Does Your Product Have Shelf Appeal?

For weeks, months, maybe even years, you’ve put in extraordinary amounts of time and capital into creating your product, researching its demographics, and creating a buzz for it on social media. It may seem that you are nearing the finish line and that your work is almost done, but now it’s time for the really hard part: getting your product to consumers.

Unfortunately, as appealing as the actual product may be, it will not sell itself unless it comes in an eye-catching packaging design that attracts potential buyers. Whether you own a brick and mortar location or a web-based business, what all products need most is shelf appeal.

In order to stand out from your competition you need to develop a strategic packing design that is both unique to your brand and inviting to your target market.

Here are 5 great ways to boost your product’s shelf appeal:

1. Your product’s name should be descriptive, unique and memorable, while appealing to the specific demographic you’re targeting. Coming up with the perfect name that meets those criteria and offers immediate brand recognition can be tough. However, knowing that the success of your product – and possibly even your business – depends on it should inspire you to put in the required time and budget into this task.
2. One of the first things people notice about packaging after the name is its coloring. The choice of color you put on your packaging will largely determine the audience it will attract. For example, gold trim tends to cater to a classier crowd, while flashy neon colors grab the eye of someone more on the wild or younger side. Once again, you have to consider who your target audience is and come up with a color combination that will appeal to them.
3. Just as your company has an image, both in the logo and in all the graphics in your store and/or on your website, each of your products should have a dedicated image that brands it both to your company and the product itself. Whether you choose a solid colored packaging that’s all words, or one with a beautiful photo of the product on the front, or maybe an amusing cartoon character mascot, or scenic artwork, or a bizarre design; the look of your packaging will determine how and where it is sold, as well as who buys it. Most importantly, how your product displays visually will have a huge impact on its bottom line… so these decisions are just as important as the product itself.
4. This is a huge selling point. You want a package that fits your product without a ton of extra space that may leave clients feeling cheated, and one that caters to the actual use of the product itself. If you’re selling dog treats, consider a container shaped like a bone, or maybe even a dog? Another thing to consider is where it will be in a store or on a website. If most of your competition uses colorful packaging, then a way to stand out might be to display the practicality of the product because it draws the consumer’s eye to it, without distracting from the product itself.
5. Your packaging, while it should definitely be all of the things mentioned above, should make economic business sense. Sure, that $2 glass container looks nice, but when you’re selling a product for only $3, that $1 plastic container probably makes more economical sense. On the other hand, while cutting corners and keeping a low budget is never a good idea, make sure that if you do, balance low cost with high quality. You don’t want your buyers to think of your company or products as cheap, or they will pay a little more for a perceived higher quality and value.

Consumers today have become a highly visual audience, which makes packaging one of the most important and influential decisions and products of your brand. More than that, the packaging choices you make influence your consumer’s impression of the quality of your product, which directly correlates to reviews and sales.

If you think about all the different dog food brands, one may not be better than the other, but when a consumer gets their first puppy, the food they initially purchase largely depends on the packaging it comes in – what it says, how it looks, what it promises to do for their new fur baby in the long run. Then, once the consumer buys that brand, chances are high, with the exception of possible food allergies, that a brand loyalty will develop, not only for the life of that pet, but the lifetime of the pet parent. That’s up to 50+ years of purchases, which is how a company builds a brand, and becomes successful. It all goes back to the packaging.

It may seem daunting to make all these decisions on your own. That’s why Pet Business Solutions is committed to helping businesses build their brand, and perfect their packaging.

Contact us today for more packaging tips and ways to make your product stand out from the rest. We offer affordable packaging design options for startups to mid-sized businesses.