Food packaging design is the process of creating the inner and outer packaging of food and beverage products. A good design can help your product stand out on a crowded shelf, serving as a miniature billboard for your brand.
According to a report published in Behavioral Sciences, “In the global consumer goods market, packaging design has evolved from a simple product protection function to a key strategic tool for brand competition.” Effective packaging design can improve brand recognition and boost sales.
Outline, a branding studio in Charleston, is responsible for the food packaging for clients like Kloo, Droosh, and Heyday Canning Co. In this guide, the team at Outline explains how to balance brand strategy, beautiful design, and compliance to design stellar packaging.
What is food packaging design?
Food packaging design involves designing the containers and labels that consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands sell. Effective food packaging keeps the products safe and intact, attracts consumers, and clearly identifies what’s inside.
As with other types of design, food packaging designers must use their expertise to balance the practical and the emotional. They determine what shape and size of container is most attractive, ensure the label design is consistent with the rest of the brand identity, and follow FDA essential guidelines to make sure the packaging is compliant.
Ky Allport, Outline’s creative director, emphasizes that package design is not meant to do more than attract and inform about a product. “There are so many other branding opportunities to explain your brand,” Ky says. “That’s not the job of the logo or the packaging.”
Key elements of food packaging design
Food packaging is a broad category, encompassing everything from a plastic candy wrapper to an ornate etched glass bottle. But all food packaging includes the same basic building blocks. Here are the main ones you need to know about:
Industry regulations
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) dictates what materials can come into contact with food, how key information about ingredients and nutrition should appear on food labels, and more. Any creative or strategic decisions regarding food packaging must follow this guidance.
Graphics
All food packaging tells the consumer the name of the company, identifies the product, and conveys critical details the consumer needs to make a purchasing decision. The way those graphics appear is at the heart of great packaging design.
A stellar design uses color theory, typographic hierarchy, and striking photography or illustration to get the point across within the limited available space.
Materials
When considering containers and materials, food packaging designers must consider user experience, cost, sustainability, aesthetics, and durability. Materials also factor into the appearance of the graphics. Some packaging designs consist of a simple digital print on a wrapper, while other projects might use more intricate details like embossed textures, foil stamping, gloss, and more.
Materials can subtly nod to a brand’s values, the price of the item, or the intended user experience. The Outline team emphasizes the importance of using the brand’s story and positioning when selecting materials. If part of the brand strategy is sustainability, a designer might use recyclable or sustainable materials, for example.
For instance, Heyday Canning Co., whose branding Outline created, committed to a brand story surrounding a cheeky reclamation of vintage can design. “Heyday wouldn't be Heyday if it was in a pouch,” says Margaret Pilarski, Outline’s strategy director.
Information
Whether the product is on the shelf at a store or loading on a product page online, it needs to both capture the shopper’s attention and quickly convey what’s inside. The packaging must identify the product accurately and adhere to the FDA’s standards regarding what information is required on a label.
6 steps for creating effective food packaging design
- Commit to your brand story
- Make logistical decisions before you start
- Prioritize simplicity and clarity
- Think through the customer experience
- Seek legal guidance
- Always get a proof
Food packaging design can impact whether a product stands out in a crowded retail display next to competitors. It also needs to represent your brand and adhere to safety norms. Here’s how to get it right.
1. Commit to your brand story
The overall brand strategy should inform every part of the custom packaging process, Ky and Margaret advise. That brand story should come from a place of authenticity. Why does this product exist? What experience do you want customers to have? “Put stakes in the ground,” says Margaret. “If your brand is going to be beautiful, premium, and thoughtful, your packaging should reflect that. Whether it’s being insane and crazy and bright or being simple and sleek and really upscale, that consistency and commitment is more important than whatever else you’re committed to.”Outline says the simple elegance of the bottle they designed for Kloo, a premium coffee concentrate, stemmed directly from the brand’s ultra-clear positioning and vision. Kloo has a Q Grader, which is like a sommelier of coffee beans. That quality promise drove their decision to use a more innovative bottle format. “We thought about them more as if they were a fine spirits or liquor brand than coffee,” Ky says.
