You have an idea, you would want to bring it out in the market ASAP!
There are multiple platforms to quickly launch your products and get your business up and running in a short span of time. The idea can range from energy drink to cosmetics to agriculture-based products. One of your first few milestones would be, to do a quick pilot launch to get consumer feedback, test out logistics, tractions, etc.
As a startup, you definitely would like to test the waters and gauge consumers' feedback. This is the first time you are making connections with customers and it should be impactful. You would like to bring out something exciting on a shelf through packaging with your brand story.
I will be not surprised if someone has seen a packaging on Pinterest and made up their mind about how their own packaging should look like.
But as we start deep diving into packaging territory a lot of unexpected questions & constraints will start coming on surface. This might shatter your expectations and dreams of Pinterest ideas. There will be a lot of reality checks when you start interacting with vendors, designers and manufacturers.
Now for the pilot launch, you will start seeking out for different design agencies or packaging vendors for guidance and quotations. Few of the very important questions you will come across -
How much MOQ(minimum order quantity)?
Target packaging cost?
Is your filling line sorted?
Shelf life of your product?
Most of the time clients have less idea of what should be the appropriate costing of their packaging or about materials that are correct for their product.
Their MOQs are very less, let's say about 100 min- 5000 max. Their filling line is not sorted yet. They sometimes can't understand the difference between structural packaging and graphics and might end up in the wrong place with wrong expectations.
This will just delay your process and timelines of your project. I have also observed that this has led clients to sometimes directly go to multiple vendors and create multiple layers of packaging(primary, secondary, tertiary) and finally are not able to match the cost of packaging in the longer run.
Packaging route for faster GTM results?
There are some simple steps and guidance that can help you find the right help.
A. To make a prerequisite list
Prepare a brief with criteria, challenges, expectations before going to designers/ vendors/manufacturers. In this process, you will research existing packaging in the market and will come to reality check faster. With this exercise start gathering samples from the market study. This will keep discussion loops intact and effective.
The list can be divided into structural, graphics and technical aspects:
Structure: 3 key functionality for structure with respect to challenges, target consumers, adaptations with respect to volumes and sizes, the target market will be e-com or retail, does it require tamper-proofing, sealing.
Technical Aspects: Target volumes, target price of packaging, details of the filling line, the shelf life of the product, vendor capability, supply chain.
Branding/Graphics: brief brand story, vision, USPS to bring out, critical information to go pack, logo(if it has been developed), pictures of products.
Further, you can also get help with a defining brief, better understanding of materials, guidance for technical and manufacturing aspects by reaching out to packaging experts.
B. Consult Packaging expert
With their experience, they might guide you better with your requirements and will suggest more clear further plans. Almost all packaging consultants have a vendor base which can be an additional help to you. In this way, you might reach the right vendor with correct guidelines in less time. They also might have brochures and physical samples to show correct material and manufacturing. This helps you and your team to align with expectations faster and smoothly.
The packaging consultant will guide you according to your MOQ. If your MOQ is less they might suggest off the shelf solution and designing graphics on it.
C. Off the shelf solution with kickass branding & graphics
Sometimes off the shelf solution is the best way to go for a lesser MOQ. Though many think that there should be structural innovation with a new launch but as a start, it is very difficult to invest in moulds.
Here there is still ample opportunity for you to bring newness in your packaging through graphics and your brand story. A design consultancy service just not helps you with graphics and branding but suggests you correct material and finishes for your label. They might also have inhouse content writers to check your legal content which will go on product packaging. This will help you to avoid a whole lot of back and forth interactions with different parties.
There is always a hero in your product that needs to be highlighted through your brand story. Here is one example, a clip from a movie that I recently watched and was glad to see the emphasis on a brand story.
PS: Don't get hurt by foul language :)
D. Choosing right vendor
This requires extra effort and negotiation but to spend time to find the correct vendor partner is very important. It's your responsibility to gather as many samples and brochures from a vendor to see the quality of the sample. Negotiate correct prices by indicating future business. Some key points to keep in mind:
If it's a manufacturing vendor then definitely you need to visit his/her setup.
If it's the vendor for off the shelf solution try and gather sample pieces first so that you have an idea of how the product quality will be and then place the order.
If the vendor has the facility to customize at his end that will be best. Sometimes a small MOQ and simple customization can be taken care of by the vendor. It will help you to avoid paying the design consultants for small ad hoc work.
Correct pricing and laying off correct guidelines with a third party vendor for filling is very important. This will bring consistency to your product packaging.
I hope this write up will help you in your struggle of finding the right packaging for your brand. I also hope that you got insights into how different vendors have expertise within their team and how you can explore them.
If you guys need any further assistance please do right me at amitajain16@gmail.com
-Amita
Comments