Build Your Digital Brand with Innovative Flexible Retail Packaging

From easy-to-tap apps, to one-click-order options from major ecommerce stores, online shopping is becoming the new normal for a large number of today’s consumers.

As a result, smaller businesses in the consumer packaged goods industry are becoming more agile and competitive as they now have direct access and lines of communication to shoppers around the world. In fact, large CPG brands have lost an incredible $18 billion to small and mid-sized companies since 2009. Disruption and innovation are critical for reaching today’s always-connected consumer, and success comes when businesses are easily within reach of their customers and are able to effectively tell a compelling story in the market.

Online offers a promising future for the consumer packaged goods industry, with millennials and Generation Z key drivers of this shift to purchasing products via computer, tablet, or mobile device. These younger shoppers are big into the idea of ditching the traditional ways of grocery shopping and looking for techy, future-forward methods of getting their goods online. Companies willing to branch out and embrace inventive new materials and ways of operating will better reach these influential demographics.

One way of opening up lines of communication and grabbing online shoppers’ attention is really looking at how your packaged goods are presented on your website, social media, or via ecommerce sites like Amazon. Considering more than half of consumers say they ar willing to purchase groceries and other packaged goods online in the future, brands large and small really need to consider how transparent they are about their products in the digital space. Companies can make small changes to the way their products are presented by offering 360-degree views and including clear shots of their product packaging.

Brands making the switch away from rigid boxes, clamshell containers, cans, jars, and bottles will be at an advantage here. Because more people are shopping online, lightweight flexible retail packaging will benefit both the consumer and the business. Lighter packaging won’t hike up shipping costs due to excess weight, and it requires less fuel to transport. This is good for both budgets and the environment – less fuel burned means less air pollution, and as we know, brands that make sustainability initiatives a key part of their culture resonate with millennial and Gen-Z shoppers in significant ways.

Consumer packaged goods companies have more options than ever before in terms of personalized, eye-catching packaging designs.

Custom printed pouches are making a splash for brands looking for protective, lightweight containers that serve as 3-D billboards for their brands. Sure, consumers want to see photos and/or videos that show off your product online, but including custom printed pouches in your digital presence will help further market and sell your goods. Many shoppers browse for products online and ultimately buy them in stores – if they can easily spot your branded flexible retail packaging on your website or social media, they’ll likely recognize it in stores and commit their loyalty to your business.

Brands have the opportunity to design their custom printed pouches online using innovative new technology that allows them to upload their own artwork and determine which sizes, materials, and features best suit their packaged goods. Consumers, too, love this kind of personalization, so keeping lines of direct communication open via your social networks and website is more likely to attract new, loyal customers. Testing, paying attention to data, and conducting consumer research are all vital ways to retool and revamp your flexible retail packaging so it draws consumers in via the digital space and gets your products shipped to customers quickly, efficiently, and inexpensively.

Digital Era and CPG Infographic