You could have the most incredible tasting food and delicious looking drink selection, but without the Instagrammable packaging to match, you’re unlikely to garner the interest you're hoping for. With a constant stream of quirky coffee shops popping up in cities across the country and more and more people opting to eat takeout food outside in the sunshine during their lunch break, there’s never been a better time than right now to start reinventing your brand through the thing people see the most: your packaging.
In today’s post, we’re sharing our 5 top tips towards achieving custom packaging success! Colourful cup sleeves and bold lettering options are no longer enough to attract the current advertisement-aware consumer. It’s time to think outside the box if you’re serious about getting customers inside your shop.
1. Don’t make it any old coffee cup
Typically, when you think of purchasing any food or drinks item from a shop, you’ll expect to see the business’s logo and not much else on the packaging of the item you’re purchasing. But what if you turned this expectation on its head? You could create a life for your coffee cups after they’ve served their original purpose by popping a game on their sleeves.
Choose a crossword packed with terms related to your brand, a dot-to-dot of your logo or fun facts that will help your customers find out more about you and your business. Not only will this technique get people interested in your brand, but it invites them to learn more about what your business stands for - increasing the likelihood of them revisiting you for positive, preferential reasons.
2. Tell people about who you are
If you have a message, slogan or tagline that you’re keen for your customers to be instantly aware of when purchasing your products, then why not design your food packaging with content that reads like an ‘about us’ section on your website or add personalised imagery?
By adding sketched out images of your team on anything from sandwich packaging to soup containers, you can give your customers the opportunity to identify members of your team and therefore break down the barriers between staff and customer - by creating an open and friendly community atmosphere around your brand.
3. Show your sense of humour
Start off on the right foot and tell your customers (and everyone else who ends up seeing your packaging as a result) a joke. Whether you choose a simple and witty ‘hangover coffee’ tag for your coffee cup or pop a funny ‘this food deserves to be Snapchatted’ slogan on your take away packaging, anything that gets your customers giggling will benefit you as you become remembered as a brand with a bit of personality and humour.
Seek inspiration from some of the world’s most famous brands who have done this well - like McVitie's, who have enjoyed huge success with jokes on their Penguin biscuit wrappers. So, with this in mind, spend some time learning from the best and brainstorming how you can incorporate these ideas into your own marketing strategy.
4. If you’re eco-friendly, make it known!
In today’s day and age, making sure we all do our bit to help reduce waste to benefit our environment is a crucial activity and message that should be promoted if possible. Therefore, if you can promote your brand by raising awareness for more sustainable living, then we encourage you to!
Despite implementing eco-friendly practices within your business, you’re not able to determine what your customers do with your packaging after they’ve left your premises - but you can help change that. Make sure your packaging is recyclable or compostable and add information to the outside of your packaging and encourage your audience and those around them to read it. Not only is this highly likely to trigger your customers to properly dispose of their rubbish and all other rubbish thereafter, but it gives them a good idea about the morality of your business and sets a solid foundation for your brand’s ethos.
5. Keep it simple
Take branding back to basics and promote a clear and simple message that doesn’t require a lot of fuss. How? Swap your typed out font for your own handwritten lettering. This personal touch is a great way to promote your brand as friendly and grounded. By getting rid of the added advertisement frills, you’re letting your audience know that what they see is what they get with you - inviting them to come back again, safe in the knowledge that you love what you do and that they should too.
Using packaging companies to create bespoke branding for your food and drinks products is a great way to move your business forward, by reaching a larger audience who are sure to love what you do. Why not start the process of reimagining your branding today by calling us for a no-obligation quote on: 01670 546666?
Alternatively, check out our range of bespoke packaging products to get your creative juices flowing!
