salesman

• The pack design and graphics are an essential
  part of your brand.
• It achieves the all important initial sale and
  builds brand awareness
• It deserves some investment - in terms of time
  and money
• Consider alternatives - failed packs or products
  are extremely expensive

18
Help!

• Getting the pack right is at least as important
  as getting the product right.
• Many small and medium sized food companies have
  product development specialists but few have
  packaging or graphic design specialists
• Where is help available
• packaging manufacturers
• packaging consultants and design houses
• graphic design agencies

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Contacts

• Addington Hendley
• 45 Belmont Road
• Bushey
• Herts WD23 2JR
• Tel/Fax [phone]
• Email peter_at_addingtonhendley.co.uk
• Fly Design
• 4 Donnington Road
• Harrow
• Middlesex HA3 0NA
• Tel [phone]
• Email cindy_at_flydesign.biz