4 Ways to Add Value to Your Packaging

Sometimes it’s easy to differentiate yourself from your competitors and show your brand’s value. Offer innovative styles, out-of-the-box flavour combinations, engage in charity initiatives.

However, sometimes it’s not so simple. When you’re in an industry where businesses are similar, it may be daunting to figure out a new edge. One important thing you can do to differentiate from your competitors is, of course, to use custom packaging.

But what can custom packaging really do beyond that? Well, most importantly, it adds value to your brand. But what do we mean by “adds value”? Here are our top 4 ways to show value through your packaging design.

Multi-Use

If you’re read any of our previous blog posts, you should know that we’re huge fans of multi-use packaging. Upcycling is a great way to extend the life of packaging that may not be able to be recycled or composted once its original purpose is fulfilled.

A perfect example of how packaging adds value is by encouraging people to view your packaging component as more than just a piece of material.

Take rigid boxes for example. They’re the perfect component for customers to reuse as a keepsake box. A beautifully-designed out-of-the-box bottle? People will be more likely to keep it and reuse it as a flower vase in the future. All of our packaging can be repurposed for multiple uses, and it’s one of the easiest ways to add value to your packaging.

In an upcoming blog post, we’ll discuss how to repurpose various LeKAC packaging products, so make sure you sign up for our email notifications!

Problem Solving

One of the worst situations you want to avoid is having a customer purchase your product, and then the experience gets ruined by complicated packaging. Customers appreciate when packaging is straight-forward and enhances the overall interaction with your brand.

The longer they have to wrestle with your packaging to get to the product, the more upset they may become. Worse yet, they may end up damaging the contents of the packaging – and no-one wants that!

An easy-to-open folding carton may be what your consumers expect to receive, so make sure to avoid upsetting them with other materials. Materials like plastic that may be difficult to open can cause added frustration and give them a negative association with your brand.

Following Seasons & Trends

A quick way to become obsolete in your industry is to not give your brand a refresh every once in a while.

If a brand doesn’t change over time, it will eventually see a decline in sales and public interest. Even monumental brands such as Coca-Cola follow different seasons and hop on trends, and it’s reflected in their packaging.

Although in rare instances some rebranding may not be that successful, it’s an easy way to add value to your brand. The kicker is that your packaging cost most likely won’t even change! If you keep the structural aspects the same – material, dimensions, accessories – and only change the design, your cost won’t differ by much.

Not sure what your new designs should be? Our in-house designers can present you with various options. There’s really no excuse not to add value in this aspect!

Being Eco- Friendly

Where products can’t be reused, it’s important that your packaging can be at least recycled or composted.

In the takeout industry, companies tend to utilise cheap materials such as styrofoam and plastic. These are both harmful to the environment as well as our own bodies. As mentioned previously, styrofoam expels toxins and other chemicals when reheated or disposed of incorrectly. Single-use plastics litter our world and decrease marine life.

By using Kraft paper products for your food packaging, you gain an edge over your competitors.

Some companies will even go so far as to create paper packaging with seeds embedded in them. Give back to the environment in more ways than one by encouraging planting of more trees/plants.

Aesthetics

As mentioned before, the businesses in the takeout industry are likely to use generic packaging. No branding means no recognition once the food is in the component. If you’re looking for the ultimate way to differentiate yourself from your competitors in this industry, this is the way to go.

Combine the above points to create packaging components that are sure to knock their socks off.

1. multi-use – create heavy-duty paper bags that customers can use as lunch bags or other purposes
2. problem-solving – create easy to use packaging so that your products are protected and easily accessible
3. following seasons and trends – spruce up packaging components every so often to stay current and still represent your brand
4. being eco-friendly – Kraft paper is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint through recycling and composting. View our take-out container catalogue here.

Whether it’s takeout containers, paper bags, rigid boxes or anything else, we have you covered. Contact our custom packaging specialists for help with all your custom needs.