How can you catch the shopper’s eye?
Consumers in a typical supermarket are confronted by thousands of different brands and products, all vying for their attention. Clearly, standing out is important, but the science behind how and why consumers choose one particular brand or product over others runs far deeper than simply being “eye-catching”. Product differentiation, as it’s called, has many aspects both in theory and in practice – and is a topic that has engaged Jonas Eklund, Tetra Pak’s Graphic Designer for Northern Europe, for most of his working life.
The silent salesperson
So why is optimising your food package designs so crucial? “The package is what we call ‘the silent salesperson’,” says Eklund. “The retail shelf is where your product meets the consumer, and if the design doesn’t really work in that environment, it won’t be bought. So it’s an integral part of the marketing mix.”
“When consumers are browsing the aisles, you only have a few seconds to grab their attention.”
Eklund points out the key differences between product differentiation and more traditional advertising and graphic design, such as print ads and TV commercials. “When consumers are browsing the aisles, you only have a few seconds to grab their attention, so you really need to focus on the core aspects of your design. The guiding principle here is: Does the package communicate the one or two things you want to get across within that time span? And that’s quite a challenge.”
Keep your food package design simple
Indeed it is. One common mistake that Eklund sees all too frequently is cramming too many elements onto the front of a package, creating a jumble of information. Simplicity here is fundamental – the package and branding don’t just have to sell the product but also create recognition and familiarity. Colours are important too, as is font size and style; they need to be immediate and attention-grabbing, but also relevant to the cues and context of that particular product category. Too jarring or daring can be disastrous – your product will simply “disappear” on the shelf.
“You have to create a connection with the product, as consumers tend to be quite safe and traditional when it comes to choices,” says Eklund. He cites the example of a dairy producer who rebranded and changed from very bright, light-coloured packaging to all black; sales cratered, and the company was eventually forced to change back. “The trick is to make it look like a typical product in your category, but also really challenge the design of that category. It should stand out and be different.”
Package design in three dimensions
Other advice he gives food brands includes considering the three-dimensional aspect of the packaging, using all available surfaces for important information or more detailed storytelling. “We call it the 360o of design,” he says. It involved talking to suppliers to understand how and where the package will be displayed (the perils of hidden areas caused by secondary packaging), and including clear and concise instructions on how to recycle it. “The package shouldn’t create any frustrations,” he says, “and if you are a consumer interested in the sustainability perspective, you want to make sure it ends up in the right place.”
“The package shouldn’t create any frustrations”
Then there are folds and flaps to consider, and how design elements go over or under these. Packaging is, after all, a 3D object, and what can look great on a screen or laid out flat can appear very different in its final form. “Graphic origami” is what this is called; flaps and folds can be designed to continue an element or offer a break or contrast. Eklund uses a special package visualiser tool to create renders and 3D images to check design alignment and test consumer reaction.
On the shelf: the billboard effect
Then there’s the concept of billboard packaging; put simply, this is taking advantage of many flat facing panels on a shelf to create a continuous design effect. It’s complicated, but can be very rewarding, says Eklund. Besides, considering this effect is another absolute must. “It’s a good exercise to consider what happens when you have many of your packages sitting together. Does it look terrible? Is there an element you can change to make the design work across multiple panels? And it all comes back to catching the consumer’s eye.”
Ultimately, this is what product differentiation comes down to – connecting the dots between grabbing your attention, recognising the brand or product, and taking it from the shelf or clicking “buy”. “One of my teachers used to always say: ‘Yeah, it’s nice, but does it communicate?’” says Eklund. “If a package is just cool or good to look at but doesn’t convey anything beyond that, it’s more like art. It has to work in the sense of connecting with consumers and prompting their behaviour; otherwise, it’s a failure.”
Think about ink
There’s more than one reason to keep your packaging designs simple. It’s not just about making them bolder and more readable for the consumers, but also about using less ink. “It’s always important to consider the 3 Rs – reduce, reuse and recycle,” says Eklund, “and designers are aware of this. At the same time, recycling and reusing are maybe not so relevant to when we design packaging, apart from adding consumer information on how to recycle, but the idea of reducing can apply – we can reduce the amounts of ink we use.”
As we need to become more resource efficient in general, using less ink is a positive move. It also impacts the design process itself, and it can present an interesting challenge.
“This is something designers need to consider from the beginning,” adds Eklund. “So it can be that brighter, less saturated colours are used, or that colour isn’t added on every side of the package, or that decorations are used as sparingly as possible. It needs to make sense from a brand perspective and in terms of the product itself, but having this mindset can help the designs stand out in more ways than one.”
5 tips for optimising product differentiation for food packages:
Introducing our design expert
After gaining his degree in Graphic Design from the Danish Graphic Arts Institute, Jonas Eklund has spent the last 22 years as Tetra Pak’s Graphic Designer for Northern Europe, working closely with our marketing department and brands to ensure their packaging designs succeed. And as the trend to package more shelf-stable food products in carton packages such as Tetra Recart® – as opposed to more glass jars, aluminium cans, and plastic pouches – accelerates, his expertise in helping clients adapt designs to fit this new format is more in demand than ever.
