4 Package Design Tips For Food & Beverage Products

For food and beverage vendors, creative package design can sometimes be the sole reason why your target consumer buys your product over your competitors. Package designs with great branding can also catch the attention of retailers if you’re trying to get on shelves, so we can’t stress the importance of the entire package enough.

Vendors have one of the toughest jobs in the food and beverage supply chain, having two audiences to market to. While grocery stores are B2C, vendors are essentially B2B and B2C, complicating their marketing and sales strategy.

Attracting the eyes of retailers is generally the top priority of vendors, because if buyers like your product, it’s because they think their shoppers will like it, too. This article will go over best practices to appealing to both buyer and consumer.

Here are 5 package design tips for food and beverage products.

Package Designs Should Be Timeless

Unless your business likes to rebrand often and redesign labels for the same product (which no brand likes to do), making a package design that’s timeless can help reduce costs and maintain brand positioning.

Essentially, a timeless packaging design will be more cost effective and better for sales overall. Since your goal is to maximize profits, this is a winning strategy.

While it is a good idea to incorporate contemporary trends into your design (like minimalism or line art), focus on the big picture of the package, which is the value proposition and your brand. Your branding can be your best salesman, which is important when your product is next to your competitors.

Let Your Brand Do The Talking

As previously mentioned, your branding can be the component of the packaging that convinces a consumer to purchase your product versus a competitors’ item. Thus, attention to detail on all aspects of your package design should be taken into account for.

The logo design is the centerpiece to your brand and should be showcased as such. Beyond that, the design elements of the label should be consistent with the logo as to maintain consistency.

If your logo incorporates vibrant colors, then it would be best to maintain the vibrancy with the packaging. The typography should also be consistent as to communicate what the product is with the understanding of your brand ethos in mind for your consumers.

Use Engaging Copy

While the overall design of the packaging is important to capturing the consumer at first glance, it’s the copy that closes the deal. When someone picks up your food or beverage item from the shelf, they’ll begin reading how you describe your product, and together with the design, the consumer can make the decision to purchase.

Overloading a small product with copy can work in negative ways, however. Content dense packages are less likely to persuade a consumer to purchase. Ultimately, it’s best to maintain intrigue by the consumer and not tell them too much about the product. They need to taste it to buy from your brand again, so that first purchase is very important for regular customers.

Communicating the value proposition through the design alone is difficult, so writing engaging copy can get your product to the point of sale.

Add Flair To The Package

Your designer’s peak creativity needs to shine when designing your packaging, and this means going beyond the norm to get attention. You need to ask yourself what else can you add to your packaging design to make it stand out more. Going above and beyond isn’t easy, but there’s a high reward if passionately pursued.

Maybe include a sticker with your package for users to peel off and use. You could potentially wrap something around the package to garner more attention. Spread the holiday cheer by adding a theme to your bottles for a few months or special occasion.

Adding flair to your package design can truly set your brand apart from the rest. In an industry where you need to appeal to multiple parties, being unique will surely win.

Creating a unique packaging design isn’t easy, but the time and effort put into it will pay off. Mad Mind Studios is a marketing and branding agency that specializes in package designs. If you are needing a brand refresh and package design, please reach out to us at 310.402.1613 or info@madmindstudios.com for a free consultation!