How Savvy Food Brands Can Avoid the Mistakes That Big Brands Make With Their Product Packaging

After 30 years of creating category-leading packaging design, Mela Creative knows what makes packaging sell and has seen first-hand how big brands have gotten it wrong.

Packaging design is as much about customer psychology as it is about product information. Even big brands can be guilty of falling into these common pitfalls:

Designs created for the boardroom, not the real world
It’s easy to design a concept that pops on the boardroom screen, but shelf impact is about how a design performs against its competitors.

Designs created without considering the entire product range

Spending additional time upfront to ensure the design can be adapted and applied to suit every single product will save you time and money later.

Designs created without consulting all stakeholders

Marketers and product managers need to impress retailers and energise sales reps before the product will ever be seen by consumers.

It takes a collaborative approach between the creative designer and brand owner to bring a product to market in the best possible packaging and to enjoy its success.

Case Study – Food Service Supplier to Supermarket Favourite

Sandhurst Fine Foods was well known in the food service industry but lacked shelf presence in supermarkets. They invested heavily in advertising to drive customers to the shelf, but their original brand had no brand shelf presence. Customers would seek out the shelf, look for Sandhurst, but walk out with competing brands. This was because the packs were designed in isolation and not for the real world.

Mela Creative worked closely with the CEO and marketing team to design a new logo and packaging concept.

We then took it one step further and did an on-shelf demonstration.

Standing in a supermarket, the CEO watched customers walk down the aisle and reach out time and again for our mock-up. Reaching for our design, consumers passed over not only competitors but also the old Sandhurst products. This real-world approach has elevated the Sandhurst brand to be a household name.

Read the full case study details here.

So, if you want your product to sell, take off your boardroom blinkers, don’t be short-sighted or have a cowboy attitude. Follow these three simple recommendations to set you on track to succeed with your packaging.

To find out how to avoid all 5 costly mistakes that big brands make with their product packaging, download the FREE Mela Creative e-book now by inputting your details below. We explain in detail the 5 biggest mistakes we have seen companies make and how to turn those mistakes into your success.