Packaging is a crucial marketing component. Companies often choose a fresh packaging design to accompany new initiatives, whether they are launching a new product line or even a reformulation of an existing item. There are other ways packaging is a useful marketing tool as well. For instance, packaging design is an especially key consideration when a brand is entering a new market or creating one.
Business growth typically relies on innovation. That means businesses can't always play by the rules. Forging an entirely new market segment is risky, but potentially lucrative for companies that see the opportunity. However, forging an entirely new segment also brings about packaging challenges. Here's how two companies accomplished this feat:
Ottilie and Lulu: Tween care
Somewhere between teenage- and child-oriented personal care products, Ottilie & Lulu saw an untapped marketplace - tweens. The company aimed a new line of products at girls between 7 and 14. The goal was to encourage young women to establish lifelong, healthy beauty habits.
According to the brand’s website, tween skin has unique need that aren’t met by adult products. Moreover, since 80 percent of skin damage occurs before the age of 17, there is a need for preteens to adopt skincare habits early on. The products also help young women deal with the onset of acne.
In an interview with Happi, Deborah Hernan noted how it was difficult to find distributors for the product. Retailers had sections for teen and child care, but not for tweens. Not to be discouraged, Hernan found an alternative route: toy stores. Hernan found a place for her products in the tween section at F.A.O. Schwartz. Ottilie and Lulu fits right in with brands like American Girl, which produces products to guide pre-teens through life in school and friendship.
ASCC: A new beverage line
Aristocrat Group Corporation recently announced plans to unveil a new distilled spirit product. Innovative product design was important for the product launch. The new product is meant to be integrated into a more active lifestyle, accompanying consumers to the beach or anywhere else their day might take them. It is designed to be engaging and functional, promoting convenience and the ability to be taken on the go.
According to CEO Robert Federowicz, the product could be a game changer.
"This will be a product that practically leaps off the shelf," said Federowicz in a March Press release "It can go where ordinary bottles can't go and do things that ordinary bottles can't do,"
The product will debut in retail outlets in California, Nevada, Florida, Louisiana and Texas.
Packaging is a key consideration when entering a new market. In certain cases, it could be on of the top needs. ASCC, for instance, predicated its entrance into a new market on its packaging design. Regardless of whether this is the case, companies shouldn't underestimate the time and care that goes into designing new packaging. Packaging is crucial to distributors' and consumers' perceptions of a new product. Work with an innovative packaging provider to be sure your new product enters the market place with a splash.
