What are Branded Boxes and Packaging?

Back in the old days, customers were exposed to a brand through traditional channels – broadsheet ads, tv commercials, or walking in brick-and-mortar stores. Nowadays, due to the criminally short attention span of people, you have to exhaust every avenue to get noticed. You have to immediately draw attention otherwise your potential customers will move on to the next alternative.

Branded boxes and packaging are one of the most important tools a business has to communicate. Especially with the rise in popularity of e-commerce, branded packaging is sometimes the first hands-on exposure customers have with a brand. It gives you a unique opportunity to make an impact.

What is Branded Packaging?

Branded packaging is packaging – be it a container, jar, box, or pouch, that reinforces your brand’s identity. It can be something as simple as a sticker logo on a paper bag of cookies, hang tags on apparel, or full-color mailer boxes for e-commerce fulfillment.

Is Branded Packaging Worth It?

Differentiates you in a competitive market – Been to any new artisanal coffee bean roasters lately? Chances are they’re using plain brown coffee pouches with an ink stamp for their logo and about a dozen more shops. Go off the rails and use a neon green pouch or product box. It’s all but guaranteed that they’ll remember you versus the other carbon copies.

Reinforces your brand’s identity and tells its story – Everyone loves origin stories, even businesses. Packaging design helps tell your brand’s story or communicate the vision you want for it. Are you donating a portion of your sales to a cause? Or is the business a childhood dream of yours that finally come to fruition? Tell it through brand packaging so it can resonate with customers.

Assists with your online marketing strategy – You can use brand packaging to work in tandem with your online marketing campaigns. Online printers such as Packola offer low minimums, so you can order small batches of product packaging to complement new business directions. Add a QR code that redirects to a microsite or give away limited-use vouchers.

Provides a special customer experience – Gone are the days of plain brown boxes. Customers crave the exciting experience that unboxing gives, and packaging plays an important part. Great-looking branded packaging builds anticipation layer by layer. Use branded boxes, packaging tape, and tissue paper to instill name recall at every moment.

How Do I Make Branded Packaging?

Now that you know what branded packaging is and how important it can be for your business, it’s time to create your own. There’s no exact recipe for success regarding packaging design, but plenty of tips and best practices help steer you in the right direction. Here are a few:

1. Make it eye-catching – No matter what your product or line of business is, it’s crucial for your packaging to get noticed. It needs to stand out whether it’s displayed on a shelf or received in the mail. When your packaging pops, it draws the viewer in, generating interest and curiosity. Use bold colors, employ a technicolor design, or use big bold letters. Do what you can to steal attention away from the competition.
2. Keep branding in mind – Your choice of packaging is an extension of your brand. It is reflective of your company's values and vision. Ensure that the message that comes across is the one you want. Use brand colors, logos, and fonts liberally. This strengthens brand recall as customers associate your business with the same design elements.
3. Ensure durability – It's easy enough to create pretty packaging, but if it buckles under a little bit of stress, it will reflect badly on your brand. Your product boxes have to be strong and durable. Check that your online printing partner is using high-quality materials, such as corrugated cardboard, that can do the heavy lifting, literally and figuratively.
4. It has to be easy to open – This may sound simple but it can often be a major frustration for customers. Make sure that the user experience for your product packaging is smooth and intuitive. For example, a tear notch makes your product easy to access if you're using pouches. If you need to tape your boxes, don’t go overboard. Aside from being unsightly and detracting from your packaging design, it leads to customer frustration.

You Have Eight Seconds

The average attention span of individuals has shrunk down to eight seconds. In that time span, your product packaging should’ve elicited emotion so that a potential customer can stop, turn, and absorb what you’re offering. Brand packaging is able to give them a taste that perhaps can lead to something more.

Packola helps your brand cater to a wide of tastes. Aside from custom boxes, we offer branded labels, stickers, packaging tapes, tissue papers, and more.

Get started with brand packaging. Print with Packola today.