S4 – Chapter 06: Packaging Design - How to Start a CPG Business

04: Building a Brand

Packaging Design

Packaging design plays a pivotal role in how a product is perceived and ultimately, how it performs in the market. The first impression a consumer has of your product is largely influenced by its packaging – it’s what catches their eye in a busy store aisle or on an online marketplace, making it a crucial aspect of your brand’s initial communication.

However, effective packaging design goes beyond mere aesthetics. It’s an integral part of your brand’s story, serving as a physical representation of what your brand stands for. The design elements, from color schemes to typography, are not just visual cues but also convey key messages about your brand’s identity and values.

Brand Strategy in Packaging Design

A brand strategy clarifies your role in people’s lives and highlights what sets you apart from the competition. It acts as a ‘north star,’ ensuring that your content and narrative remain on track and relevant to your target audience. When it comes to packaging design, having a clear brand strategy is essential. It ensures that all elements of the design align with the brand’s overall vision and goals.

If you don’t yet have a clear brand strategy, revisit the previous chapter on Brand Design first before proceeding with your packaging design.

Packaging Communication Hierarchy

The hierarchy of communication is vital in quickly communicating your message to consumers. This hierarchy dictates how information is presented on the package, ensuring that the most important elements catch the consumer’s eye first. Here’s a breakdown of the key components:

Brand Name: The brand name should be instantly recognizable. Its prominence can vary based on the category’s maturity; in well-established categories, the brand name can be a primary draw for consumers.
Product Descriptor: This element provides a clear understanding of what the product is. In categories where the brand is not as well-known or in emerging categories, the product descriptor might take precedence to ensure clarity for the consumer.
Key Differentiators: These are unique selling points that set your product apart from competitors. They could be anything from a unique ingredient to a specific product benefit.
Call Outs: These are attention-grabbing elements like ‘New’, ‘Improved’, or specific claims like ‘Organic’ or ‘Non-GMO’. They are essential in attracting consumers who are looking for specific attributes.
Nutrition Label: This required element should also showcase why consumers should purchase your products. People are increasingly looking at nutritional labels before purchasing.
Brand Story: This adds an emotional element to the packaging, with many founders now choosing to showcase their photos on the back of packaging, highlighting that they’re small business owners.

Brand Name vs. Product Descriptor

The importance of the brand name versus the product descriptor in packaging depends largely on the maturity of the product category. In established categories where the brand has significant recognition, the brand name should be more prominent, leveraging brand loyalty and recognition. Conversely, in newer or less established categories, the product descriptor may need to be more prominent to educate consumers about the product and its benefits.

Visual Design Language

Developing a distinctive visual design language for packaging is essential in establishing brand identity and standing out in a crowded marketplace. This involves a careful blend of creative exploration and strategic alignment with brand values. I recommend working with a designer who can understand how to align your vision with representative visual elements.

Consistency Across Product Lines: Ensure that your packaging design maintains consistency across different products or variants. This consistency helps in building a strong and recognizable brand identity.
Alignment with Brand Story and Values: The visual design language should be an extension of your brand’s story and values. Every design element should contribute to conveying your brand’s unique message and ethos.
Adaptability for Future Expansion: Design your visual language to be adaptable. As your product line evolves, your packaging design should be able to accommodate new products or variations without losing its core identity

Creating a Moodboard

A moodboard is a visual collage that can include images, color palettes, patterns, and typography, all of which encapsulate the desired aesthetic and emotional tone of your packaging. To create an effective moodboard:

Gather Inspiration: Collect images, color schemes, fonts, and design elements from a variety of sources, including competitor packaging, design websites, art, and nature.
Focus on Emotions and Concepts: Choose elements that align with the emotions and concepts you want to evoke with your packaging. This could range from a sense of luxury and elegance to fun and playfulness, depending on your brand identity.
Collaborate and Refine: Use the moodboard as a collaborative tool. Share it with your design team, stakeholders, or focus groups to gather feedback and refine your visual direction.

Design Techniques

Staying Current with Design Trends: Keep abreast of the latest trends in packaging design, such as minimalism, bold typography, or sustainable materials. Incorporating these trends can make your packaging more relevant and appealing to modern consumers. Be cautious of selecting fleeting trends.
Innovative Use of Materials and Finishes: Experiment with different materials and finishes (like matte, gloss, or metallic) to create a unique tactile experience. These choices can significantly enhance the visual appeal and distinctiveness of your packaging.
Digital and Interactive Elements: Consider incorporating digital elements, such as QR codes or augmented reality features, which can offer interactive experiences to engage consumers further.

Case Study: B.T.R. Nation

B.T.R. Bar is a protein bar that doesn’t just have a “better” ingredient profile – it’s packed with 7+ adaptogens and superfoods to serve up purposeful benefits like stress relief, mental recharge, and energy… all while tasting crazy delicious.