2. Make logistical decisions before you start
Before any packaging design begins, define your budget and project shipping costs for different containers and materials. Make sure all the regulatory information is correct and accounted for. Find a manufacturer or supplier who stocks the type of containers you’ll need before you start designing, so that your designs are real instead of theoretical. Because there are so many constraints with packaging design, thinking about the design before all the building blocks are in place isn’t efficient, Ky and Margaret say. And, it should go without saying, but that includes the product itself. “You need to work out your product first,” Ky says. “It can’t just be an idea.”
Especially with food products, testing is key, Ky says. If your product is cold or headed for a damp environment, ink might bleed. If your product is being shipped all over the world, think about how the packaging could get damaged and ensure that whatever materials you select will be in good shape once it reaches the customer.
3. Prioritize simplicity and clarity
Designers are tasked with prioritizing key messaging, creating visual hierarchy, and maximizing shelf appeal. Decision-makers must be willing to ruthlessly prioritize according to the previously determined strategy. If you put all your product’s benefits in front of the consumer at once, you won’t get anything across. “A lot of times, brands, and packaging in particular, try to be everything for everyone and end up being for no one, because it’s too watered down or too busy,” Ky says. “Founders are often so inundated, overwhelmed with pricing, logistics, and manufacturing that the brand-led decisions can get lost.” But that brand positioning is your North Star—consumers won’t trust your brand if you stray from it. When in doubt, look to your brand strategy to help you determine what to keep and what to cut from your product’s label design. Remember that once you’ve hooked your consumer with a simple, beautiful design, you’ll have more opportunities to explain the product’s benefits.
4. Think through the customer experience
User experience isn’t just for screens; it’s a huge part of packaging design, too. From the way something feels to the durability of its materials, every decision affects how a customer experiences your product, starting with its packaging. Outline worked on the brand identity and package design for Droosh, an Indian spice purveyor with a mission to make Indian spices more accessible. As part of that mission, the spices initially came in a round paper container rather than a glass bottle (the packaging has since changed to accommodate the brand’s shift to wholesale—a big success).
The idea was that the package would be so beautiful that customers would want to keep it out on the counter, encouraging everyday use and accessibility.
5. Seek legal guidance
Because the FDA regulations are so stringent, most companies producing food products have a lawyer on call to ensure everything on their label is up to code. Claiming that your product has benefits it doesn’t can result in a lawsuit, so make sure you run your label by a lawyer before you send it to print.
6. Always get a proof
Food packaging isn’t a great space for trial and error. A packaging mistake is a very expensive, mass-produced error. So make sure you always get a true color and to-size proof of your packaging and labels from the printer so you can check that everything is correct. A proof will show you exactly how the color and size will appear when it’s printed. The key to actually delivering that customer experience is to make sure you see samples and prototypes. “Ask the printer to send you samples,” Ky says. “Touch the materials. There are 900 different shades of white label stock. There are coated, uncoated, glossy, and specialty finishes. All these things impact the customer experience.”
Most packaging producers have sales reps who provide their services to help you understand their offerings, produce prototypes, and make adjustments based on user testing. Some companies bring those mockups to official or unofficial focus groups to ensure everything has been thought of before production begins.
Food packaging design FAQ
What makes food packaging design effective?
The best food packaging design is attractive, clear, and informative. Your packaging should also adhere to all FDA regulations, so that it’s safe and accurately informs shoppers about what the product contains.a
What are the legal requirements for food packaging design?
The FDA regulates the requirements for food packaging design, and a lawyer can help you interpret the guidance.
What trends are shaping food packaging design right now?
According to a First Insight survey, 73% of Gen Z consumers are willing to pay more if a brand can demonstrate its commitment to sustainable packaging and ethical production methods. When designing food packaging, consider using responsibly sourced, reusable or recyclable materials and emphasizing your brand’s commitment to ethical standards in the label design.
