Packaging mistakes

6 Common Product Packaging Mistakes to Avoid

Share post:

At Complete Packaging Solutions, we know creating effective packaging is crucial for attracting customers, protecting your products, and enhancing your brand image. Your packaging is often the first thing potential customers notice about your product, and poor packaging can dissuade consumers from choosing your products over competitors. Even small missteps can lead to significant issues. 

Here are six common packaging mistakes to avoid and tips on how to prevent them:

Neglecting Brand Identity

Mistake: Using generic packaging that doesn’t reflect your brand’s personality, values, or message. 
Solution: Ensure your packaging design aligns with your brand identity. Incorporate your logo, color scheme, and brand messaging to create a cohesive and recognizable look that resonates with your target audience. Don’t be afraid to be bold and stand out against the competition!

Inadequate Protection

Mistake: Failing to provide sufficient protection for your products, leading to damage or theft during shipping and handling. 
Solution: Use a trusted packaging company that uses high-quality materials, modern designs and state-of-the-art technology that offers the right level of protection for your products. Always consider factors like your product’s weight, fragility, temperature needs, and stackability when choosing the packaging. Complete Packaging Solutions always takes these factors into account when designing packaging for your products.

Ignoring Sustainability

Mistake: Using excessive packaging materials or packaging methods that produce a lot of waste. Excessive packaging and waste increase costs, and may be a turn-off to eco-conscious consumers.
Solution: Opt for sustainable packaging options that require less materials or utilize reusable or recyclable materials. Reducing packaging waste is not only environmentally sustainable, but reduces your packaging costs as well.

Related Post: 8 Top Sustainable Packaging Ideas

Overcomplicating the Design

Mistake: Creating overly complicated, complex, or cluttered packaging that confuses customers and distracts from the product itself.
Solution: Design your packaging with simplicity and functionality in mind. Consumers should be able to glance at your packaging and immediately understand what your product is, as well as its features and benefits. However, this doesn’t mean your packaging has to be boring – you can create bold designs that stand out amongst competitors that are simple and to-the-point.

Choosing Incorrect Sizing & Fit

Mistake: Using packaging that is too large or too small, leading to wasted materials or insufficient protection.
Solution: Use custom kitting and precise measurements to ensure your packaging fits your product perfectly. Proper sizing reduces material waste, enhances protection, and makes your product stand out on shelves. Working with a professional packaging company ensures your product is packaged to exact measurements with minimal waste and maximum protection.

Related Post: What are Kitting and Fulfillment Services for Packaging?

Lack of Information and Branding

Mistake: Not including pertinent product information on your packaging and not having a cohesive branding strategy across your SKUs.
Solution: Make sure to highlight your product’s key features in your packaging and coordinate your branding strategy across your line of products. Consumers should be able to instantly understand and recognize your product. Clear and consistent labeling not only helps customers make informed decisions but also minimizes buyer’s remorse, fostering trust and loyalty in your brand.

Tips to Avoid Packaging Mistakes

  • Conduct Market Research: Understanding your target audience is key to making products that your customers love. Your customer’s wants and needs should drive how you produce and market your products. Taking their thoughts into consideration helps you create packaging that looks good and works well, improving the overall consumer experience. Ultimately, knowing your customers builds loyalty and helps your business grow by ensuring your products match what they want.
  • Invest in Quality Design and Packaging: Work with professional designers and packaging companies like Complete Packaging Solutions to create aesthetically pleasing, functional packaging that protects your product and appeals to customers.
  • Test Your Packaging: Prototype and test your packaging and displays to identify any potential weak points, branding issues, or defects before mass production. Catching issues during prototyping is far better than discovering them once your product is on the shelves.
  • Put Yourself in the Customer’s Shoes: Evaluate your product as if you were a retailer or customer. Is it easy to open? Does the packaging look consistent and display neatly? Can it be recognized at a glance? Make sure interacting with your product is easy and frustration-free before it reaches your customers. If you have any issues with your product, your customers are likely to experience them as well.

Do you need help with your product packaging? Get in touch with the professionals at Complete Packaging Solutions! Our extensive selection of individual and collective packaging options is designed to meet your specific needs. We handle all quality control in-house, ensuring you don’t have to worry about any packaging mistakes! Contact us online or give us a call at (765) 547-1300 today!