The Key Functions of Food and Product Packaging

Nowadays, we live in the world of high competition for customers. Our highly commercial world totals thousands of brands. Thus, businesses face high competition and struggle for each client. This fight is vital for their well-being and future development. Here, a reasonable question arises: how to stand out on the store shelves against dozens of similar products?

Due to this reason, the range of functions of product packaging extended. Today, it is not just a way to preserve the freshness and integrity of products. Wrappers serve as the strongest weapon in the arms of companies. Businesses use packages as a marketing tool to manage consumer behavior and stimulate them to buy particular goods.

Functions of Good Packaging

An overwhelming share of all products sold on the market are packed. If we talk about foodstuffs, it is difficult to find unpacked products in retail stores. In addition to convenience and compliance with hygiene standards, the popularity of wrappers is explained by multiple functions of food packaging, namely:

1. Protection from damage stands as the main function of packaging. Different sorts of wrappers are used to preserve the integrity of goods. Depending on the type of product, rigid containers, bottles, and boxes are applied for packing, shipping, and storing products. For example, bottles are used for liquids. Fragile products are wrapped with an air-bubble film. Cookies are placed in paper boxes to avoid cracking. The modern industry offers a wide variety of packaging options, such as guaranteeing a high level of protection from damage.
2. Providing key information (ingredients, usage instructions, and indicators). Wrappers contain labels with all the required information about products. Thus, by examining the cover, consumers should obtain all the needed information about the place and date of product manufacturing, its content, shelf life, and other related data.
3. Promotion of the product is another function of packaging in marketing. Attractive labels help draw the attention of a target audience, make consumers notice goods on store shelves, and study the offer. By catching their interest, vivid wrappers steer customers and push them to make a purchase. Thus, covers stand as an effective tool to manage consumer behavior.
4. Improving storage effectiveness. Correctly selected packaging allows for improving the storage place and achieving better space ergonomics. The use of flexible pouch packaging allows for saving space and accommodating more goods in a warehouse or on store shelves. Moreover, by organizing products effectively, it is possible to reduce expenses on transportation.
5. Considering environmental impact. Constant exposure to environmental factors negatively affects any product. Some of them fade, while others get stale or moldy. Thus, the primary function of packaging is to protect the content from environmental factors, such as moisture, oxygen, sunlight, humidity and temperature changes, etc. Optimal conditions are preserved inside packages. High-quality wrappers perfectly cope with this task, which allows for prolonging food shelf life. Multi-layer compound covers are used to reflect sunlight. Perforation is applied when a warm baked pastry is packed in bags.
6. Convenience for customers. Trying to win the consumers’ loyalty towards products, modern manufacturers equip packages with additional tools to improve the convenience of use. For instance, zippers for repeated openings and closings, transparent windows for product examination, handles or other tools for easy portability and perfect fitting in a palm. These techniques make containers more suitable for multiple uses and allow consumers to keep food fresh even after opening.
7. Brand prestige creation. Having a custom packaging design developed by professionals will help increase brand recognition. If you have a vivid logo, it will serve as an identification sign. Your target audience will easily identify your products on store shelves due to specific colors or indicators. By developing a marketing campaign and distributing your products, the logo on packages will help increase business prestige in the sphere.

Note that various types of products require different materials for packaging since they can interact with food and enter into chemical reactions. For instance, chocolate products are packed in three-layer wrappers with a metalized film to reflect sunlight and prevent melting, while non-chocolate products usually require two-layer packages.

Reputable businesses that want to achieve success on the market invest funds in developing custom packaging solutions with creative individual designs. Large enterprises have marketing departments with separate units for label designing. However, it is possible to contact specialized agencies that produce high-quality packages and support businesses. This option is beneficial due to the wide experience of employees who know all subtleties of materials and their combinations, and help pick the most suitable solutions for any kind of product.

While the only task of containers and wrappers was product protection and packing a dozen years ago, today, the scope of packaging has greatly increased. It is not only a useful way to store, ship, and sell food. Modern wrappers are an effective marketing weapon that can control and direct consumers toward buying particular goods. Properly designed labels and eye-catching packaging designs can increase sales and add new customers to your target audience.