Packaging is Your Product
Someone posted a question on the UKBusinessForum earlier regarding whether or not they should invest in packaging and this got me thinking. Many businesses are starting to see the benefits of packaging their product properly, not just in terms of keeping their product inside safe but also from a branding point of view.
Many businesses use ‘Packaging’ as part of their core product, they attempt to sell the packaging to you and not just the product. A case study which I often like to refer to is Mr. Funkleberry T-Shirts. I have experience in this area and I’m aware of how much it costs to have even the bentest quality t-shirts made and printed on such as these but how is this company justifying the price tag of £25? – I’ve never heard of the brand until recently…. As well as a quality product the company is trying to use exceptionally good packaging in order to support its brand. The product comes packaged in a branded box… which looks professional and gives the impression of quality as time and effort has been put into it. They also add a card with a unique T-Shirt code which adds to it. The company is then able to promote it as a quality high priced good.
Our Next Case Study looks at re-packaging products in a way which is different, as well as giving the product added benefits from doing this it’s also a way of competing with other companies. 3W Water (Three Wells) is a water company and is quite small and with the water market being as competitive as it is, how on earth does this small company compete? – Well they compete on packaging! – They repackaging a standard ‘Water’ drink into a squeezey pouch, much used by Capri-Sun this allows the Water drink to be frozen in a fridge freezer but also is able to be squashed into ones pocket. Therefore instantly giving the product a unique selling point.
Of course, investing in packaging in this way may not be beneficial to every company. You’ll have to research whether or not it’s worth while… is the demand there for a quality packaged product? Is your demand curve elastic or inelastic and therefore is quite price sensative… are there lots of competitors etc….
