I’ve talked about my love of package innovation before, and I might be a bit presumptuous in assuming that everyone else feels the same way but come on – check out this fantastic eggsample (sorry, I just could not help the pun) called Smooth Egg Skin from Korea.  

This is a Peeling Foam that claims to contain eggs from the chickens of Mount Jiri in South Korea.  I’m not sure what Peeling Foam is but the pack was so attractive I couldn’t help buying it thinking I’d figure the use out later.

Online has really changed the game for packaging.  If you’re 100% online, some things aren’t so important anymore and others that you need to double down on.  My eggsample was in a brick and mortar retailer, and that led to a couple of misses. First, I was unable to see what the product was because it was just the egg on show – no outer pack and no external branding so that the retailer had to make up a sign to explain what was in the egg.  This is a lost opportunity and means lost potential buyers. There was a tiny information sheet within the egg, but you don’t know that until after purchase or unless you open the egg at the shelf.

Secondly, while the egg-shaped pack was impressive, it didn’t display that well and took up a bunch of shelf space with a lot of lost space in between eggs, and that’s lost revenue if you are not maximising value from available shelf space.  It may have worked better for the supplier to come up with a display unit that came with the eggs that ensured that it had a square footprint. This could be recyclable so need only be supplied once to the retailer.

If you’re 100% direct online sales, that lack of a B&M retailer means you only get one shot at delivering a perfect product.  Make sure it’s going to hold form in transit – you don’t have the luxury of a retailer to check that there isn’t any denting or misshaping before it gets to the customer.

Continue to innovate but give due consideration to the customer you are trying to attract and the retailer who will help you do that.

Some thoughts…

• Consider shelf standout if you’re selling offline – you want people to notice you and you can by using shape, colour, messaging and other cues better than your competitors.
• If you’re 100% online, use that additional flexibility you have to create memorable packaging that evokes curiosity and repeat purchase.
• Ensure your pack can convey to me the product use and attributes.  No matter how clever the package, there’s little point if I don’t know what’s inside.  Most shoppers are not insanely curious like I am.
• At some point, this product will need to be transported either directly to a customer or via a retail outlet.  Make sure it will arrive safely and is durable enough to be free from defects or damage in transit.
• Innovate but not by being so smart that you end up alienating your retailers by compromising their profitability.