To ensure that B.T.R. Bar would disrupt a crowded category, we built a distinct visual language that is boldly colorful, confidently clean, and on the move – a nod to both the product attributes and target consumer’s lifestyle. SKUs are purposefully color-coded with patterning to represent each bar’s unique functional benefit, while crisp modern ingredient imagery reinforces quality and taste across the portfolio.

Nutrition Facts Panel

In the early 20th century, food and beverage manufacturers made all sorts of wild and misleading claims on their packaging.

They could say that their product cured all sorts of ailments or that it contained magical ingredients with superhuman powers. And they probably got away with it too!

Thankfully, the FDA stepped in to regulate these claims and prevent manufacturers from making outlandish or unsupported health claims. Today, consumers can trust the information on their food and beverage packaging and stay assured that it’s based on scientific evidence.

For the uninitiated, the Nutrition Facts panel is part of an FDA-regulated food label that contains information about the total number of calories and other nutrients in the product. Download the FDA’s comprehensive Food Labeling Guide Here

As a manufacturer, here is everything you need to include on the label:

Serving Size, servings per container, and calories per serving.

Required nutrients: This includes total fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, sodium, total carbohydrates, dietary fiber, sugars, protein, vitamin D, calcium, iron, and potassium.
Allergens: It includes the top eight allergens (milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, or soy).
Ingredients List: This is a list of all the ingredients in your product in order of the amount used.
Net Weight: This is the weight of the product inside the packaging, excluding the weight of the packaging itself.
Optional nutrients: Manufacturers can choose to list additional nutrients on the label, such as vitamins A and C, or other minerals.
Rounding rules: The FDA has specific rules for rounding nutrient values on the nutrition label. For example, if a serving size contains 0.5 grams of a nutrient, round it to 0 grams. If it contains 1.49 grams, it must be rounded to 1 gram, while 1.5 grams must be rounded to 2 grams.
Health claims: The FDA allows specific health claims on food packaging, but these claims must meet specific requirements. For example, a food that is labeled “low-fat” must contain no more than 3 grams of fat per serving.

The FDA has specific requirements for labeling beverages like water, soda, and juice.

For example, if the beverage contains added sugars, the label must also include the amount of added sugars per serving and a percent daily value for added sugars. If the beverage contains caffeine, the label must list the amount of caffeine per serving.

In addition to these items, the nutrition label must also comply with FDA regulations regarding font size, placement on the package, and formatting.

Make sure the label also includes the statement “Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet” and a footnote explaining what percent daily values mean.

This means that even if you own a small food company, you need to follow these rules.

The good news is that you have ReciPal to make it easy to add FDA-compliant nutrition labels to your products.

Stay on the Right Side of the FDA Using Recipal!
Recipal helps food and beverage companies by providing an easy and efficient way to create FDA-compliant nutrition labels. It also offers customization options, allowing you to add branding and design elements to your labels, helping reinforce the brand identity.
Here’s how it works:
All you need to do is input your recipe information, including ingredients and quantities, and voila! Recipal right away generates an FDA-compliant nutrition label that includes all the essential information, such as serving size, calorie count, fat content, and more.
Learn More About Recipal

Since Recipal negates manual calculations, it also saves you time and money.

And most importantly, it provides peace of mind, knowing your product labeling is accurate and in line with industry standards.

Manufacturer Packaging Capabilities

An often overlooked yet critical aspect of CPG packaging design is the alignment of packaging choices with the manufacturer’s capabilities. Understanding these limitations and possibilities early in the design process is crucial for both feasibility and cost-effectiveness.

Compatibility with Manufacturing Processes: Certain products have specific packaging requirements due to their manufacturing processes. For instance, a hot-fill product might necessitate a glass container instead of plastic to withstand the filling temperature.
Equipment Limitations: Manufacturers often have specific equipment tailored to certain packaging sizes and types. It’s important to know these limitations upfront. For instance, if the manufacturing line is set up for certain container sizes, opting for those sizes can significantly reduce complexity and cost.
Choosing Standard Packaging Types: Unless the packaging form factor is a key differentiator for your product, it is generally advisable to choose a standard packaging size and type common in your category. This approach not only eases manufacturing constraints but also ensures familiarity and acceptance among consumers.
Balancing Innovation with Practicality: While innovative packaging can be a significant differentiator, it’s important to balance creativity with the practicalities of manufacturing capabilities. Understanding these aspects can guide you in making informed decisions that are both innovative and feasible.

By taking into account the manufacturer’s capabilities in the packaging design process, brands can ensure a smoother production process and potentially avoid costly redesigns and delays.