Packaging Design Mistakes: Why Brands Fail To Perform

The CPG industry is littered with design fails. We expect packaging design mistakes from small companies with minimal resources. Due in part to capital constraints, small brands must assume what causes a consumer to purchase.

What we do not expect but is almost as common is that companies with a significant amount of investment capital are failing miserably. Even with millions of dollars designated to a product’s performance, it ends up having dismal sales on retail shelves.

Some mistakes are obvious, with designs have a glaring weakness in their design. Even the average consumer understands these to be a packaging mistake. Other disappointing designs (even with a focus group) come as a complete surprise.

This article looks at brands who’ve invested heavily into custom packaging and expensive designs. We seek to understand why their packaging failed. We look at common packaging design mistakes and the lesser-understood ones.

What is a Packaging Design Mistake?

A packaging design mistake is any design decision that’s prohibitive to a brands long-term success. The failure occurs at many points in the products lifecycle, from retailer interest to consumer experience.

As a packaging design agency, we define mistakes as lower-than-expected shelf impact. But we must define a mistake beyond buyer interest and purchase intent.

Let’s dig into why packaging design fails and what you can do to prevent it from happening to your product.

Latching On To Packaging Design Trends

Attaching your brand to a trend makes sense for marketing campaigns targeting a particular audience. It doesn’t always make sense for packaging design.

Sometimes trends such as sustainable packaging help a brand push into new markets and demographics. However, making it the label focus exhausts marketing real estate on the product packaging.

Some packaging trends are here to stay, whereas others come and go. In either case, a greater benefit to consumers is showcasing the result your product produces or the problem your product solves.

Standing Out in a Trendy Crowd

Staying with sustainable packaging, if you plan to jump on this trend, find a new way to spin the message. For example, is your packaging a small solution to the bigger problem of deforestation? Amplify that message!

This distinct form of sustainable packaging appeals to customers more than the standard crowded message. At the same time, it satisfies the customer’s desire to do better for the planet.

When Being Edgy Becomes a Costly Mistake

We’ve all heard the saying that “bad press is better than no press at all”. We attribute this quote to P. T. Barnum of Barnum and Bailey. There’s some truth to this statement, but it’s only relevant in particular industries, for particular brands and in particular situations.

In CPG, bad press is rarely better than no press at all.

The problem with bad press in packaging design is the lifespan doesn’t end as fast as the news cycle. If your packaging has had bad press, it may continue resonating in the minds of the consumer until you go through a packaging redesign. This could be years down the road for smaller brands and start-ups who went all in one of their initial designs.

By the time the redesign happens, it may be too late. The damage may be unworthy of repair. So the question is, when does edgy become offensive?

A skull and crossbones made for a successful coffee brand, but will it work for a tea packaging design? Subtle difference in category but big difference in consumer expectation.

Suffering From Package Design FOMO

Maximalist designs happen both intentionally and by accident. The intentional approach to maximalism is expressive and an art form. Its elements are abstract and created for a unified visual charm that speaks a single-bold-message.

Maximalist designs happen by accident when the brand tries fitting everything onto the label or package. The product may be feature heavy where brands feel it’s a disservice when leaving out any of the products glorious traits.

The problem with packaging FOMO is the design doesn’t breathe. When we place white space in the right space, the most important messages hit home.

In packaging design, to be seen does not mean they will hear you. To be heard does not mean they will understand you.

The noisier the label is, the less likely your core message will have the necessary stickiness to finish its job.

Pricing Yourself Out of the Market

Intending for your product to be the “low priced leader” is a dangerous and stressful strategy. That said, your custom packaging design shouldn’t burden your price competitiveness.

Secondary packaging might be the answer to category differentiation, but if it drives your price too high, it can have an opposite effect. If you become the highest priced product across all competitors, the lack of ROI may surprise you.

This is the case for many boutique businesses with smaller run sizes. They have developed innovative and distinct custom packaging, but retailers are unwilling to place it on the shelf because the higher price increases their risk.

Forgetting To Put Your Product On The Shelf

When your product is an isolated environment, package design mistakes are not always identifiable. In order to analyze performance, we put clients products up against their competitors in simulated buying environments. This is critical to shelf performance, but it isn’t the only reason the design process should include an on-shelf experience.

Here are two other viewpoints that brands should consider.

• Is your packaging created so it is easy for the merchandiser to place your product? Custom packaging with a unique shape can be a merchandisers nightmare. It’s not uncommon to see packaging placed sideways in order to save shelf space.
• Will your packaging be within the eye site of the consumer? Stockers often place oversized packaging on the top shelf because it makes their job easier. The top shelf is not a dream position unless the shelves are 4 feet tall.

Mistakes After The Purchase

CPG is not like used car sales. Obviously! But some of the biggest packaging design mistakes present themselves once the consumers use the product.

We’ve identified the following packaging mistakes as critical reasons a brand fails. We can eliminate these issues by performing product testing in advance and leveraging the results to help guide our package design strategy.

Expectation Mismatch

The food product category is notorious for this mistake. In clearance grocery chains, we find solid designs that sadly were collected and removed from big box stores.

If you’ve shopped at these discounters, you understand the expectation mismatch first hand. While your packaging should excite and entice, it shouldn’t deceive the consumer. Misleading packaging is a common problem in the CPG industry.

If your product doesn’t taste like fresh pineapple, don’t make your visual emphasis be on fresh pineapple. There’s an art in presenting your product in the best light while ensuring it delivers on expectations.

Frustrating Packaging

Here’s another poor packaging design we’re all familiar with. We’ve all purchased poorly designed corrugated boxes that make our lives miserable. The ones that are impossible to open or boxed food packaging that claims to close but clearly don’t.

Because of this, in many categories, the term frustration free packaging is now a purchase driver. Thanks to lazy brands taking the common road, aisles are filled with package designs that forbid consideration of consumer satisfaction.

The solution is simple. Walk a mile in your customers shoes. The plural use of “customer” is important here since each customer will uniquely experience your packaging.

Your team “testing” the package experience is insufficient to ensure your packaging will not frustrate the consumer. Put it in their hands.

Package Design Testing

While there is no such thing as perfect packaging, we can avoid many mistakes through package design testing. Removing the designer’s ego and the brand assumptions about a products look, let’s purchase intent to be the final decision maker.

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.

Book a time to discuss your project with our team.