Volume 3: Retail Package Design

Personal health and beauty products, food, beverages, pharmaceuticals, clothing, jewelry, and consumer electronics - what do these and other products have in common? Packaging. Nearly everything produced and sold - from the smallest electronic component to the largest jet engine - requires a package.

Whether cardboard, plastic, glass, metal, or wood, rigid, semi-rigid, or flexible, tamper-proof, child-resistant, biodegradable, or indestructible, packaging comes in a variety of shapes, sizes, materials, and design complexity. The most familiar and typically the most attractive is retail packaging. Unlike wholesale and mail-order packages, retail packages must double as sales and marketing tools. Through effective use of materials, structural design, and graphics, the packaging entices consumers to buy.

Elements of Retail Packaging

The requirements for developing retail packaging are complex. A manufacturer must be able to produce, print, and finish the package efficiently. The package must then be packed with its product, usually on high-speed, automated assembly lines. Once packed, the package must secure and protect the product during distribution, storage, display, purchase, and beyond. And it must satisfy a multitude of government and legal requirements.

When developing packaging for retail goods, several factors must be considered.

Materials

Packaging materials include cardboard, plastic, glass, metal, wood, and other specialty substances. Often the physical characteristics of the product will influence the choice of materials - glass and plastic (PET) for liquids, cardboard and plastic (blister packs) for consumer hard goods and dry foods, or metal for canned foods.

The choice of packaging materials is also dictated by governmental regulations. Food products, for example, may not be packaged in containers composed of any substance that might adulterate the contents or be injurious to health. According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), all packaging materials in direct contact with food must be safe for the intended use under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA). Any material intended for use in food packaging must be formulated in compliance with Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requirements.

Structure

Advances in the manufacture and application of flexible packaging materials and plastics have lead to a revolution in the structural development of packaging. The shape of the packaging has become as intricate and as effective as the graphics in attracting the consumer.

The structural design of the package must also protect the product it contains. Packaging designers and engineers use CAD/CAM systems to develop packages that optimize consumer safety, manufacturability, product distribution, and material utilization. Packages are systematically and scientifically tested to ensure they will meet government regulations and endure the rigors of their own and the product’s life cycles.

Graphics

Given the intense competition and high cost of retail shelf space, manufacturers and distributors rely on package graphics to make their products stand out from a plethora of similar products and catch the fleeting eyes of consumers. Retail packaging designers know how to appeal to a consumer’s lifestyle and purchasing preferences, drawing upon specific emotions. Along with brand recognition, an emotional connection increases a package’s effectiveness.

Packaging graphics run the gamut from simple text and graphics to complex, multi-dimensional visual effects. Packages often include innovative techniques to increase visual impact. Lenticular, holographic, prismatic, and iridescent printing methods, as well as traditional treatments enhanced with simulated finishes, embossing/debossing, die-cutting, and varnishes, enhance a package’s ability to attract attention. Many retail packages complement and accentuate their products even after purchase - for example, facial tissue and air freshener packages double as home-decor items.

A recent retail packaging trend, according to Brand Packaging, involves appealing to more than one sense to capture attention. For example, some packages appeal to consumers’ sense of smell by using special printing inks with microencapsulated scents. Packaging can also appeal to the sense of touch. A rough, unfinished texture, for example, has a masculine appeal, while packaging with a smooth feel is preferred for traditionally feminine products, like health and beauty aids.

Government and Legal Compliance

No package is complete without the required governmental and corporate legal information, generally dictated by the type of product it contains. Many product packages are required to list ingredients, nutritional data, and recycling information. Those containing dangerous, flammable, or toxic products must provide storage and disposal information, along with notification of health risks and first aid measures. Many product packages must show proof of certification by government-approved product and package testing organizations. Corporate legal requirements may include additional safety, trademark, and anti-counterfeiting information.

Globalization

When developing packaging for products that will be sold outside the United States, package designers face additional and often conflicting legal and governmental requirements, which influence package structure and graphics. To further complicate the process, the requirements for ingredient, health, disposal, and recycling information and certifications are generally different for each international region.

While packages may be designed specifically for the country or region where they will be sold, many retailers prefer standard packaging that incorporates multiple language translations.

UPC, RFID, and EPC

Every retail package must incorporate a specific bar code symbol (a pattern of black bars and white spaces, below which are numbers), or UPC. The 12-digit number encoded in the symbol, the GTIN, identifies the packaged product. Scanners in retail stores read the GTIN and use it to track sales and orders.

To receive a UPC bar code symbol, a company must join the Uniform Code Council, Inc. (UCC). Once a member, it is assigned a specific identification number.

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), which uses wireless automated identification technology, allows non-contact data reading via radio waves. A reader communicates with a tag by reading digital information embedded on a microchip. RFID is used in conjunction with the UPC symbol to enhance product identification and tracking. Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest retailer, recently announced plans to require RFID tagging to allow reading and tracking of product codes as cases or pallets of products move through distribution centers and into stores, and to identify where they are in the supply chain. Others are adopting the requirement for RFID tagging, as well.

Electronic Product Codes (EPC) are similar to bar codes, with an added benefit - they make it possible to differentiate one box of a product from another box of the same product. This helps companies monitor expiration dates and act quickly during product recalls. EPCs also help suppliers and retailers move the right products to the right places, at the right time.

These and other recent advances, such as 2D and 3D bar coding, will certainly impact on package design in the near future.

How to Get Started

Developing successful packaging requires a broad range of expertise, including structural engineering, package testing and certification, government and legal compliance administration, graphic design, marketing, localization and translation, manufacturing, printing, finishing, packing and distribution. A few large manufacturers and distributors have the ability to manage all these resources themselves, but the vast majorities do not. Typically, companies rely on firms that specialize in packaging and/or product development to develop retail packaging for their products. -gs