Is Clear Packaging the Right Choice for My Product?
Transparent packaging is taking over shelves and capturing consumers’ attention. But is going clear the right choice for your product packaging? The short answer is that it depends on the product. Transparent packaging presents a unique set of challenges that must be considered before you decide to invest in this type of packaging.
Why clear is a big deal
Consumer response to clear packaging has helped several brands increase both sales and market share. Products like Talenti Gelato, Beech Nut baby food, and Kind Healthy Snacks have found great success by showcasing their product with transparent packaging. Consumers indicate that being able to view the product itself, when at the shelf making a purchasing decision, gives them more confidence in the product’s quality.
Clear packages come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and types. A few common package types are glass bottles and jars, plastic bottles and jars, clamshells, wrappers, and bags. Food products like snacks, baby food, yogurt, frozen desserts, and produce are increasingly displayed for consumers in clear packages. You’ll also find clear packaging for cosmetics, electronics, sporting goods, and beverages like juice and liquor. Even Nike Air Max shoes are embracing the transparent packaging trend.
When clear is the wrong choice
While clear packaging is grabbing consumer attention, transparent packaging isn’t the right choice for every product. Some products are easily degraded by exposure to light and could suffer quality issues because of clear packaging.
For other products, transparent packaging can showcase the product’s flaws — exactly the opposite of what consumers want to see! For example, oatmeal is not an ideal product for clear packaging due to the product’s “dustiness.” Products like potato chips that are easily broken in shipping are also difficult to display in transparent packaging without compromising the consumer’s perception of quality.
Other products, like nuts and foods with higher fat content, can oxidize in clear packaging, which harms the end product’s quality. And some products are perceived as downright unappealing when provided in transparent packaging — for example, frozen foods and powdered nutritional supplements.
The bottom line: Clear packaging can enhance the right type of product — or undermine a product that isn’t suited for it. Your packaging vendor will work with you to determine what advantages clear packaging could offer and whether it’s the right choice for your product. Combined Technologies, Inc. (CTI) provides a number of clear packaging options. We have extensive experience in collaborating with our customers to design and deliver packaging that protects and differentiates your product and shows it off to its best advantage.
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