Packaging Redesign: Don’t Let Snobbery Prevent Change.

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There is no one guiltier of snobbery than wine aficionados – with their fancy-schmancy cellars and their “Idiot’s Guides” and their insistence that wine not be packaged in pop-top cans. Sheesh, it’s just a drink, guys; calm down.

It is just this type of snobbery that has caused wine enthusiasts to shudder at the thought of a wine cork that doesn’t need a cork screw; we’re not even talking about the dreaded screw top that was so incredibly controversial it inspired the combined brain power of the UC Davis Viticulture and Enology department to author an extensive study on the subject. Regardless of the results, there is very little doubt that wine lunatics will only relinquish their corkscrews when they are pried from their cold, dead hands.

This intensely stubborn resistance to change led to the screw cork, a compromise that combines some of the ease of a screw top with the aesthetic value of a traditional cork. The fact that it is generally believed that proper metal screw tops actually do a better job of preventing oxidation than standard corks is irrelevant; wine fanciers simply won’t drink a bottle of wine that bares even the faintest resemblance to Mountain Dew Code Red.

Even though traditional wine corks will probably continue to be insisted upon well into our future — mostly because people tend to cling to the idea of prestige like a starving wolf cling to a lamb chop – we must remain clear-headed about our products and how they relate to the ever-changing times. Your adorable product packaging might have been great for the past 50 or so years, but don’t you think you might be closing yourself off from a demographic increasingly demanding convenience and charm? We might be nostalgic for the beautifully constructed vitrolas of the early 20th century, but no one will jettison their iPod for one.

Take a Look Around You

What are the packaging trends surrounding your product? Are your competitors uniformly switching to another strategy and leaving you in the dust? How are our constantly evolving lives changing the way we interact with products? Can a person consume your sports drink while comfortably using an iPad? These are questions you must ask yourself when determining whether or not your packaging concept is still relevant.

A few decades ago, all ketchup was packaged in glass bottles. They were aesthetically pleasing, but ketchup is, essentially, a kind of a low-brow product you wouldn’t find in your hoity-toity restaurants. However, it still took quite a long time to transition to the more convenient squeeze bottle. Of course, squeeze bottles are ugly; it’s a plain and simple fact. However, ketchup manufacturers eventually had to yield to the unsightly designs to keep up with customer demand – we were sick of pounding the bottom of ketchup bottles for 10 minutes to get the faintest dribble of sweet tomato-y nectar. Ultimately, no one’s impression of ketchup was altered even slightly by replacing glass for plastic.

Keep What Makes You, You

We tend to cling to what is familiar and comfortable, even when that familiarity and comfort lead to financial ruin. Suppose your customer base is abandoning you in favor of another more effectively packaged product than your own. In that case, you must sacrifice your old-timey package in favor of something that speaks to the public. However, your product, company culture, brand message and superior customer care will remain the same. You will still be loved. The world will still turn on its axis.

Unless your package design has always set you apart from your competition or your customers used your package for livestock feed in times of famine, it probably wasn’t the package that inspired your customers’ love and devotion. A good package designer will be able to update and modify your original package design while retaining the integrity of your brand since that is what the customer trusts and remembers.

Data-Driven Brand Development

Want a best-selling brand? SmashBrand is a brand development company for FMCG and CPG brands. From brand strategy to packaging design testing, our Path To Performance™ process guarantees a retail performance lift. Book a time to discuss your project with our team.

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