Stay on Top of Trends to Grab Consumers’ Attention

The customer is king/queen. We have all heard this mantra. It’s up to you, the supplier of packaging and packaging materials, to prove it so. With these 10 tips, you will be a lot closer to proving that you are on top of industry trends and technologies.

1. Understand your customer. One package may not satisfy the needs and requirements of all buyers. Niche markets require specialized packaging. So, if you are targeting one of those, do your research first. What works for one market may not work for another. Example: Child resistant closures on medicines are almost impossible for older people to open.

2. Find out what package attributes appeal to the customer you are targeting. If it’s a harried housewife shopping for your product, convenience better be at the top of the list. Older people are seeking convenience, too, but issues like the size of print on the package and ease of use top their priority list. Make sure your package employs the characteristics that appeal to your target market.

3. Understand how the package will be used. Families no longer sit and eat a meal with everyone at the same time. There are special diet requirements or dieting in general in most households. It’s not uncommon to serve different meals to different individuals. Package sizes need to vary accordingly.

4. Know current buying trends. Several years ago, we went through the supersized phase. There are still a lot of supersized packages, but buying trends are changing to smaller sizes in general. To package smaller does not mean less profit; in many cases it means more. Consumers are willing to pay a premium for convenience, ease of use and smaller quantity. Example: Three premium-baking potatoes in a package cost almost the price of a 5-pound bag.

5. Keep abreast of new packaging technologies. Creative new products have the advantage in the marketing world even if their technology is not new but the application is. Several years ago, Mentedent took the world by storm with the dual aperture dispensing mechanism. Recently, a host of new cleaning products have revived interest in this type of dispensing. Look for innovate ways to combine two products into one package.

6. Watch where people shop. There is a shift from traditional retailers to new and innovative store formats. The convenience store, once considered a low-end marketer, has transitioned into a store that provides premium products at a premium price. This evolved from the hurry-up-and-go mindset demonstrated in today’s shopping habits. Recent studies are showing that consumers no longer make one big trip and stock up, but make several trips a week and get just what is needed at the moment. Example: The grab-and-go cups of snack foods convenience stores are now offering.

7. Keep pace with “hot button” packaging issues. This includes legislation. People really do care about the environment and excess packaging. Expansion is under way in the number of vegetable-based-plastic materials used in food packaging. Legislation can change packaging mandates overnight. There have been “bottle bills,” surcharges and bans on certain types of packages. Examples: Several fast food companies are test marketing corn-based plastic packaging materials. There has been a ban on juice boxes in Maine.

8. Security in packaging is becoming increasingly important. More people are concerned about product integrity. One major security scare could force everyone to change packaging methods immediately. Look for new tamper-evident and security devices that can be incorporated into your packaging. Cost efficiencies are now making these devices more affordable, and they will soon become mainstream.

9. Competition among makers of packaging materials is increasing. Products such as plastic bags that used to be the mainstay of American manufacturing have now gone offshore. Ethnic diversity both here and abroad is demanding that all packaging be multi-lingual.

10. External influence of power players. The big box retailers are driving packaging procedures and policies at retail. Mandates from these companies, such as for RFID tracking, are in their infancy. This type of requirement could become mandatory overnight. If you want to do business with companies such as Home Depot and Wal-Mart, you will need to include their demands in the design and selection of your packaging materials.

Remember, the customer depends upon you, the manufacturer, as a resource. Customers expect you to keep up with packaging trends and technologies and provide the latest and greatest innovations the industry has to offer.

JoAnn Hines is the founder of Women in Packaging. For more information on Women in Packaging, visit www.womeninpackaging.org.