Product Packaging--Redefined

Buying stuff can be a pretty boring activity for many people. It can also seem so confusing, especially with so many products to choose from nowadays. We have all these products telling us that they're "the best" or that they guarantee our satisfaction. If you take a look at shampoo commercials, they all seem to be the same--there's always this long-haired woman flipping her hair around or whatnot. It would be difficult for these companies to make the people go for their product with so many distractions around the consumers, or with so many options to choose from, with all of them screaming for your attention.

Some companies, however, have chosen to "step up" and stand out in a way that didn't really seem to be that much of an important factors years ago--and that is through the packaging of their products. 

Yes, in the present, it is not just about how people use the products or how a certain product serves the people's needs. Nowadays, the success of a product can also be measured by how it "sticks" to the minds of the consumers. It is also not just about profit--it can also be about how the company communicates their product's idea or values and personality to the consumers, allowing for easier brand association.

As a future marketing person, one topic that has caught my attention is how some products are packaged by the companies that make them. Years ago, this did not really seem to be a big deal--but now, companies have to do anything they can to keep their products at the top-of-mind of the consumers. It is also a way to make your product stand out amidst a full shelf of similar products at the supermarket or department store. 

I will be showing below some examples of this fairly new marketing strategy employed by more and more companies in the present. It takes a real creative mind to come up with something like this, and the people behind these ideas do deserve a thumbs up.

• Chocolat Factory

This is the packaging used by the Spain-based Ruiz+Company for their brand of chocolates. What I like about their packaging is it is very straightforward and simple--there aren't any unnecessary markings or drawings on them. The labels simply point out what the product is, in a large, simple font. The products don't even always have to show the brand or company's logo--one look at it and those familiar with this company already know where this product is from. 

• Help Remedies

For people like me who aren't too used to buying medicines at the drugstore, this task is quite confusing. It is so difficult to know what a certain type of medicine is for, especially with all those big words written all over the packaging. Help Remedies is a New York-based group that has come up with these medicines with packaging that is (just like the product mentioned earlier) simple and direct-to-the-point. They have medicines for all sorts of ailments, and you wouldn't have to hurt yourself even more by trying to figure out which medicine you need. It's just there printed on the packaging--if you have a headache, just buy the medicine with "help I have a headache" on the packaging. If you have a bad case of the allergies, just buy "help I have allergies". If you cut yourself--well, you get the idea. What I like about it is that they know who their consumers are--you wouldn't really expect an 18-year old college student to go to the drugstore and tell the pharmacist "Hey, I need <insert ridiculously long medicine name here>, right?

• Brooklyn Fare

Here's Brooklyn Fare (a famous store in New York that sells different types of food products) taking a swipe at a famous coffee shop chain's "different" way of naming the sizes of their coffee cups. I think we all know who that is--need I say more?

• Ryoko by Kenzo

At first glance, you wouldn't really see the product above what it really is--perfume. Yes, you read it right--the cute, colorful pebbles are actually perfume bottles called "Ryoko" by Kenzo. "Ryoko" is a Japanese word for travel--because these "pebbles" are ideal for frequent travelers. They are light and easy to carry around--they don't take much space inside your luggage either.

• Salt & Pepper Cell

Here's a unique way to "spice up" a rather boring meal (pun intended)--salt and pepper shakers designed to look like a size D battery cell. The "power indicators" on the side actually indicates how much salt or how much pepper is left before you would have to refill them, so you wouldn't have to open them to check for yourself. Very cool!

• Butter! Better!

Butter, for many years now, has been available on small containers that are most frequently seen at hotels or on airplanes. The problem is--how do you spread the butter, exactly? Butter! Better! tries to resolve this problem by using wooden lids which could double as a device you could use to spread the butter. It is light, handy, and convenient, since there is no need to carry around additional cutlery.