Here are some tips to keep in mind when developing and/or redesigning retail packaging:

Will it “pop?”
What will make your product stand out on shelf against your competition and the category you’re entering? Is it color? Font? Package material? Graphics? Gather all the products you will be competing against along with your mock up, line them up, and see which package your eye gravitates to. This will only work if you are truly impartial. If your eye is drawn to a product other than yours, try to determine what it was about it that caught your attention.

Less is more
The front of your package is your most important real estate. Avoid cluttering it with everything under the sun you want to say about the product. The purpose of the front of package is to get the shopper to take it off the shelf to find out more. Think of the magazines you usually find at the supermarket checkout. Its headlines are usually short and catchy, and written to entice the shopper to look inside. If the front of your package is too busy, it may confuse the consumer and they will check out another products instead. Leave the front for the most critical pieces of information that will spark interest. Tell the consumer what the product is, what it does and list a few attributes that separate your product from your competition. For example, you might highlight a new technology, (but avoid technical terms), dissolves instantly, (if this is a new attribute in this type of item), it lasts 24 hours, or offers a health benefit. Sell her by your point of difference.

How well will it fit?
How the product will be merchandised at the shelf is another key consideration, and here you want to be as accommodating as possible. Should your package be horizontal? Vertical? Should one side be printed to allow for horizontal merchandising and other side for vertical to give retailer flexibility? Familiarize yourself with the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act. Where your product will be merchandised will help determine whether it should be boxed, pegged, blistered, etc. If the product will be pegged, be sensitive that the area around the peg hole and the way it hangs doesn’t waste space around the hook. If it does, not only does it make for an unattractive set, but if your retailer analyzes sales and profit in relation to space that will negatively affect your product performance metrics. If the product is pegged or blistered make certain that your package has a “foot” that allows it to stand upright without leaning if the retailer decides to set it on the shelf rather than hanging it.

Package and text colors
Lighting often varies from store to store, and different lights will reflect colors in different ways. If you are going to use a color font like silver or light blues, take your product mockup to a store and sit it on a few different shelves to see if it washes out under store lightning. Also, does the color pop or should you try a few other choices?

What’s in name? Everything!
If you have multiple SKUs in your product line, treat your brand name like it’s worth millions of dollars, because it hopefully will be. Care needs to be taken to insure your brand has consistency across all SKUs as to where it lands on the package, the font, color, etc. Customers will come to recognize the brand behind the products, and if she purchased one product and was happy with it, brand now becomes your on shelf advertiser for multiple sales. Make sure the family is easily identifiable. However…do not get carried away and make the brand name so large it overshadows the other important copy on the package. Also be relentless with your printer that colors on all products and all runs consistently match.

Reality Check
If you believe that you can create a package that will force a retailers merchandising the way you want it, think again. You can end up on in a weak position and even be “side faced,” or worse.

Reach out
Pick one or two of your best retail partners and show them your mock up for feedback. Ask for honest feedback. These folks see products all day long and can be a great resource. After all, if your product succeeds, so do they.

Bilingual?
Most markets serve more than one ethnic group, so it’s important to keep this in mind when developing packaging. Based on type of product, you need to determine of the package be bilingual or would it be fine just having bilingual instructions. If your product use is easily understood – particularly if you can explain it with graphics – then there is no need for bilingual text. But if consumer satisfaction or safety depends on the customer clearly understanding instructions, then they must be bilingual.

Ready to ride
Remember that before a product is displayed in the store, it must actually get there first. How product will be delivered has to be considered in your packaging efforts. If it will be traveling through a retailer’s or distributor’s warehouse, will the outer case ride well on their conveyors? If it’s a split pick will it hold up when put in totes with other products? Will caps stay on tight when they are riding to the store? Should it have inner packs, with egg crate cardboard for protection? Any cold or heat concerns on freezing or melting of your product that would require certain warehouse location? If it is dated product, does your date code appear clearly so warehouse staff can manage it accordingly? A meeting with your customer’s logistic folks can save you big bucks and aggravation down the road.

Remember, packaging is an extension of your sales and marketing team in the store – the easier you make it to display, and the more “pop” it has on the shelf, the better your chances will be of outshining its competitors!

Steven Lubin is president of Steven Lubin Enterprises, LLC, and has worked with retailers and manufacturers for the past 43 years. He can be reached at S.Lubin@outlook.com