For too long secondary packaging has been trapped in a ‘transport to trash’ cycle – effective for transporting products but quickly tossed aside after transit.
This has limited the design and versatility of secondary packaging and resulted in an opportunity for branding, marketing and innovation that is underused and underestimated.
We’ve found that customers are increasingly expecting more from secondary packaging, and it’s a trend that is beginning to span the industry.
But a word of warning, it is essential to strike the perfect balance between form and functionality.
Whilst it’s appealing to simply see secondary as a blank canvas when it comes to marketing, this shouldn’t be at the expense of functional innovation.
Let’s consider branding opportunities. Secondary pack can play a pivotal role in marketing, with a well-designed concept helping to tie overall brand appearance together on a crowded – and often disorganised – shelf.
Careful use of logos, colours, images and forms can act as an eye-catching frame for the primary pack and boost a product’s shelf appeal. Whilst designers have spent decades perfecting the primary, it can all too quickly lose its shine when displayed in lifeless corrugated pack on the shelf.
As the industry begins to push the capabilities of secondary and expect more, so too do the consumers, who ultimately vote at the checkouts.
Our designers are fanatical about this untapped potential and ensure that, from the earliest possible stage of packaging development, a harmony is struck between the primary and secondary pack. They should complement, not conflict.
But what’s in it for the retailers? Branding may be king when it comes to packaging design, but functionality, transportation, restock ease and increased speed to shelf are all high on the list of demands.
We’ve been working hand-in-hand with our clients to upgrade their current offer in a way that meets their needs, whether this is a more efficient loading system at the point of sale or a multifunctional pack that can be used at different locations in the store.
Why shouldn’t manufacturers be demanding a product that not only looks great but slashes the time taken to load to shelf?
We’ve been working on products that are ergonomically designed to make them not just fit for the traditional purpose, but present new ways in which secondary can be put to use, whilst maximising branding opportunities.
It is this understanding of the fine line between style and substance that we as suppliers must possess if we are to modernise the way secondary packaging is viewed. No longer should it be the poor relation to primary. By putting branding, design and innovation on a level pegging with transit, protection and display, we’ll soon enough see secondary put first for once.
