Understanding Package Design Testing for CPG Brands.

Packaging is the face of your product. It’s a key driver of sales in retail environments and is a chief way to differentiate yourself from competitors. But in our experience, many companies don’t give the packaging design process the respect it deserves. This article outlines the key CPG package design testing methods for predicting shelf performance reliably.

Why don’t brands of consumer packaged goods engage in testing innovations? Sometimes this results from marketing efforts, but more often than not, CPG brands are not up-to-date on the latest methods for testing a package for performance. We aim to help CPG packaging decision-makers understand and embrace the testing innovations our clients use to outperform the competition.

CPG Package Design Testing

Brands of consumer packaged goods that want to compete at the point of purchase must understand the tenets of packaging design testing and why it’s so important. A bit of effort in the testing phase yields a wealth of information that you can use to tailor your packaging to your customers more effectively, provided you handle it correctly.

Like other forms of CPG branding, marketing, and advertising, a consumer goods company testing for performance requires the right setting. This article will outline specific testing methods that distinguish between buyer intent and actual purchase intent.

Testing Reduces Risk, Improves ROI

The primary goal of package design testing for consumer products is to identify and resolve issues with your design before producing it at scale.

If consumers dislike a particular aspect of your layout or are confused by your packaging, you’ll need to rework your design to better appeal to their sensibilities. It’s unfortunate, but no matter how much effort you put into your packaging design, the final decision ultimately rests with the end user.

In this way, testing is a key method for risk reduction, particularly for new products that lack established markets. And it also influences ROI in terms of your production costs. Modern commercial printing is less expensive, but from a cost/benefit perspective, launching a set of labels without performing due diligence makes little sense.

Testing reduces the risk for CPG brands that go beyond the store shelf. Since product packaging is an integral part of the entire marketing strategy, it makes sense that testing your packaging design will have a positive impact on any advertising campaign.

How to Structure CPG Package Design Testing

Package design testing encompasses various market research data collection methods, ranging from pre-design research to post-production surveys. CPG companies should initiate this process as early as possible in the packaging design phase. You’ll need these insights as soon as possible to provide your designers with material to work with for their mock-ups and prototypes.

Consumer Packaged Goods Testing

The way you collect data depends on the research method used. In consumer packaging research, there are a few standard options:

• Observational research: Working with select customers and observing their behaviors in the retail shopping environment.
• Guided Assessments: Focus groups where a moderator directs a group that matches our target customer.
• Online studies are great for collecting significant responses during the initial package design strategy.
• In-depth interviews offer more detailed insights into customer motivations, perceptions, and preferences.
• Post Purchase Surveys: Follow-up surveys to determine intent to repurchase and brand loyalty.
• Retail Simulation: Simulating the retail environment to recreate the buying experience and witness the real-time purchasing decision.

The idea is to leverage research methodologies to gain a comprehensive understanding of your market’s perceptions. What do they think of your brand? Does your new packaging stand out on the shelf? How long do they typically spend comparing products, and is your new design worth consideration?

Initial Research For Your CPG Brand

To begin, plan out your research goals and determine a reasonable scope for each effort. Proper planning is crucial to gaining organizational buy-in, from your C-suite to your marketers and designers. Everyone needs to agree and have the same goals in mind.

Begin by analyzing existing market research to gain a historical understanding of consumer behavior within your target market.

Following your understanding of the market, test certain concepts individually or in small groups. Structure your testing to focus on individual elements one at a time, such as your product packaging layout, color choice, copy, and so on.

Asking The Right Questions

You’ll get far more concrete information asking customers specific questions like “Does the package’s messaging make you feel confident about this brand?” rather than generalized questions like “What’s your opinion of the product packaging?”

During this initial research phase, your design team will use the gathered information to develop prototypes based on your initial findings. We eventually pare these down through further research and competitor assessment (as discussed below), but it’s good to have many options to work with. If for no other reason than that most consumers don’t know what they like until they see it.

Develop a few options for your designers and consumers to explore, and then refine from there.

Testing Against Competitors

As you use these methods to learn more about your product packaging, ensure that you’re testing against a comparative set similar to your brand. In other words, your biggest competitors. To achieve high purchase intent, packaging must differentiate itself in the marketplace.

Look at your competitors. What are they doing? What strategies are they employing that you aren’t? In your experience, how do these strategies play into your market’s perceptions? It is essential to understand what they’re doing well and where they’re going wrong.

Integrating Competitor Data Into Your Design Strategy

Compare these issues and consider any that may create conflicts in your data, such as the relative size of the competitors. For example, assessing what industry giants are doing is helpful if you’re a small manufacturer. However, since their manufacturing capabilities will far exceed yours, you may apply different strategies than they do.

Along the same lines, if you’re entering a crowded field with well-established players, your market may have certain expectations based on what your competitors have already put out.

This presents an opportunity for differentiation but also poses a challenge, as expectations play a significant role in influencing purchasing intent. You don’t want to swing too far in the other direction and build a crazy package design your customers don’t understand.

Design Your Packaging With Care

One of the overarching goals of the CPG package testing process is to get both aim and subjective information about your product. Getting as much information as possible is essential, but be careful about applying too many changes too quickly.

Like your other brand marketing efforts, slow and structured changes are the way to go. Conduct a structured testing process for each phase of your CPG packaging design to identify and resolve any potential issues that may arise. Rushing the process will defeat the purpose. Make your improvements one step at a time, going slowly.

Data-Driven Brand Development

Looking for a packaging design company that delivers more than promises? SmashBrand integrates strategy, testing, and design to create packaging that wins at shelf and accelerates sales. We back it with data and a guarantee. Don’t gamble with your brand. Choose a partner obsessed with performance.

Our mission is to increase your revenues while reducing retailers’ risk when stocking your product on their shelves.

Book a time to discuss your project with our team.